In this article we will talk about the film "Freaks" (1932). The actors who took part in the work on the picture will be described later. This is a classic American feature film directed by Tod Browning. The genre of the picture can be defined as a drama that contains elements of a horror film. Free adaptation of Spurs by Todd Robbins.
History
First we’ll tell you what the film “Freaks” is about. Actors will be named in the following sections of this material. The plot tells of a circus wandering troupe, where, along with ordinary actors, special people perform with extreme deviations in physical development.
The beautiful gymnast Cleopatra learns that the midget Hans, admired by her beauty, inherited the state. She pretends to have fallen in love with the hero, after which she forces him to leave the dwarf Frida, with whom they engaged. Hans and Cleopatra are getting married. Guests at the celebration are all the freaks of the troupe.
Also there is a strongman Hercules - Cleopatra's lover. Freaks want to conduct a ritual to accept the girl in "his circle." However, the intoxicated beauty, and with her Hercules, begin to mock them. Dwarfs realize that Cleopatra is not at all as generous as she looks. They begin to follow her.
In parallel, the story of the dancer Venus and the clown Froso is shown. This girl was recently abandoned by Hercules. Venus and Froso are a pair of lonely people in whom kindness engenders mutual affection. They live next to the circus freaks, but belong to these people with equal humanity. At the same time, other circus perpetually humiliate the freaks.
Cleopatra after the wedding tries to poison Hans, using a slow-acting poison. The hero pretends to be seriously ill, but the freaks are aware of his wife's plan and are waiting for the moment most suitable for revenge. Hercules in the back is stabbed and surrounded. His further fate is unknown. In the original version of the work, he is castrated.
During the next move, Cleopatra’s van overturns. Freaks during a thunderstorm overtake a girl in the forest. It is not known what exactly they do with her, but a few years later a roving booth with a completely different Cleopatra is shown. This is a speechless, insane and ugly female duck. In the finale, Venus and Froso help Hans and Frida make peace. The girl still loves him.
Main roles
Cleopatra and Hercules are the main characters in the film "Freaks." Actors
Olga Baklanova and Henry Victor embodied these images on the screen. Wallace Ford played Froso.
Roscoe Aates, Leila Hiams, Harry and Daisy Earls
Actors of the film "Freaks" (1932) Harry and Daisy Earles embodied the images of Hans and Frida. Leyla Hiams played Venus. Roscoe Aits embodied the image of a character with a similar name.
Second plan
Siamese twins also appear in the plot of the film "Freaks." Actors Violet and Daisy Hilton embodied these images. Rose Dion appeared on the crane as Madame Tetralini. Josephine Joseph embodied the image of hermaphrodite in the film "Freaks."
Actors Schlitzi and Prince Randian played themselves. Olga Roderick embodied the image of a bearded woman. Johnny Ek played a man without a lower torso. Frances O'Connor played a woman without hands.
MGM, at the insistence of Browning in the twenties, acquired the rights to the work of Robbins.
Interesting Facts
Now we give some interesting information about the film "Freaks." The actors who took part in this picture were named above.
In 1932, Irving Talberg offered Browning a production with John Barrymore called Arsen Lupine. The latter refuses, preferring to work on the "Freaks". At his request, screenwriters Willis Goldback and Elliott Clawson were involved in the project. Charles MacArthur, Al Bowsberg, Edgar Allan Wolfe and Leon Gordon also contributed to the script.
The plot was formed in five months. From the original work in the script, perhaps, there was only the marriage of a midget with an ordinary woman and a wedding feast of heroes.
It was planned to participate in the film by Gene Harlow, Mirna Loy and Victor Maclagen. However, Talberg decided not to use celebrities of the first magnitude.
When shooting the tape in many ways, Tod Browning was guided by his own experience. At the age of 16, this man ran away from home and worked for a long time as part of a traveling circus.
The film was shot the most significant group of actors with physical disabilities in the entire history of the movie. Tod Browning at the casting invited the majority of freaks from all the traveling circuses operating in the USA.
It is curious that all the artists in the picture are called by real names. This fact adds a touch of documentary to the film. The exceptions are Daisy and Harry Earls.
Filming continued between October and December 1931. The duration of the picture was 90 minutes. However, test scans were conducted. According to the results, it was decided to reduce the tape to 64 minutes, removing the most shocking scenes.