Freaks (1932)

The early 1930s marked a time in cinema history when certain studios found success in specific genres creating a unique feel to each film that carried that studio's name. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) was known for their splashy, lavish productions that brought swarms of depression era audiences to the theaters on a regular basis. There stars would be household names, and their movies would dominate the market, but a studio is always looking for more of that cinematic pie. When Universal, a relative mid-level studio in Hollywood, was finding success with their cheep horror films MGM saw a new opportunity. With Tod Browning, the director of the hit horror flick Dracula, under contract, MGM saw the prospect into making their way into the creepy genre. When Browning turned down making film with the famous John Barrymore to pursue a movie based on a horror story MGM thought he knew what he was doing, and what MGM got in return was one of the most controversial movies in the history of celluloid.

Freaks is the story of sideshow circus performs and the lives they live being looked down on by even those that work along them in the circus, with the central story around the a midget who is taken advantage of by a woman to get to his wealth. This is no ordinary picture as the characters are the genuine articles, actual "freaks,"indiviuals with physical deformaties that perform in traveling acts exploring that which makes them different from everyone else. We meet each of these "freaks" and see that they are individuals with hearts and feeling, but make their living humiliating themselves for the joys of the public. Despite their struggles their unwritten code and respect for each other is what supports them through their lives. The cast includes a bearded lady, chicken people, a man with no lower half, pinheads, midgets, dwarfs, a skeleton man, Siamese twins, and even a man with no limbs, but this story centers around one midget named Hans (Harry Earles). His fascination with an acrobat named Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) leads him to be taken advantage of and humiliated by her. After Cleo discovers the truth of Hans' fortune she would lead them to getting married where her true self is revealed in a drunken speech and her attempt to poison Hans. This leads up to the climatic, horrifying scene where the freaks all gang up on Cleo for her misdeeds, with visuals of our "freaks" crawling in the mud to give Cleo what is coming to her.

The film rides a line most would never figure a main stream motion picture would ever get close to. To make a story about people with physical and mental deformities, and have it acted out by those very individuals takes a lot of guts. The line that the story toes is sharing that these individuals are people with with real souls and feeling, not just "freaks," while the film also shares horrifying images of these individuals as ruthless, being protective their own (for the right reasons, mind you). The film talks about an unwritten code that the freaks have with each other, a brotherhood if you will, to support one another when the world makes fun of them. When Hans marries Cleo the freaks try to initiate Cleo chanting "One of us! One of us!" to show her acceptance as a loving member of their family. To use the pun, this scene is freakish as it portrays them as a pseudo cult. So Browning creates this weird mix that positivity, shining light on the humanity of these people, but still manifests them as these cult-ish creatures. As you can see this film is very touchy and a mystery on how it was ever made with the thought of making a profit.

Tod Browning go the idea of the film from his main "freak," Harry Earles, whom Browning had directed in The Unholy Tree starring the great Lon Chaney. The story was called Spurs and was a tale about circus performers and their struggles. Browning loved the idea of the humanity in things that seemed less normal to people and he pursued to create a picture from it. With Browning's great success with Dracula, MGM let him have his way with making his picture, turning down other films to do so. Unlike the normal MGM way, Browning had complete control of his film, not casting known actors in any roles, and assembling a cast of real "freaks." Brwoning would look far and wide casting what is seen to be the largest cast of side show acts in them history of side shows. This was a sight to seen as the cast of performers would walk freely around the MGM lot to the amazement of the employees of Hollywood's greatest studio. Legend has it that F. Scott Fitzgerald, whom was working as a writer for the studio at the time, even became physically ill at the sight of the Siamese twins as they walk into the studio commissary.

After the initial shooting, the movie had a tough time with screenings. An original cut of 90 minutes would be edited down to the 62 minute feature that would be released. Audiences were appalled. Women screamed running out of theaters. One even threatened to sue, claiming to have had a miscarriage from watching the film. Some of these events could have been publicty stunts, but the film was in fact not taken well by the viewing public. Freaks would be heavenly censored in some states uneasy with the visuals, and would even be banned in a couple for a time. MGM would pull the film from circulation as an embarrassing film in their library, not to see the light of day very often for several decades. However film students and art houses would rediscover the film in the 1960s, giving the film a new audience and praises for actors and Browning. Now the film is a significant piece of movie history not likely to be equaled, even preserved in the Library of Congress.

The aftermath of the pictures initial release was horrible for most involved. Browning would never get his way in film again and, in fact, would find it hard to produce any more pictures, leading to his early end in the business. Actor Wallace Ford, who played a sympathetic clown named Phroso, would be the only one that found a large deal of future work, mainly in B-westerns, along with some Hitchcock films and television work. Actress Leila Hyams, who played another sympathetic normal character in Venus, would have some promise, but passed on her big break when she turned down the role of Jane in Tarzan, The Ape Man. Olga Baclanova, who played the villainous Cleo, was closing out her career as as sound films would not be kind to her, losing her much work. Harry Earles would live a long life and a member of the famous "Doll Family" even playing a munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. His family of little people would be a public interest for decades until his passing in the 1980s. Many of the "freaks" led long lives doing what they did best, performing in traveling acts. Some enjoyed their Hollywood experience, but others despised what the film did to negatively portray freaks in some scenes, making them jokes.

Freaks goes down in history as one of the most unique films ever made. A fictional narrative about circus performers played by the real life circus performers is something we are not likely to see again. Despite the initial failure of the film, Freaks would go on to be an important piece of cinema history. Its imagry was no doubt horrifying to the people at the time of its release, but through time audiences have embarrassed the heart of the film and the performers that acted in it. To follow the history of this picture is to follow the history of the mindset of America as it changed through the 20th century. People are now more open minded (though not all), and the film is seen for more of what it is as a heart filled story of struggle of the performers under the shells that are their deformed bodies. The hard work and patience that Browning had in the production of the this picture is manifested with very unique picture that must be watched by those that appreciates film.