''The Shock'' is a 1923 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

(a Universal Jewel) directed by

Lambert Hillyer Lambert Harwood Hillyer (July 8, 1893 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director and screenwriter. Biography Lambert Harwood Hillyer was born July 8, 1893, in Tyner, Indiana. His mother was character actress Lydia Knott. A graduate of ...

and 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 ...

as a disabled man named Wilse Dilling. The film was written by Arthur Statter and Charles Kenyon, based on a magazine story by

William Dudley Pelley William Dudley Pelley (March 12, 1890 – June 30, 1965) was an American fascist leader, occultist, spiritualist and writer. Pelley came to prominence as a writer, winning two O. Henry Awards and penning screenplays for Hollywood films. His ...

. This is one of the rare Lon Chaney films where he gets the girl. The film is readily available on DVD. Costing only $90,000 to make, the film took in a huge profit for Universal. A lobby card from the film can be seen on the internet, as well as the film's poster art. The film's tagline was "You haven't seen anything yet!"

Plot

In 1906, Wilse Dilling (

), a crippled gangster living in Chinatown, receives a coded message to go to the home of his boss, Ann Cardington (

Christine Mayo Christine Mayo (December 25, 1883 – January 9, 1961) was a silent film actress. Biography Mayo was featured in vamp roles produced by Fox Film Corporation, Metro Pictures, World Film Corporation, and Ivan Film Productions, Inc.''Famous Mov ...

), known as "Queen Ann", a powerful crime boss feared in the underworld. When Wilse meets with her, she sends him to the suburban town of Fallbrook, where he is to establish himself and await her instructions in dealing with a former lover of hers, a banker named Micha Hadley ( William Welsh), who had once betrayed her. Dilling is to pose as a

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

operator in the local office there in order to keep watch on the banker. Being dependent on crutches and a wheelchair has not stopped Dilling from committing a lengthy series of crimes, but to his surprise, he finds that the small town atmosphere makes him feel alive for the first time. He befriends banker Hadley's attractive daughter Gertrude (

Virginia Valli Virginia Valli (died September 24, 1968) was an American stage and film actress whose motion picture career started in the silent film era and lasted until the beginning of the sound film era of the 1930s. Early life Born Virginia McSweeney in ...

). Dilling falls in love with her and she helps him believe that even he can make a fresh start. Gertrude, however, is engaged to young Jack Cooper (

Jack Mower Jack Mower (September 5, 1890 – January 6, 1965) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 520 films between 1914 and 1965. He was born in Honolulu and died in Hollywood. After studying at Punahou College, in Honolulu, Mower moved ...

), and Chaney realizes that a pretty girl like her would never be attracted to a handicapped man like himself. Dilling's new-found contentment is soon shattered by a series of new developments which includes trying to stop Queen Ann's plot against both Hadley and Gertrude. Years ago, Queen Ann had forced Hadley to embezzle funds from his own bank by blackmailing him. Now threatened with exposure as an embezzler, Hadley lashes out at Dilling when he confesses that he is part of Queen Ann's scheme. When Dilling attempts to blow up the bank to cover up the evidence against Hadley, it goes badly and Gertrude and her fiance Cooper are caught in the blast. With Gertrude severely injured, Cooper's father forces him to break off their engagement. With the bank records destroyed, bank examiners are now unable to find evidence against Hadley. After surgery, his daughter is expected to make a complete recovery but Queen Anne still seeks revenge. Dilling tries to recover a document that his boss is using to blackmail Hadley, but with her henchmen, Ann kidnaps Gertrude to Dilling's despair. When asked, Cooper refuses to help Dilling to rescue Gertrude, revealing his cowardice. Dilling confronts the criminals alone in their cafe hideout and pleads with Queen Ann to release Gertrude. Before anything can happen, the entire city is caught up in the

San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

. Queen Ann and her gang are killed in the disaster. Dilling survives and finds that the shock of the earthquake has restored his ability to walk again. After he recuperates, he begins a new life with Gertrude. Theshock-1923-lobbycard

Cast

as Wilse Dilling *

as Gertrude Hadley *

as Jack Cooper * William Welsh as Micha Hadley * Henry A. Barrows as John Cooper, Sr. *

as Ann Cardington, AKA "Queen Anne" *

Harry De Vere Harry De Vere (February 1, 1870, New York City – October 10, 1923, Los Angeles) was an American silent film actor. He was signed by the Thanhouser Company based in New Rochelle, New York in 1914 and starred in about 70 films until his d ...

as Olaf Wismer * John Beck as Bill * Walter Long as The Captain *

Pat Harmon Plummer Hull Harman (February 3, 1886 – November 26, 1958), known professionally as Pat Harmon, was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1920 and 1947. In 1935, Harmon was the victim of a violent assault whic ...

as Horse Cabdriver (uncredited) *

Bob Kortman Robert F. Kortman (December 24, 1887 – March 13, 1967) was an American film actor mostly associated with westerns, though he also appeared in a number of Laurel and Hardy comedies. He appeared in more than 260 films between 1914 and 1952. ...

as Henchman (uncredited) * George Marion as Townsman (uncredited) * Steve Murphy as Man Eating at Mandarin Cafe (uncredited) *

Togo Yamamoto was a pioneering actor who appeared on stage and film in the United States and Japan. Biography Born in Yokohama, Japan, on 4 November 1886, Togo emigrated to the United States and began an acting career in the early years of the 20th century. ...

as Messenger at Restaurant (uncredited)

Production

The working title of the film was ''Bittersweet''."Progressive Silent Film List: 'The Shock'."
''silentera.com''. Retrieved: May 9, 2016. The screenplay was based on William Dudley Pelley's magazine story, "The Pit of the Golden Dragon". Although mainly shot in the Universal studios, the climactic earthquake scenes were a mix of model work and archival film footage, mixed in with the live action. Principal photography on ''The Shock'' took place in June 1922, after Chaney finished work as

Fagin Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...

on '' Oliver Twist'' (1922) in late May 1922.

Critical comments

"In affording Lon Chaney one of the spectacular characterizations for which he has shown an aptitude, Universal has achieved a striking success in THE SHOCK...For his followers the production will most likely have an intense appeal... At times his extreme physical deformity and resulting contortion are rather harrowing. He gives a vivid performance, but sometimes it is too intense to be pleasant." ---Moving Picture World "The picture is an underworld story, with Chaney cast as a cripple, and the effort apparently was to give it some touch of the atmosphere of THE MIRACLE MAN, in which Chaney came into fame almost overnight in the part of the "Frog." The subject misses by a wide margin the high aim of the other vehicle and degenerates into a cheap shocker." --- Variety "Lon Chaney gives another of his hideously distorted, and uncannily clever, characterizations." ---Photoplay "An uncommonly realistic, well directed story of the underworld....a melodrama of compelling interest. Lon Chaney's work in the role of the crippled crook stands out as a really astonishing performance". ---Exhibitors Trade Review "(Chaney's) ability to handle the role of a cripple is little short of uncanny. His portrayal of Wilse Dilling is interesting and for the most part convincing." ---Film DailyBlake, Michael F. (1998). ''The Films of Lon Chaney''. Vestal Press Inc. p. 132. .

Preservation status

A print of the film is maintained in the Film Preservation Associates, Incorporated archive. The film is readily available on DVD.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Anderson, Robert Gordon. ''Faces, Forms, Films: The Artistry of Lon Chaney''. South Brunswick, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes, 1971. . * Blake,Michael F. ''A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney's Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures''. Vestal, New York: Vestal Press, 1997. .

External links

* * *
Stills
at silentsaregolden.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shock, The 1923 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films Films directed by Lambert Hillyer Films about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake Films based on works by William Dudley Pelley Films set in San Francisco Universal Pictures films 1923 drama films Surviving American silent films Silent American drama films 1920s American films