I thought this was a great movie. Silent movies usually don't grab me but I couldn't stop watching this and had to see it to the end. Anything Lon Chaney does is hard for me to turn off, anyway, but I really thought this was very good.
shareI agree simba. This is a great movie. I rated a 10 not just because I wanted to cancel out some of the ones who gave it a low score but it really deserves to be a ten.
shareI rate the movie an eight and am in the middle of writing a comment for it:
The themes of love, honor, unrequited love and self-sacrifice are well presented. The script, written by Ruth Wightman from a story by Gouverneur Morris, is extraordinarily deft at creating and maintaining suspense. All the details—what we see and don’t see; what we are told about this anarchist group and what we’re left to guess; and the moment when a certain character is at last introduced—are well chosen. The film only loses its footing briefly during the fatuous intertitles near the end (“Love is construction!”).
I agree J. Lon Chaney was so great at emotion. Even today his movies can be enjoyed when one considers the times they were made. He was the victim of unrequited love in nearly all of his movies but he made it work each time and the movies were great.
shareI've just seen Laugh, Clown, Laugh (available on the same DVD set that contains Ace of Hearts) and Chaney's performance is flawless. In Ace of Hearts Chaney, good as he is, hits a few false notes--such as the moment when the girl unexpectedly walks into the room and he expresses "shock" in a phony way. In Laugh he gives a big, beautiful, expressive, heartbreaking performance.
What Chaney films have you seen so far? Besides the two I mentioned, I've seen The Unknown, the recreation of London After Midnight (both available on that DVD set), Oliver Twist, The Light of Faith and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. (I still haven't seen his best-known film, Phantom of the Opera).
... Justin
I agree. This movie kept me at attention for its entire duration. I also enjoyed seeing a literal demonstration of Hitchcock's "bomb-under-the-table" theory of suspense.
What's the Spanish for drunken bum?
I just finished watching the movie for the very first time, and even though I'm not the biggest silent film fan ever, I liked it a lot. I gave it 9 out of 10 stars. The plot was quite interesting and all of the performances just terrific.
Animal crackers in my soup
Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop
I gave this an 8 - I think it's a great movie, although the sudden change of heart seemed a bit hokey to me. Most of the scores are 7s and 8s.
I'm guessing that the TCM DVD has been cleaned up compared to other versions that are available. I have a low priced 3-DVD Cheney set that this is on and was in need of cleaning up for some scratches.
The TCM set is simply terrific, including restoration and stuff, and I'd recommend you to get it as soon as you can, before it gets out of print and then its cost raises even more so! I bought is as a blind purchase a couple of years ago, as I knew Lon Chaney from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Phantom of the Opera only, and now I'm wishing to rewatch all the three movies again!
Animal crackers in my soup
Monkeys and rabbits loop the loop