Review: Freaks (1932)

Freaks, directed by Tod Browning, is a complicated film.  Filmed in the pre-code era, it offered a compassionate look at those with disabilities and was vilified for it.  It is a tale of revenge that gets lumped into the horror category, mostly for the wrong reasons, but does feature moments of horror within it.  Originally 90 minutes long, producer Irving Thalberg - without letting Browning know - edited the film, removing so much of it that the alternate footage had to be added to give it a theatrical run time of 64 minutes.  The full version is lost.

It's hard to talk about the film on its merits when the version that survived to today is so heavily compromised.  Not only that, but a modern audience would approach it in a much different way than a contemporaneous one - which is the proper way to review it?  I'm going to somewhat split the difference between the two, but I can't say if that is the best method.

The story of Freaks is simple: Hans (Harry Earles), a dwarf circus performer, is smitten with Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) a trapeze performer.  Because of a large inheritance he has received, Cleopatra leads him on for a bit before hatching a plan with her paramour, Hercules (Henry Victor), to marry then poison Hans so that she can get all of his money.  Unfortunately for Cleopatra and Hercules, they are found out and the titular freaks get their revenge.

The movie is one of contrasts: An early scene shows two men talking about what basically amounts to eugenics before coming across the sideshow performers and being horrified by them - this providing a counterpoint to the many familial scenes within the circus performer community, with both the 'freaks' and several of the 'normal' performers living amongst one another. Phroso and Venus (Wallace Ford and Leila Hyams) a clown and a seal trainer, consider many of these performers to be their friends, and Venus is attacked by Hercules because she knows too much about their plot.

There is also the infamous 'One of Us' scene where, after marrying Hans, Cleopatra is offended to be welcomed by the freaks and called one of them.  Whereas the 'freaks' are happy to welcome another into their group, the beautiful (and somewhat Aryan) Cleopatra - despite performing in the same circus - considers herself better than this other group.  Director Browning, who himself had traveled with a circus, likely didn't do this by accident.

The movie is not without problems, despite being in many ways well ahead of its time.  The revenge against Cleopatra and Hercules is still portrayed as horrifying because of who is pursuing them more than a proper comeuppance for their crimes, and Frieda, Hans's love interest, is played by Daisy Earles, the sister of harry Earles.  While the former is likely a combination of the heavy edits to the movie and the time period in which it was made, the latter really feels like it could have been avoided with additional casting.

Still, the movie is an interesting time capsule into the how filmmakers in the past worked to be subversive, and two years later the Hays Code would have made the making of this film all but impossible, so it should be treasured for what it did accomplish moreso than criticized for what it did not.

Would I recommend this movie?  It's short, so even if someone didn't enjoy it, it isn't asking too much of their time to check it out, so I'd say yes for that reason alone.  Film buffs should definitely watch it though.

8 out of 10