The Unknown

"Don't miss this startling spectacle!"

1927 1h 8m EN

🙌

7.5

BANGER

★7.5TMDB · 220

DramaThrillerRomanceHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

On the lam, criminal Alonzo hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder—a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo keeps the arms he really has concealed to hide his identity. Meanwhile, ringmaster's daughter Nanon has a phobia of being touched by men, but is romantically pursued by not only Alonzo but the strongman Malabar. Alonzo's desperation to remain with Nanon will only end in tragedy.

“Don't miss this startling spectacle!”

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Cast

Lon Chaney
Alonzo
Norman Kerry
Malabar
Joan Crawford
Nanon Zanzi
Nick De Ruiz
Antonio Zanzi
John George
Cojo
Frank Lanning
Costra
Tom Amandares
Gypsy Running to Zanzi's Death Scene (uncredited)
Margaret Bert
Fortune Teller (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Tod Browning
Writers: Tod Browning, Waldemar Young, Joseph Farnham
Languages: No Language
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 68-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

99 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Tod Browning, shot by Merritt B. Gerstad. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Harry Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Lon Chaney and Norman Kerry and Joan Crawford carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Don't miss this startling spectacle!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tod Browning directs. Merritt B. Gerstad behind the camera. Harry Reynolds cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 68-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 3.9× over at the box office.
499 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
5Directed by Tod Browning, shot by Merritt B. Gerstad. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Harry Reynolds shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Lon Chaney and Norman Kerry and Joan Crawford carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Don't miss this startling spectacle!".
9IMDB entry: tt0018528 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "circus", "love", "black and white", "knife throwing".

The technical file

Cinematography: Merritt B. Gerstad
Editing: Harry Reynolds
Costume design: Lucia Coulter
Runtime: 68 min · 1h 8m
Status: Released
Budget: $217,000
Box office: $847,000
Return: 390% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Unknown (1927)

Also by

Tod Browning

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-27
★ 7/10
Joan Crawford is the dazzling "Manon", daughter of a circus owner and keenly sought by strongman "Malabar" (Norman Kerry) and the newly arrived arm-less knife thrower "Alonzo" (Lon Chaney). It's the latter man who has a bit of a secret though, and as the story progresses we realise that he's a criminal using a clever (if not desperately plausible) disguise to stay one head ahead of the pursuing police. She, meantime, is fed up being pawed and ogled at by men in general and "Alonzo" - being unable to touch her, plays on that increasing phobia hoping she will choose him. Her father "Zanzi" (Nick De Ruiz) violently comes a cropper suddenly and his daughter sees the crime, not the criminal. Distraught, she turns to "Malabar" whilst "Alonzo" decides that he must now make a pretty significant sacrifice if he is to get the girl and avoid the noose. I did really quite enjoy this. The expressive Chaney is on super form as the menacing knifester and there is plenty of meat on the bones of a plot that creates a few characters about whom you could actually care. The denouement with the strongman and horses is maybe a little strung out, but it's still a fitting end to a love triangle that dwells little on slushy sentiment and more on the nastiness of the scheming antagonist and his sidekick "Cojo" (John George). Crawford certainly comes across as a woman they'd want to fight over, too!
Dr Nostromo2026-03-28
★ 7/10
66/100 A strangler on-the-run takes refuge as an armless man in a circus and falls in love with a performing girl who can't stand being touched. Sounds like the perfect match, doesn't it? This is actually an extremely mature look at unrequited love played out as an examination of irony as the man will do virtually anything, regardless of how extreme, to win her affection only to have each decision make matters worse. Lon Cheney and Joan Crawford (who's so young, you can't even recognize her) do a great job in this tragic love story. Excellent watch. -- DrNostromo.com