''The Penalty'' is an American

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and co ...

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

starring

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

and originally released in 1920 by

Goldwyn Pictures Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company that operated from 1916 to 1924 when it was merged with two other production companies to form the major studio, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was founded on November 19, 1 ...

. The movie was directed by

Wallace Worsley Wallace A. Worsley, Sr. (December 8, 1878 – March 26, 1944) was an American stage actor who became a film director in the silent era. During his career, Worsley directed 29 films and acted in 7 films. He directed several motion pictures sta ...

, and written by

Philip Lonergan Philip Lonergan (1887–1940) was a screenwriter in the United States. He was part of a family of prominent screenwriters. Lloyd Lonergan was his brother. Filmography *''The Phantom Witness'' *''The Little Girl Next Door'' (1912) *''The World an ...

and Charles Kenyon, based upon the

pulp novel Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the U ...

. The supporting cast includes

Charles Clary Charles Clary (March 24, 1873 – March 24, 1931) was an American actor of the silent film era. Clary appeared in more than 200 films between 1910 and 1930. He was born in Charleston, Illinois and died on his 58th birthday in Los Angeles, Ca ...

Doris Pawn Doris Pawn (born Doris Alice Pahn; December 29, 1894 – March 30, 1988) was an American silent era film actress. Early life Pahn was born on December 29, 1894, to Louise Marie Hasse (1867–1925) and Martin Pahn. She had three sister ...

, Jim Mason, and

Claire Adams Claire Adams (; 24 September 1898 – 25 September 1978) was a silent film actress and benefactor. She was born in Canada, studied there and in England, and developed a movie career in Hollywood. She spent the second half of her life in Austra ...

.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Penalty''
at silentera.com The copyright for the film was owned by Gouverneur Morris, who wrote the novel on which the film was based. The budget for the film was $88,868.00. Portions of the film were shot in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. ''The Penalty'' was re-released to theaters in 1926 by MGM. This was the first of five films Chaney would make with director

, the others being ''Ace of Hearts'', ''Voices of the City'', ''A Blind Bargain'' and ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame''. The film exists in its complete form and is available on DVD. Chaney's leather stumps, crutches and costume from this film were donated to the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, along with his famous make-up case.

Plot

As described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, Blizzard (Chaney), a legless cripple whose cunning and criminal mind make him the master of the Barbary Coast underworld, is possessed of two ambitions. One is to get revenge upon Dr. Ferris (Clary), whose blunder during a childhood operation resulted in Blizzard's legs being hastily and unnecessarily

amputated Amputation is the removal of a limb by trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on indivi ...

; the other is to rally the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

in his organization and loot the city of San Francisco. To accomplish one Blizzard poses for the bust of Satan which is expected to be the masterpiece of Barbara Ferris (Adams), daughter of the doctor, gaining her sympathy and eventually threatening to force her marriage to him. To effect the other, he organizes the dance hall girls to work at the making of hats in a factory room at this house, the hats to be the symbol of the lawbreaking hordes when they are unleashed on the city. Rose (Terry), a detective, obtains entrance to his house as director of the factory. She is brought to love Blizzard for his passion for music. The life of the fiance of Barbara is endangered by Blizzard, who has the idea that the man's legs should be grafted on Blizzard's stumps, a second operation clears Blizzard's brain and he sees with a clear vision his fearful, terrible past, which falls away as if a dream. When happiness comes in his marriage to Rose, his former confederate Frisco Pete (Mason), a drug fiend fearful that Blizzard will reveal the identity of his gang of followers, takes the leader's life. Barbara and her lover are restored to one another.

Cast

;''Billed'' *

as Dr. Ferris *

as Barbary Nell * James Mason as Frisco Pete *

as Blizzard *

Milton Ross Milton Ross (December 2, 1876 – September 6, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 60 films between 1914 and 1948. Selected filmography * ''The Green Swamp'' (1916) * ''The Gunfighter'' (1917) * '' The Desert Man'' ( ...

as Lichtenstein *

Ethel Grey Terry Ethel Grey Terry (October 2, 1882 – January 6, 1931) was an American actress of the silent era. She is best remembered for her role in '' The Penalty'' with Lon Chaney. Early years Ethel Grey Terry was born in Oakland, California, the ...

as Rose *

Kenneth Harlan Kenneth Daniel Harlan (July 26, 1895 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor of the silent film era, playing mostly romantic leads or adventurer types. Early life Harlan was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of George W. Harlan and ac ...

as Dr. Wilmot *

as Barbara Ferris ;''Unbilled'' *Montgomery Carlyle as A Crook *

Cesare Gravina Cesare Gravina (23 January 1858 – 16 September 1954) was an Italian actor of the silent era who appeared in more than 70 films between 1911 and 1929. Born in Naples, Gravina was an orchestra conductor in his native Italy. As the conduct ...

as Art Teacher *

Lee Phelps Lee Phelps (born Napoleon Bonaparte Kukuck; May 15, 1893 – March 19, 1953) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 600 films between 1917 and 1953, mainly in uncredited roles. He also appeared in three films that won the Acade ...

as Policeman *

Madlaine Traverse Madlaine Traverse (born Mary Businsky; August 1, 1875 – January 7, 1964) was an American stage and screen actress from Cleveland, Ohio. In the course of her career she is alternately billed as "Madaline Traverse", "Madeline Traverse" and "Madel ...

as Woman *

Edouard Trebaol Edouard Trebaol (20 May 1905 – 11 October 1935) was an American actor. Biography Trebaol was the son of French immigrants. There were a total of 13 children in the Trebaol family, all of whom are believed to have acted in Hollywood during th ...

as Bubbles * Clarence Wilson as A Crook * Wilson Hummel

Production

Lon Chaney in The Penalty by Wallace Worsley Film Daily 1920

To play the role of the legless cripple, Chaney wore an apparatus to simulate amputated legs, which consisted primarily of two wooden buckets and multiple leather straps, was complex and incredibly painful. Chaney's knees sat in the buckets, while his lower legs were tied back. Studio doctors asked that Chaney not wear the device, but he insisted on doing so, so that his costume would be authentic. To assure audiences that Chaney was not an amputee, the original release of the film reportedly included a short epilogue clip showing Chaney out of character. This clip does not survive in the existing prints but in the movie itself, in the scene where Blizzard (Chaney) imagines his gang of anarchists carrying the loot from the Mint Building, Chaney is seen directing the heist unamputated.

Preservation

Prints of ''The Penalty'' are in the

George Eastman House Motion Picture Collection The George Eastman Museum Motion Picture Collection in Rochester, New York comprises about 28,000 titles, including features, shorts, documentaries, newsreels, and experimental moving images. The collection is renowned for its holdings of silent f ...

, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the Turner Film Library. It is available on dvd as well.

Reception

"Hats off to Lon Chaney! As "Blizzard" ... he gives one of the screen's greatest performances. However, up to almost the very conclusion the gripping melodramatic incidents hold securely and Chaney's work is so unusually fine, it will probably hold the production for all that is necessary."—''The Wid's Film Daily''Blake, Michael F. (1998). ''The Films of Lon Chaney''. Vestal Press Inc. Page 106. . "Lon Chaney, whose work in ''The Miracle Man'' won so much praise, portrays a role that might have been written for him. He is wicked and cunning, but in the end he wins sympathy and applause. Chaney makes splendid use of every opportunity."—''The Moving Picture World'' "It is needless to say that the picture is Chaney more than any one else...The continuity is not always smooth, the action not always sustained. Episodes are often too racy to suit the intelligence of the picture patron. But there is no denying that the feature is interesting."—''Variety'' "Here is a picture that is about as cheerful as a hanging---and as interesting. You can't, being an average human and normal as to your emotional reactions, really like ''The Penalty'', any more than you could enjoy a hanging. But for all its gruesome detail you are quite certain to be interested in it... It is a remarkably good performance this actor (Chaney) gives."—''Photoplay'' "One of the striking things about the picture is the remarkable characterization given by Lon Chaney, who has the leading character... Rarely has the screen seen a better piece of acting."—''Exhibitors Trade Review'' On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 83% based on , with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

rating of 7.3/10.

Legacy

''The Penalty'' was one of Chaney's breakout roles, showcasing his taste for the macabre and talent for contortion and disguise. He had previously demonstrated similar qualities in the previous year's '' The Miracle Man'', but ''The Penalty'' and ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'', both of 1920, secured Chaney's place as one of America's most famous

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

s, before moving on to his more famous roles in 1923's ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...

'' and 1925's ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

''. In 2009

Empire Magazine ''Empire'' is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. The first issue was published in May 1989. History David Hepworth of Emap, the publisher of British music magazines '' Q'' and ''Smash Hits'', among other title ...

named it #17 in a poll of the 20 Greatest Gangster Movies You've Never Seen *Probably.

Modern score

''The Penalty'' was shown at the

Hippodrome The hippodrome ( el, ἱππόδρομος) was an ancient Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words ''hippos'' (ἵππος; "horse") and ''dromos'' (δρόμος; "course"). The term is used i ...

Silent Film Festival in March 2018 accompanied by a newly commissioned score by Scottish composer Graeme Stephen for guitar (Stephen) and cello (Pete Harvey).

References

;Bibliography *Skal, David J., ''The Monster Show'', p. 65.

External links

* * * * * * * * *
Fritzi Kramer, ''The Penalty'' (1920) A Silent Film Review
with stills {{DEFAULTSORT:Penalty, The 1920 films 1920 crime drama films 1920 horror films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American horror films American silent feature films Films about amputees American films about revenge Films based on American novels Films directed by Wallace Worsley Films set in San Francisco Goldwyn Pictures films Articles containing video clips 1920s American films Silent American drama films Silent horror films 1920s English-language films 1920s horror drama films