Man of a Thousand Faces

Man of a Thousand Faces 6z3k5

1957 "The true story of the life and loves of Lon Chaney!"
Man of a Thousand Faces
Man of a Thousand Faces

Man of a Thousand Faces 6z3k5

7.1 | 2h2m | NR | en | Drama

The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could not mitigate.

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7.1 | 2h2m | NR | en | More Info
Released: August. 15,1957 | Released Producted By: Universal International Pictures , Country: Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
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The turbulent life and professional career of vaudeville actor and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney (1883-1930), the man of a thousand faces; bearer of many personal misfortunes that even his great success could not mitigate.

Genre

Drama

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Cast

Robert Evans

Director

Alexander Golitzen

Producted By

Universal International Pictures

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  • Top Credited Cast
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  • Crew
Alexander Golitzen
Alexander Golitzen

Art Direction

Eric Orbom
Eric Orbom

Art Direction

Russell A. Gausman
Russell A. Gausman

Set Decoration

Julia Heron
Julia Heron

Set Decoration

Russell Metty
Russell Metty

Director of Photography

Bill Thomas
Bill Thomas

Costume Designer

Bud Westmore
Bud Westmore

Makeup Designer

Jack Kevan
Jack Kevan

Makeup Effects Designer

Marjorie Ramsey
Marjorie Ramsey

Technical Advisor

Phil Bowles
Phil Bowles

Assistant Director

Joseph Pevney
Joseph Pevney

Director

Ted J. Kent
Ted J. Kent

Editor

Robert Arthur
Robert Arthur

Producer

Joseph Gershenson
Joseph Gershenson

Music Supervisor

Frank Skinner
Frank Skinner

Original Music Composer

Edward L. Sandlin
Edward L. Sandlin

Sound Editor

Robert L. Bratton
Robert L. Bratton

Sound Editor

Clifford Stine
Clifford Stine

Visual Effects

Man of a Thousand Faces Audience Reviews 1g5ct

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
MartinHafer "Loosely based....". When I hear this about a bio-pic, it is a complete turnoff to me. I think some it was because I was a history teacher--and to me, history is sacred--you tell it exactly like it was. Yet, in so many Hollywood films, the truth isn't deemed interesting enough and they heavily embellish the picture. Thus is the story of Lon Chaney in "The Man of a Thousand Faces". While the main points are correct, Chaney's interesting life just wasn't interesting enough for the folks at Universal and they played fast and loose with some of the facts. I didn't like this--but must acknowledge that it was an entertaining story.However, there is one other issue about the film about which I have a unique perspective. Like Chaney, I have a deaf family member--in my case, my daughter. And because of this, I can talk about a few things the average viewer wouldn't notice. When the people are using sign language in the film, they really are using sign language--though they do it a bit poorly. As a result, you can see that the parents of Chaney in the film are not natural signers--but I appreciate that they tried. One thing I did not appreciate, however, is that the film seemed to exploit Chaney's parents--creating problems that did not exist in real life. For example, when Chaney's first wife meets them, she has no idea they are deaf--but this was NOT the case in real life and it just felt cheap--like they were capitalizing on their deafness for the sake of a plot gimmick. That was pretty sad.Aside from my complaints and observations, I still think this is a very good film. Just understand it all is heavily dramatized and you can take some of it with a grain of salt. Also, it was nice to see the silent comic Snub Pollard in a bit scene midway through the film.
gazzo-2 Cagney here is fine, but just plain too old to play this part. He was 10 years older than Cheney Sr. was when he died, and to extend this down to the man's early marriage/toddler in tow days-forget it. Ahhh Hollywood.Enjoyable things here are the vaudeville scenes, or Lon Sr's Hollywood best-Phantom of the Opera, Quasimodo, etc. Cagney jumps right in and pulls those off fine.Dorothy Malone is shown as an icy selfish shrew and then not given much to do afterwords. Roger Smith (think married to Ann-Margret) plays Lon Jr in his teens/early 20's, looking of course Nada like Cagney. You also have Jack Albertson and Jim Backus along for the ride in roles as the doc and his PR guy.Watch it if you like Cagney (I do) or if you're interested in Cheney Sr.-but don't expect it to be all that accurate, because it isn't.**1/2 outta ****
DarthVoorhees Man of a Thousand Faces is a film that positively reeks of Hollywood sap. It is quite obviously that the screenwriter took a look at a time line of Chaney's life and took out the major events only to write his own story. Jim Cagney stars as Lon Chaney,the man of a thousand faces. Chaney was a slender and tall man and Cagney was short and stubby.Is the film accurate? No not at all. The screenwriters obviously took a look at main events in Chaney's life and fabricated it to match a story. Cagney is a legend but he is not right at all for the role. Chaney was a tall and slender man and Cagney is short and stubby.Lon Chaney Jr was not born in a hospital,he was born prematurely in Chaney's cabin in Oklahoma. The doctors were afraid the boy was still born,Chaney took his Axe and rushed Lon Jr to the lake,cut a hole in the winter ice and dunked him under. Cleva was 17 years old when Lon Jr was born.Chaney and his first wife Cleva had trouble finding work and were forced to travel the country with various theater groups searching for a job. Lonchaney.com's bio claims Lon Jr would steal sandwiches and money when the audience was not looking.The whole plot about Chaney having conflicts with his wife is silly. Lon Jr never left and he very much loved his father and would tour with him. Chaney had work but it was not until he starred in the Hunchback of Notre Dame did he gain the success he had. The make-up job was fantastic for the time and the uninformed movie goers thought that was Chaney's actual face. Also the movie glamorized his time at Universal,yes his two major films were produced there but most of his films were made for MGM. In fact Universal fired Chaney because he thought he deserved more money.The ending is the part that gets me the most. Yes Chaney was sick but he died in his sleep.He never would let his illness get to him,in fact he was planning on making a huge come back and moving into the talkies.Chaney Sr hated the idea of Lon Jr becoming an actor. He thought he needed a man's job and forced him to seek various odd jobs. Chaney Jr became an actor because he had a family to feed and he thought he could get work because he was Lon's son.The life of a legend is poked and pulled at until it was turned into this. The Soundtrack is horrible as well,the music that plays when Chaney's mute parents are on screen is subtle racism to the deaf in my book. The movie is pathetic positively pathetic. Jim Cagney is an outstanding actor,but he should have never been offered this role. Chaney died at age 47,Cagney was all ready 57 years old when he began making the film.If you do the math the movie begins in 1905 when Chaney was 24 years old.We can't expect historical accuracy with every movie but as a fan of Chaney I felt insulted watching this piece of crap.You know Lon Chaney would suffer for his art,we need more people like him and less people who want to milk a story for a dollar
edwagreen What were the of the Motion Picture Academy thinking when James Cagney was not nominated for his outstanding performance as Lon Chaney in 1957's "Man of A Thousand Faces."?Cagney was at his best portraying the masquerade man whose personal life was such a heartbreak. This was certainly an outstanding follow-up after the wonderful "Love Me or Leave Me" two years before.Fresh from her Oscar win for "Written on the Wind," Dorothy Malone pulled off another great performance.Cagney's acting toward his deaf mute parents was a sight to behold. Celia Lovsky, a veteran Hollywood matron, was his loving mother. Her bold eyes spoke of the love that she could not blurt out due to deafness. Always a sympathetic woman, Lovsky was the real life live in girlfriend of actor Peter Lorre.Who can forget Cagney during his terminal cancer scenes? Unbelievable.