Cinema Cram: Film 14: Freaks (1932)

How this works

We will release a movie every ten days beginning with Birth of a Nation (1915) and then jumping to the 1920's where we will release one new movie for each year within the decade. Our goal is to work our way from the 20's to the present while gaining insight into the evolution of film. All the movies we choose will be available through Netflix. The basic idea is to build a community of like-minded film fans and connect them with a forum for discussion. Without futher ado...it's time to Cinema Cram!

5/30/10

Film 14: Freaks (1932)

Netflix Summary: Director Tod Browning cast authentic circus folk, not actors, in this Greek tragedy about sideshow "freaks." Normal-sized trapeze artist Cleopatra marries diminutive Hans with plans to poison him, take his inheritance and marry the brute Hercules. When the freaks uncover Cleopatra's scheme and Hercules forces himself on an innocent girl, they gang up on the two miscreants.

From Wikipedia: Freaks began filming in October 1931 and was completed in December. Following disastrous test screenings in January 1932 (one woman threatened to sue MGM, claiming the film had caused her to suffer a miscarriage), the studio cut the picture down from its original 90-minute running time to just over an hour. Much of the sequence of the freaks attacking Cleopatra as she lay under a tree was removed, as well as a gruesome sequence showing Hercules being castrated, a number of comedy sequences, and most of the film's original epilogue. A new prologue featuring a carnival barker was added, as was the new epilogue featuring the reconciliation of the tiny lovers. This shortened version - now only 64 minutes long - had its premiere at the Fox Criterion in Los Angeles on February 20, 1932.