Freaks (1932)

Directed by Tod Browning. Starring Olga Baclanova, Wallace Ford, Daisy Earles, Harry Earles, Leila Hyams, Rosco Ates, Henry Victor, Rose Dione, Josephine Joseph, Angelo Rossitto, Johnny Eck, Daisy & Violet Hilton.

Browning’s humane portrait of the lives of carnival sideshow performers is still one-of-a-kind, sensitive and unsettling and nearly impossible to forget. Gold-digging trapeze artist Cleopatra (Baclanova) conspires to marry tragically lovestruck dwarf Hans (Harry Earles) and bump him off for his inheritance; she’s initially welcomed into the ranks of his fellow performers—played by real people with disabilities (conjoined twins, armless women, microcephalics, etc.)—but that kindness vanishes once they discover her devious plot. Could have easily become exploitative if not for its compassion and even-handed treatment (the camera never seeks cheap shock effect from gazing upon the so-called “freaks”), but more than enough critics thought otherwise at the time of the film’s release—it was even banned in several US locations—and Browning’s career never fully recovered. The film’s transition to full-blown horror in the final reel is earned, and still has the capacity to startle with its lingering images. Cut by almost a half-hour after a disastrous test screening; the footage is now lost, likely destroyed.

88/100