Let Your Freaks Flag Fly
Didn’t your mamma tell you it’s rude to stare?
Everybody has felt the temptation. While walking down the street, you spot someone who happens to stand out a little more then usual. Try as you might, your eye is drawn to this curiously constructed person. Maybe there’s something extra where there shouldn’t be. Perhaps something’s missing from the overall picture. Whatever the case may be, you can’t help but stare at that freak.
Wait a minute; you can’t call them that! We’re living in a civilized society with certain a political correctness that we all must follow.
Well, 1932 was a different place.
Seeking to produce the ultimate horror film in the freshly created world of “talkies,” MGM commissioned Tod Browning, director of Universal’s Dracula, to construct something so gruesome, so horrifying it would set the standard for all films to come. What Browning delivered certainly fits the bill. Freaks is a cult classic tale of love amongst circus folks. Rather then utilizing make-up and prosthetics, Browning filled his film with the greatest collection of sideshow attractions ever gathered in one place. From a pair of midget lovers (played by real life siblings Harry and Daisy Earles) to the original Hilton sisters, a pair of conjoined twins each married to a different man, to a truly memorable collection of microcephiles, more commonly referred to as “pinheads,” the film’s stars were culled from the top carnivals of the world. Cast members play a fictionalized version of themselves; their personalities exaggerated to showcase their specific skills and specialties.
Cleopatra, a trapeze artist, puts up with the puppy dog like affections showered upon her from sideshow midget, Hans, with a detached amusement. When she learns from Hans’ jealous fiancé that the pint-sized German has inherited a sizable fortune, she sets upon a sinister scheme to marry Hans and then murder him for his fortune.
What Cleopatra doesn’t count on is the unspoken bond between carnival folk. If one freak is hurt, you face the wrath of all freaks. When Hans’ fellow sideshow attractions discover Cleopatra’s plan, they race, or wiggle as the case may be for real-life quadriplegic actor Prince Randian who plays a human torso, to Hans’ rescue in all their deformed glory.
The DVD edition features a pristine transfer of the classic film. The picture quality is magnificent, allowing audiences a rare glimpse at a seventy plus year old film. While the sound quality is a bit muddled due to the early nature of recording used in filming, handy subtitles will help decipher the film’s plot.
The film clocks in at a quick 64-minutes. This means audiences are treated to a minimalist horror tale without lengthy exposition or self-indulgent camera tricks. Unfortunately, the film’s short length also cuts into whatever character development is presented. There apparently exists a longer cut somewhere out there in the world. Hopefully it gets discovered sooner than later.
While some may argue that the film’s cast was exploited in a cruel and unusual manner, their backgrounds lend more credibility then even Lon Chaney would have had in any one of the roles. Even the actual Hollywood actors hired to fill in the film’s “normal” roles offer above-par performances. The cast portrays a unity that excels at its believability and chemistry amongst characters. Audiences will have no cause to doubt the bond amongst carnival folk.
Upon the film’s release, critics panned Freaks almost universally. Banned in many countries and states, it is still illegal to watch the film in several cities (although the law is not enforced). Rediscovered by the early seventies’ counter culture movement, Freaks has grown into a certified classic. Freaks is a treat both for the visual spectacle offered by the cast and as a reminder of a bygone era where society was not entirely wrapped up in being PC.
I watched this last year for the first time, and it really stuck with me. What an amazing film! I didn’t even think to watch with the subtitles turned on. That would have been really helpful, especially for deciphering Schlitzie and some of the others who are difficult to understand. “We accept her, we accept her, one of us! One of us!”