Pros: Sympathetic view towards the "freaks," Melodramatic structure hold interest, some nice scenes that give insights into the characters, Classic ending in the rainstorm
Cons: Does seem dated, predictable, not for all--some may be too squeamish to accept the misshapen humanity depicted
“The revulsion with which we view the abnormal, the malformed and the mutilated is the result of long conditioning by our forefathers.”
While Tod Browning will probably be most remembered for his classic version of Dracula with Bela Lugosi, he was born to make the 1932 cult classic Freaks. In fact, no other director could have handled this film with the same sensitivities.
Browning knew the territory well, as he had come to Hollywood as an actor after working the circus and vaudeville circuits. Thus, he had first hand relationships with the “freaks” that continue to draw morbid curiosity seekers, and knew that they have the same thoughts and emotional makeup as “normal” people, and was familiar with their code of ethics.
If Browning’s films remind you of D.W. Griffith’s style, this is logical. He worked with Griffith as both an actor and assistant director on Intolerance. Griffin then arranged for Browning to direct at the Fine Arts Company, before Browning moved on to work on some melodramas with Universal Studios. But Browning made his biggest impact with his MGM horror films with several silent films starring Lon Chaney, before moving to sound films.
Before his time?
Browning combines both melodrama and horror in Freaks. He begins the 64-minute film with a 2-minute essay that explains the sociology of mutants 68 years before the X-men film. It’s a sermon that will play against any prejudices you may feel towards people who are the products of an abnormal birth or mutilation. Browning notes that in ancient times these people were considered “an omen of ill luck or representative of evil.” He then sets up the premise of the film by making it plain that these unfortunate souls who have been forced into an unnatural life have a code of ethics for protection against the normal people. A crime committed against any of them will be considered a crime against all of them!
Right away, you should realize that Browning is completely sympathetic towards the “freaks” in his film. He just beat you over the head with the idea with the opening sermon, and as dated as the film now seems to be, it’s noteworthy because of Browning’s sensitive treatment towards the malformed. This is 1932, so you realize that there are no CGI enhancements. Browning’s characters are the real deal here. While the Siamese twins are obviously fake, the other characters are real life midgets, dwarves, bearded ladies, hermaphrodites, pinheads, or people without arms or legs. There’s even one man without arms and legs, who ambulates like a snake.
While some people who mindlessly check out this cult classic for the freak show aspects, the same as the morbid gawkers at carnival shows, Browning’s film really works to get the audience to view things from the freaks’ perspective. If you find yourself repulsed by their eventual revenge, go re-read the prolog again.
Melodrama
Before commencing with the romantic melodrama, we begin with a carnival barker introducing a group of curious customers to a once beautiful woman who has now taken a hideous and shocking form. Sure enough, we get the expected SCREAM!
No camera shot of the woman -– you have to wait for that. So now we get the background story. Flashback to a couple of likeable German midgets named Hans and Frieda (brother and sister Harry and Daisy Earles, who would both later appear as munchkins in The Wizard of Oz). They seem suited for each other, but Hans has designs on the beautiful trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova).
Anyone rooting for miss beautiful trapeze artist to come out on top has to be a doofus brain. While she pretends to be charming and sweet to Hans, she is one manipulating louse who plans with her boyfriend Hercules (Henry Victor) to marry Hans, steal his fortune, and kill him off with poison. It won’t take long to finish off a little guy like him, right?
So, will Hans come to his senses and marry Frieda? Or will he fall for Cleopatra’s trap? The story isn’t that difficult to figure out, as Browning retains its pure melodramatic structure. The fun part comes in the latter stages to see how he pulls it off.
The horror
The best scenes involve the horror, which is the reason to stay with the film through the rather dry opening and developing portions. We already expect Cleopatra’s downfall, and this begins with a memorable wedding banquet scene where Cleopatra sneaks a dram of poison to Hans and openly kisses her real boyfriend in front of her new miniature hubby.
The freaks all gather around the table and begin chanting “Gooble, gobble, We accept her, we accept her, One of us, one of us” as a happy dwarf passes around a large wine goblet for a communal toast only to be rebuffed by Cleopatra. She seals her fate by recoiling in disgust, pouring the contents over the dwarf’s head, mocking their acceptance ceremony, and ordering them to leave.
This raises suspicions, so Cleopatra will now be watched closely by the tightknit group of freaks, who witness her attempts to poison Hans.
The final scenes highlight Freaks and are often excerpted when classic horror films are cited. These are the famous rainstorm scenes with the various freaks crawling underneath the wagons in the mud with knives to pursue Hercules and Cleopatra. Browning effectively sets up the atmosphere, but omits the bloody details, so your imagination can work out the actual horror.
We know that it’s horrible from seeing what has happened to Cleopatra. I won’t describe that here, but anyone who watches Freaks will naturally be curious about what makes the carnival spectators scream.
Finale
There’s actually more to Freaks than the rainy mud and gore scenes where a legion of society’s misunderstood “misfits” extracts its revenge. There are numerous scenes that should gain empathy for the freaks –- simple scenes that show the “snakeman” light his cigarette on his own, or show an armless woman drink from a wine glass, or portray the celebration accompanying the birth of a baby girl to the bearded woman.
Remarkably, Freaks lasts only 64 minutes but has scenes that will remain with you for a lifetime. That’s a lot more than most of the blockbusters of the year 2000 will do for you. I still don’t care about any of the under developed cardboard-style film characters in The Perfect Storm, but feel like I know Hans and Frieda quite well from a few minutes of screen time. I’ve got to give Browning’s morality play some credit for that.
Browning’s melodrama is actually quite advanced for its time, as audiences of the 1930’s weren’t ready for it. They responded about as well as people respond to geeks and freaks in real life, but sensitivities of the 1960’s cultivated greater appreciation for the oddballs of society and the film began to gain a cult status. Many of us still have subtle prejudices to overcome, but if you show Freaks to any special education classes, I guarantee that these students will know who to root for.
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