The Penalty

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Among Lon Chaney's early villainous roles was Blizzard, the criminal mastermind of this melodrama set in San Francisco's Barbary Coast neighborhood. As a young man, Blizzard was the victim of an auto accident, and a quack doctor had mistakenly ordered his legs amputated at the knees. He grows up an embittered, violent man interested only in taking revenge on the rich and powerful, especially the doctor who maimed him and is still practicing. Rose, a secret service agent (Ethel Grey Terry), is dispatched to infiltrate Blizzard's gang, but she falls under his spell and becomes his mistress. Blizzard is himself attracted to a lovely artist who wants to paint his portrait, but she resists his advances. Ultimately, Blizzard's plan to have another man's legs grafted onto his own is thwarted when it's discovered that the long-ago accident had caused a reversible brain injury which turned him to the dark side. Rather than perform the operation on his legs, the doctor repairs Blizzard's brain, and Blizzard awakens to find that he is no longer interested in a life of crime. He marries Rose, but his criminal associates decide he must pay the ultimate penalty for his knowledge of their activities. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Charles Clary - Dr. Ferris
       Lee Phelps - cop
       Edouard Trebaol - Bubble
       Lon Chaney - Blizzard
       Jim Mason - Frisco Pete
       Doris Pawn - Barbary Nell
       Ethel Grey Terry - Rose
       Lionel Barrymore
       Wilson Hummell
       Kenneth Harlan - Wilmot
       Milton Ross - Lichtenstein
       Claire Adams - Barbara
       Montgomery Carlyle

• Director:

  Wallace Worsley, Sr.

• Producer:

  Samuel Goldwyn

• Screenwriter:

  Charles Kenyon, Gouveneur Morris, Philip Lonergan

• Cinematographer:

  Don Short

• Editor:

  Frank E. Hull

REVIEW:

• Not as celebrated as The Hunchback of Notre Dame or The Phantom of the Opera in the Lon Chaney canon, The Penalty is still a melodrama with plenty of action, hokey dramatic ironies, and, of course, a magnetic performance by its lead. To play the double amputee Blizzard, Chaney had his legs folded up behind him and strapped to his body; he proves amazingly agile getting around with a pair of cut-down crutches. The glowering Chaney mug is well used here, too, as his character inspires a young artist looking for a model to resemble the devil himself. The story offers several mismatched pairs: the bad doctor who maims Blizzard and his more idealistic protege; the woman secret service agent gone bad and the idealistic woman artist who resists Blizzard's allure; and the criminal Blizzard and the reformed man, who is ironically cured of his evil ways during an operation that was supposed to restore his legs. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi