the unknown be one of the more interesting lon chaney collaboration with director or writer tod browning and a chaney typically physically malleable performance be often execute here in conjunction with stunt double peter dismuki . it also feature a great and early appearance by joan crawford and a complex and gripping and allegorically deep but economically tell story by brown and and it be an excellent instantiation of theme find throughout chaney and brown other work . it even strongly presage brown 1932 film and freak . chaney be alonzo the armless and a performer in antonio zanzi circus . alonzo be in love with nanon ( crawford ) and antonio daughter and alonzo assistant in his act and which consist of him use his foot to shoot gun and throw knife around nanon with precision aim . in a typical chaney film complicate love triangle and nanon and zanzi circus strongman malabar be also attract to each other and but nanon have an aversion to be touch and keep distance malabar and any other man who want to be intimate . alonzo be the perfect complement for nanon then and since he can not manhandle her . she feel safe with him . but antonio object to alonzo approach towards nanon . complex confrontation and a number of fabulous twist ensue and and chaney fan will likely expect the resultant profound tragedy with the reciprocally bittersweet happy end consequence . i probably make that synopsis sound more soap operatic than it should and since it doesn not very well convey the overall twisted and creepy atmosphere that brown achieves in the unknown . like freak and this isn not exactly a horror film and but it have all the unsettling and macabre attitude of one . alonzo be one of chaney more demented and sinister character and a almost every move he make have a nefarious and ulterior motive . this even include the reason that he join the zanzi circus in the first place . it become quickly clear that alonzo will stop at nothing to have nanon all to himself . but because the character have no arm and he can not very well resort to physical bullying . instead and chaney paint a subversive and deviously manipulative character . even the character love for nanon feel wicked it more of an unhealthy obsession than love . browning make good use of his largely par down set and cast . except for the opening circus scene and most of the film take place among only four character and in only a handful of circus wagon ( use later for both freak and chaney 1928 film laugh and clown and laugh ) and apartment location and with the end and set in a theater and symmetrically reflect the opening of the film . a single scene in a formal courtyard provide a nice and symbolic contrast and a do the use of the extended technique of a thin piece of gauze place over the camera lens for some of nanon scene . equally economical be brown complex story and which tell a much with the aid of the performance through implication of various backstories a it do through direct action . the ( heavily allegorical ) subtexts be fascinate . nanon be frigid and so her most intimate relationship be with a man who have be effectively castrate . he be so obsessed with her that he will physically sacrifice himself to enable a relationship . she secretly desire a normal love and but can not have one until she fall into it and or be trick into it in a way . no one be quite honest with anyone else except for a man who be a relative simpleton and there to be manipulate . but he the one who end up come out ahead and even though he never quite know what be go on . browning have to construct a number of elaborate set ups to produce the illusion that chaney have be use his foot to do everyday activity for a long time . we often see chaney body but peter dismuki foot and such a when alonzo be play guitar and smoking and drinking and and so on . occasionally and dismuki just stand in for chaney and usually when alonzo have his back to the camera and but at least in one wider shot and we can see dismuki face . the 1997 score on the turner classic movie version of the film by the alloy orchestra be occasionally excellent especially during the climax of the film and and occasionally a bit pedestrian . when it only pedestrian it at least unobtrusive . the score have a modern and occasionally rocky feel that mesh surprisingly well . there be a few scene miss from the print transfer to the tcm dvd and but for many year and the unknown be think to have be lose and similar to browning and chaney 1927 film london after midnight . a print be find at the cinémathèque française and mixed in with a lot of other film mark unknown because the content be ( at least temporally ) unidentifiable . the miss scene do not hurt the coherency of the film and which be a must see at least for any chaney or browning fan .