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Creative, Atmospheric Story With a Fine Performance By Lon Chaney, 27 July 2004
Author:
Snow Leopard from Ohio
Combining a creative, atmospheric story with a fine performance by Lon
Chaney makes "The Penalty" an effective and memorable suspense classic. In
one of his earliest leading roles, Chaney is a complete success, both in
defining an unusual character and in bringing out everything inside the mind
of the sinister "Blizzard". You can already see his determination to make
his character visually convincing and flawless, even at the cost of great
discomfort. Chaney also shows, as he would so many times, his rare skill in
using facial expressions and gestures to show just the right amount of
emotion and intensity.
The story is quite interesting in itself, and though it slightly stretches
plausibility at times, it is by no means predictable. The brief opening
scene of the childhood accident efficiently sets up the background for the
strange world dominated by Chaney's vengeful character when he becomes an
adult. From there, the well-crafted story keeps you interested and keeps
you guessing. The settings are well-chosen, creating an interesting and
appropriate atmosphere, with Blizzard's strange hideout and the sculptress's
cluttered studio both standing in contrast with the respectable-looking Dr.
Ferris and the other characters.
A mere account of the events in the story would not convey the success of
the movie in creating a distinctive world in which the characters come to
life. This is also a case in which a silent film is probably more effective
than a sound film would have been. One of the main flaws in many movies of
this type is the vapid dialogue that dissipates the tension through
unintentional humor. Here, the title cards need only convey some basic
ideas - the rest of it is handled without sound by Chaney, by the rest of
the cast, and by the production crew who put everything together so
well.
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