Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)

Directed by

Herbert Brenon

Genre

drama film, silent film, romance film, melodrama

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 13m

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 40 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A clown named Tito makes people laugh but hides a deep sadness. He falls in love with a woman named Simonetta, but their relationship faces complications. The film follows his emotional struggles as a performer.

melancholictendertheatricalgently pacedpoignantsentimentalsilent-era dramatictragicomic

What happens

Laugh, Clown, Laugh is a 1928 American silent drama film starring Lon Chaney and Loretta Young (her film debut). The film was directed by Herbert Brenon and produced by Irving G. Thalberg for MGM Pictures. A sound version of this film was released in the second half of 1928 and featured a synchronized musical score with sound effects. The film was written by Elizabeth Meehan, based on the 1923 Broadway stage production Laugh, Clown, Laugh by David Belasco and Tom Cushing, which in turn was based on the 1919 play Ridi, Pagliaccio by Fausto Maria Martini. Stills exist which show Chaney in his clown make-up. The sets were designed by Cedric Gibbons. The film was in production from December 19, 1927, to February 2, 1928, and cost $293,000 to make. The worldwide box office gross was $1,102,000. Laugh, Clown, Laugh is readily available today on DVD. The existing print, however, is not 100% complete; it is missing reel #4, but the missing footage does not severely impact the story. An alternate happy ending—wherein Tito survives his fall, Simonetta marries Luigi, and they all remain close friends—was shot at the studio's insistence in case some studios preferred that ending, but the footage no longer exists. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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