IMDb RATING
7.2/10
2.2K
YOUR RATING
A sideshow ventriloquist, a midget, and a strongman form a conspiracy known as "The Unholy Three" and commit a series of robberies.A sideshow ventriloquist, a midget, and a strongman form a conspiracy known as "The Unholy Three" and commit a series of robberies.A sideshow ventriloquist, a midget, and a strongman form a conspiracy known as "The Unholy Three" and commit a series of robberies.
- Awards
- 3 wins
William Humphrey
- Attorney for the Defense
- (as William Humphreys)
E. Alyn Warren
- Prosecuting Attorney
- (as A.E. Warren)
Margie Angus
- Twin
- (uncredited)
Mary Angus
- Twin
- (uncredited)
Violet N. Cane
- Arlington Daughter in Photo
- (uncredited)
Walter P. Cole
- Human Skeleton
- (uncredited)
D'Arcy Corrigan
- Court Jury Member
- (uncredited)
Carrie Daumery
- Pet Shop Customer
- (uncredited)
Delno Fritz
- Sword Swallower
- (uncredited)
Alice Julian
- Fat Lady
- (uncredited)
Peter Kortes
- Sword Swallower
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring the scene where Echo and company are fleeing the pet store, Echo decides to take his pet ape with them. The "ape" was actually a three-foot-tall chimp who was made to appear gigantic with camera trickery, a specially built smaller-scale set to make it look bigger, and perspective shots. When Echo removes the ape from his cage, the shot shows Echo (with his back turned to the camera) unlocking the cage and walking the ape to the truck. The ape appears to be roughly the same size as Echo. This effect was achieved by having dwarf actor Harry Earles (who played "Tweedledee" in the film) play Echo for these brief shots, and then cutting to the normal-sized Lon Chaney, making it seem as though the ape is gigantic.
- GoofsFor a couple of shots when Echo and Tweedledee are at Mr. Arlington's house, (Harry Earles) accidentally left his wedding ring on his finger.
- Quotes
Professor Echo, the ventriloquist, aka Mrs. 'Granny' O'Grady: [to the sideshow crowd] That's all there is to life, friends - a little laughter... a little tear...
- Alternate versionsTurner Classic Movies showed an 86-minute version with a music and sound effects that was recorded in the 1970s by MGM from a stock music library for syndication. The tints for this edition are incorrect.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces (2000)
Featured review
For criminal purposes
Lon Chaney known as the man of a thousand faces usually reserved those faces for some grotesque character or monster to which he brought his considerable acting talents to create sympathy. The Unholy Three is an unusual film because he's quite an ordinary man here, but he effects the disguise of an old woman for criminal purposes.
Due to some light fingered activity at a carnival he was employed at Chaney, strong man Victor McLaglen, and midget Harry Earles find themselves unemployed. Chaney who is a ventriloquist decides that the three with their unique physical characteristics and talents can be used to create a nice criminal gang. Chaney in fact goes incognito in the guise of an old woman and Earles plays her grand baby. Personally I think he was way too big to be a toddler, but that's a little dramatic license that director Todd Browning was taking.
Chaney also buys a pet shop and Mae Busch who was a carnival waif goes and lives with them. They also employ Matt Moore as a salesman who is totally clueless about Chaney's and Earles's real identity and what they really do.
Things go wrong and a murder is committed on a job Chaney could not go along on. That sets the rest of the story in motion.
Of course Chaney's guise as an old woman is an astounding success as were all the other characters he created. Yet all the makeup and special effects would be for naught had he not had the acting chops to make it real.
Saying that and saying that because Chaney's virtuosity dominates the film. I thought the ending was truly a cop out. It dulls the impact of Chaney's artistry and it was quite a let down in a film I was ready to rate a notch or two higher.
Still his legion of fans will be well satisfied with this silent version of The Unholy Three remade by MGM for sound, Chaney's one and only sound feature.
Due to some light fingered activity at a carnival he was employed at Chaney, strong man Victor McLaglen, and midget Harry Earles find themselves unemployed. Chaney who is a ventriloquist decides that the three with their unique physical characteristics and talents can be used to create a nice criminal gang. Chaney in fact goes incognito in the guise of an old woman and Earles plays her grand baby. Personally I think he was way too big to be a toddler, but that's a little dramatic license that director Todd Browning was taking.
Chaney also buys a pet shop and Mae Busch who was a carnival waif goes and lives with them. They also employ Matt Moore as a salesman who is totally clueless about Chaney's and Earles's real identity and what they really do.
Things go wrong and a murder is committed on a job Chaney could not go along on. That sets the rest of the story in motion.
Of course Chaney's guise as an old woman is an astounding success as were all the other characters he created. Yet all the makeup and special effects would be for naught had he not had the acting chops to make it real.
Saying that and saying that because Chaney's virtuosity dominates the film. I thought the ending was truly a cop out. It dulls the impact of Chaney's artistry and it was quite a let down in a film I was ready to rate a notch or two higher.
Still his legion of fans will be well satisfied with this silent version of The Unholy Three remade by MGM for sound, Chaney's one and only sound feature.
helpful•40
- bkoganbing
- Dec 16, 2013
- How long is The Unholy Three?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El trío fantástico
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $103,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 26 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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