The Man Who Laughs

Conrad Veidt's most extraordinary physical performance — and one of the most visually striking films of Universal's silent horror era. Based on Victor Hugo's novel, Veidt plays Gwynplaine, a nobleman's son whose face was carved into a permanent, hideous grin by order of a cruel king. Raised by a traveling showman and in love with a blind girl who has never seen his disfigurement, Gwynplaine becomes a sideshow sensation — "The Man Who Laughs" — whose frozen smile hides an ocean of sorrow. Veidt's performance, achieved through an agonizing prosthetic device that held his mouth in a rictus grin, is both heartbreaking and terrifying, and the character's visual design directly inspired the creation of Batman's Joker. Director Paul Leni fills every frame with Expressionist grandeur and emotional intensity. A gothic masterpiece of beauty and cruelty.