HE WHO GETS SLAPPED has got to be the strangest initial offering from any major studio in early Hollywood history. It’s not what you’d expect from MGM which quickly became THE major Hollywood studio known for its glamour and huge roster of stars. What’s perhaps even stranger is the fact that the movie was a box office hit. HE is based on a 1914 novel by Russian author Leonid Andreyev that was adapted into a successful Broadway play, which was why MGM made it into a film. The movie takes place in a decidedly expressionistic circus setting, is deeply psychological, and very downbeat. Hardly classic, light Hollywood entertainment. HE was the first American film by Swedish director Victor Sjostrom (Seastrom) who’d later work with Greta Garbo & Lillian Gish.
The story concerns Paul Beaumont, an unknown scientist who makes several important discoveries. However, these discoveries are usurped by his rich patron, Baron Regnard, who is having an affair with Beaumont’s wife. At the presentation ceremony of Beaumont’s discoveries, he is publicly humiliated by being dismissively backhanded by the Baron which sends the gathered assembly into uproarious laughter. Five years later Beaumont, now a clown named HE, is the star attraction at a shabby small-time circus. His act consists of stating generic observations and getting slapped by a bevy of fellow clowns to the delight of the audience. One day his ex-patron shows up and HE gets his revenge, which prevents the Baron, who has since dumped Beaumont’s wife, from marrying a much younger circus performer HE is also in love with.
The movie is loaded with clown imagery emphasizing their sinister nature. It also delves into such psychological matters as humiliation and debasement and also redemption through punishment and suffering. This Freudian subtext is cloaked within the traditional plotline of a character exacting retribution for what has been stolen from him. Freud and his psychology was little known outside of Europe in 1924 which helped to make HE so fascinating for American audiences. Lon Chaney, who by that time specialized in characters suffering from mental and/or physical defects, was understandably drawn to this offbeat material. MGM decided to sign Chaney to a one picture deal based on how well the picture performed at the box office. HE’s success made Chaney a permanent MGM player until his death in 1930.
Up and coming stars Norma Shearer and John Gilbert along with old pro Tully Marshall do well in their key supporting roles, and Australian character actor Marc McDermott portrays the villainous back-stabbing Baron. The sullen, gloomy look of the movie which befits the script almost got the cinematographer fired until director Seastrom informed MGM this look was exactly what he was striving for. HE was first released on home video in 1999 with a low quality print projected at the wrong speed (too fast) and a generic soundtrack. DVD releases in 2011 and 2015 used this same print. The Flicker Alley Fusion edition is speed corrected with a cleaned up print, two new soundtracks, and plenty of bonus materials. Finally, this Lon Chaney classic can be seen the way that it is meant to be seen. Another excellent offering from Flicker Alley.
The Capsule Critic 