MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES (1957) / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: JOSEPH PEVNEY / SCREENPLAY: R. WRIGHT CAMPBELL, IVAN GOFF, BEN ROBERTS / STARRING: JAMES CAGNEY, DOROTHY MALONE, JANE GREER, JIM BACKUS / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Man of a Thousand Faces is a biopic of Lon Chaney, one of the key silent movie stars and an actor known for his versatility in using make-up to create completely different characters from one film to the next. Chaney is renowned in horror circles for terrifying early cinema audiences with portrayals of Quasimodo, the Phantom and, in lost thriller London after Midnight, a vampire.
Just over 25 years after his death in 1930, James Cagney portrayed Chaney in this film, which plays fast and loose with the facts of the actor’s life. At the time of shooting, Cagney was nearing 60 years of age, older than Lon ever was, and physically doesn’t resemble him at all. Dorothy Malone plays Chaney’s first wife, Cleva Creighton, who is initially reduced here to almost pantomime villain, despite the complexity of their real relationship. Most of the people around Chaney are really only here for Cagney to bounce off, and even at two hours in length, the film only picks at the surface level of who Chaney was.
That said, there’s still much to enjoy and it’s a handsomely mounted production, directed by Joseph Pevney (who would later helm numerous classic Star Trek episodes) with unobtrusive style. The film is reverential of Chaney’s ability whilst at the same time not seeking to beatify him or smooth away his edges completely. This is a classical Hollywood character study that functions first as entertainment and second as biography and is more successful if you separate it from telling a true story and admire it instead as melodrama. Cagney might be arguably too old but he was nevertheless incapable of a bad performance and so it is here, working hard to manage a balance between presenting all aspects of Chaney in the script and still maintaining audience sympathy.
This new release from Arrow presents the film in fine shape. It’s not an obscure film but a big Hollywood picture and as a result, there’s no damage to note and the print is sharp, clear and vivid. For extras, there’s a commentary with genre expert Tim Lucas that, whilst there are occasional pauses as action unfolds, is packed with information about both the film and the real story behind it. Kim Newman appears in the sole featurette and it’s a good one, exploring Chaney’s career in the context of Hollywood at the time as well as his legacy. There’s a trailer and image gallery included and the first pressing booklet features an essay by Vic Pratt. It’s a good film and for anyone interested in its subject or partial to the Hollywood biopic approach comes warmly recommended.
