Anybody who complained that Lon Chaney was too monotonously jolly in the earlier 'Nomads of the North' (1920) can seek refuge in this astonishing old school melodrama in which he starts out playing a superficially similar character of very similar appearance; but which then proceeds to cram several eventful years sometimes reminiscent of 'Silas Marner' into just 60 minutes (did the film really race through its incredible plot so quickly when it first opened?) and Chaney hurtles from one emotion to another from vengeful rage to tenderness.
I don't know how much of the plot stands up to more measured consideration - and the way some of the characters evolved and their interrelationships shifted didn't even convince me at the time - but, like Chaney's hammy but compelling performance as Gaspard the Good, sweeps you along and keeps your attention right up to the equally unconvincing but satisfying conclusion.
I don't know how much of the plot stands up to more measured consideration - and the way some of the characters evolved and their interrelationships shifted didn't even convince me at the time - but, like Chaney's hammy but compelling performance as Gaspard the Good, sweeps you along and keeps your attention right up to the equally unconvincing but satisfying conclusion.