this be the biography of famous actor lon chaney and portray by the more famous james cagney . normally and i like biography and i be a big and big fan of cagney . but this film turn me off fairly quickly and and i wish the yankee doodle man have turn down this role . dorothy malone play an awful and selfish woman who be chaney first wife . she be so annoying i lose interest in this story . the scene where malone freak out over lon parent be deaf and dumb and and her subsequent tirade and plus chaney apologizing for his parent physical handicap come on . totally turn me off . it also look strange to see cagney in his mid 50 play a guy in his early 20 . give me a break . that be poor casting if i ever saw it . what a disaster this film turn out to be . i prefer to remember mr. cagney for his great role in the 1930s and 1940s . not stinker like this .