MovieChat Forums > The Penalty (1920) Discussion > Chaney and the Leg Harness

Chaney and the Leg Harness


Knowing the pain Chaney went though, and apparently the physical problems he suffered the rest of his life as a result, in order to have his legs tied up at such an extreme angle, made me cringe every time there was a full body shot of him. In some shots it seemed there were other things they could have done without putting him in such an extreme position and get the same effect.

For example any shot where Chaney is just standing and not walking holes could have been cut into the floor or the table he was standing on. I'm assuming shots like when he first walked into the sweatshop were done with him walking on his knees without the harness since the table and the girls blocked the floor anyway. Also in scenes where Chaney is shown walking directly toward the camera there really was no reason to have his legs at such an extreme angle, for example instead instead almost 0 degrees at the knees maybe 45 degrees. His body and coat would have been blocking it anyway.

I just hope they only ha him in the harness descibed when they really needed to and found less painful ways to get shots when there were other options.

Does anyone know for sure?



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Great movie and great performance from Chaney! He was just brilliant!

My thoughts on the leg harness would be this: Chaney must have wanted to do it just the way it was played out and photographed. The great actor certainly had the clout to refuse to be put in that painful restraint, but the man was so devoted to his art that he himself probably designed and rigged the entire apparatus and staged his own "blocking."

Chaney being so athletic and kinetic, he probably would have felt trapped by having his legs down holes in the floor leaving him stuck in a certain position. The man was so dedicated to his craft and to his audience that the thought of taking an easier way out was anathema to him. And yes, I know that he did suffer physical injuries from some of his performances -- something that would be unheard of today because of insurance riders mostly.

He was Zen-like in his ability to rise above the pain, and perhaps he intuitively knew that viewers would be discussing his talents near 100 years later and beyond!

To a new world of gods and monsters!

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From what I understand, Chaney could only be in the harness for about 10 minutes before it really started to hurt. I have a photo on my blogpost:

https://scotvalkyrie.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/mon-mini-review-the-pena lty-1920/

It looks like he literally tied up his legs as tight as they would bend. What a trouper.

Visit http://scotvalkyrie.wordpress.com for more movie snark

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