Blake - A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaneys Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures

A THOUSAND FACES

LON CHANEYS
UNIQUE ARTISTRY
IN MOTION PICTURES

LON CHANEYS
UNIQUE ARTISTRY
IN MOTION PICTURES

Michael F. Blake

VESTAL PRESS, Inc.

Published in the United States of America
by Vestal Press, Inc.
4720 Boston Way
Lanham, Maryland 20706

Copyright 1995 by Michael F. Blake

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Blake, Michael F. (Michael Francis), 1957

A thousand faces : Lon Chaneys unique artistry in motion pictures / Michael F. Blake.1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-879511-20-7 (cloth : alk. paper)ISBN 1-879511-21-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Chaney, Lon, 1883-1930. I. Title.

PN2287.C48B59 1995

791.43028092dc20

95-44639

ISBN: 978-1-879511-21-7
ISBN 1-879511-21-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481984.
Manufactured in the United States of America.

For Linda,
whose support is endless

Autographed picture to Joseph De Grasse and his screenwriter/director wife, Ida May Park. Chaney appeared in 67 pictures for the husband-and-wife team during his early years at Universal.

Chaneys popularity at its peak: a page from an M-G-M exhibitors book.

I was thirteen years old when I saw my first Lon Chaney film. It was not the often-shown The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Phantom of the Opera, nor was it one of the many films he made at M-G-M studios. No, my introduction to the world of Lon Chaney movies was the 1922 independent film Shadows, which was being shown on a local PBS station. Although the print was less than pristine, I found myself fascinated with Chaneys performance, and from then on I was hooked. I had first become interested in Chaney three years earlier when I watched his film biography starring James Cagney. But until I saw that scratched and faded print of Shadows, my exposure to Lon Chaney had been limited to brief clips Id seen from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Phantom of the Opera, which had served only to whet my appetite. At that time, Chaneys other films were merely vague images that I saw in books, so scarce were the opportunities to actually see a Chaney film on the screen. I had no idea what any of these films held in store for me, and only the anticipation of Chaneys masterful performances kept my interest piqued until the time when I would be lucky enough to see them.

Admittedly, Shadows is probably not a good first choice for an aspiring Chaney fan. While Lons performance is excellent, the pace of the film is unmercifully slow for a thirteen-year-old. Yet Chaneys exceptional talent was able to reach out and grab my attention so forcefully that I walked around my house mimicking his performance long after the movie was over. When I finally was able to view The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Phantom of the Opera in their entirety, they further ignited my passion and, like the person who cant eat just one potato chip, my appetite became insatiable for more Chaney films. Since that time, I have had the good luck to view 36 of the 41 existing films from his 156 known screen performances. While the remaining 115 pictures are considered forever lost, I remain hopeful that more of his work will eventually surface so that the legion of his admirers might be able to see yet other facets of Lons talent.

I must confess that I never planned to pen a second volume on Lon Chaney, and after six and a half years of research, I honestly thought I had unearthed every possible piece of information available on him. Then, to my dismay, every biographers nightmare came trueI uncovered some material that had never been available before. At first I was terribly depressed, lamenting, Where was this stuff three years ago? But I wanted to see this material published. I considered including it in a magazine article, yet if I had done that, much of it would have had to be either condensed or simply omitted altogether. Over the years, several film historians have expressed the desire to author books relating to Chaneys performances but, for whatever reasons, the projects never came to fruition. Realizing that there was a literary void and that a text of this nature was definitely needed, I made the decision to write this book. Besides, a book is the best forum in which to present new material of this magnitude.

I never would have given a thought to authoring this book, however, if it hadnt been for the introduction by Connie Chaney to the relatives of Alfred Grasso (Chaneys business manager from 1920 to 1924). They generously shared their wealth of material with me, enabling another dimly lit passage of Chaneys life and the history of that era to see the light of day. Chaneys admirers owe a debt of gratitude to Lillian Broadbent, Mary Clark, and her daughter Tina Rainey for saving this amazing material.

In Lon Chaney: The Man Behind the Thousand Faces, my biography of Chaney, I deliberately avoided analysis of his numerous performances because, in my opinion, it is not the place of a biographer to assay his subjects work. Instead, I wanted to give the reader a sense of what the man was like away from the camera. In this volume, though, I do indeed endeavor to give the reader a sense of what Chaney was trying to convey through his performances. Other writers attempting to analyze an actors performances tend to integrate their own opinions into their analyses. Some may have little or no idea of what it takes to give a character life on the stage or on the screen. But having grown up with a father who was a film actor for over 40 years, having worked as a child actor myself for 18 years, and having spent the past 16 years as a make-up artist for motion pictures and television, I feel I have a fairly good idea of what it takes for an actor to create a role. This background, combined with the fact that I have studied Lon Chaneys life both on and off the screen for the last 28 years and have viewed his pictures numerous times (for which I could possibly set a Guinness world record!), gives me some additional insight into his performances, which I hope to be able to convey to you. Of course, some readers may disagree with my opinions. This is, of course, both expected and welcomed. My father once said that acting was simply a matter of opinion. Some think John Wayne was a great actor, while others strongly take the opposite opinion. The purpose of this book, aside from passing on the new-found information, is to stimulate the thinking of those who have seen Lon Chaneys work. You may not agree with my opinions, but if this book gives you a better understanding and some insight into the depth of this truly gifted artist, then the book has accomplished one of its purposes.