Do you want to see ‘The Man Who Laughs’?

Add to Netflix

The Man Who Laughs (1927)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

100

Average Rating: 8/10
Reviews Counted: 6
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 0

No consensus yet.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 1
Fresh: 1 | Rotten: 0

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 1,900

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

Released with sound effects and a music score that included the song "When Love Comes Smiling" by Walter Hirsch, Lew Pollack and Erno Rapee, Paul Leni's near masterpiece remains one of the silent era's last great romantic melodramas. Based on Victor Hugo's 1869 novel L'Homme qui Rit, The Man Who Laughs starred German import Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine, a carnival freak doomed to live life wearing a perpetual grin carved on his face by Dr Hardquannone (George Siegman because his father, Lord

Unrated, 1 hr. 50 min.

Drama, Horror, Classics

Directed By: Paul Leni

Written By: J. Grubb Alexander

In Theaters: Nov 4, 1928 Wide

On DVD: Sep 30, 2003

Cast

Conrad Veidt
Gwynplaine
Mary Philbin
Dea
Olga Baclanova
Duchess Josiana
Josephine Crowell
Queen Anne
George Siegmann
Dr. Hardqucinnone
Brandon Hurst
Barkilphedro the Jester
Sam De Grasse
James II
Stuart Holmes
Lord Dirry-Noir
Cesare Gravina
Ursus
Nick De Ruiz
Wapentake
Edgar Norton
Lord High Chancellor
Torben Meyer
The Spy
Julius Molnar Jr.
Gwynplaine as a Child
Carmen Costello
Dea's "Mother"
Charles Puffy
Innkeeper
Frank Puglia
Clown
Lon Poff
Jack Goodrich
Clown
Allan Cavan

Critic Reviews for The Man Who Laughs

All Critics (11) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (0) | DVD (5)

One of the final treasures of German silent Expressionism.

April 9, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times

| Comment

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Top Critic

Poised between the great German horror that preceded it and the great Universal horror that followed, it is, for genre fans, an inviting and necessary stop.

February 7, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

| Comment

Jake Euker

Filmcritic.com

While this is a flawed film, it boasts some of the most impressive acting of the silent era. It certainly has sharpened my interest in Veidt.

November 6, 2003 Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews

| Comment

Mark R. Leeper

rec.arts.movies.reviews

An expressionistic masterpiece of spooky, fairy tale Poe-meets-Perrault imagery...

October 22, 2003 Comment

John Beifuss

Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

The film's fascination with bric-a-brac and its tendency towards spare, minimalist compositions is evidence of a stylistic schism.

September 29, 2003 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

Batman and the Joker only wished for this kind of psychological complexity.

September 29, 2003 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

| Comment

Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Man Who Laughs

View All

A great classic movie, I really liked it, it's beautiful. I can tell that many films have been inspired by this story, and it's great to finally see the inspiration. I highly recommend seeing this movie.

January 6, 2011