The Penalty
The Penalty

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- 74/100 based on 2,533 votes

Blizzard, deranged from a childhood operation in which both his legs were perhaps needlessly amputated after an accident, becomes a vicious criminal, and eventually mob leader of the San Francisco underworld. Out for revenge against the surgeon who performed his operation, he undergoes brain surgery which has a chance of altering his anti-social behavior.... (Full plot summary below)

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Actors in The Penalty:

Lon Chaney
Charles Clary
Doris Pawn
James Pier Mason
Milton Ross
Ethel Grey Terry

Full Plot Details

Blizzard, deranged from a childhood operation in which both his legs were perhaps needlessly amputated after an accident, becomes a vicious criminal, and eventually mob leader of the San Francisco underworld. Out for revenge against the surgeon who performed his operation, he undergoes brain surgery which has a chance of altering his anti-social behavior.

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Movie Reviews

Video-Reviewmaster.com - 9/10 by Steve CrumFamous scene of Chaney straightening twisted legs is real plus.
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) - 8/10 by John BeifussDemonstrates the wonder and value of pre-digital moviemmaking: For all intents and purposes, Chaney *is* a legless man in 'The Penalty,' and the film is a documentary record of this impersonation.
Blunt Review - 6/10 by Emily BluntThe Penalty is by far one of the greatest unsung achievements of über-legend Lon Chaney
User Review - 10/10 by Jason MA wonderful criminal tragedy starring the great Lon Chaney.
User Review - 10/10 by Kevin RFate chained me to evil and for that I must pay the Penalty
User Review - 10/10 by Van RLon Chaney?s plays a Barbary Coast criminal mastermind during the early 1900s in director Wallace Worsley?s ?The Penalty,? an outstanding crime thriller that wraps up its 93 minutes with a surprise ending. The premise alone makes this silent epic worth watching. Moreover, Chaney contrived a leather contraption that allowed him impersonate his handicapped villain without relying on hokey camera angles or trick photography. At the turn of the century, a boy in his early teens has a tragic traffic accident and an inexperienced surgeon; Dr. Ferris (Charles Clary of ?A Tale of Two Cities?) makes the wrong decision and amputates both of the boy?s legs from the knees down. An older physician informs the young doctor that amputation was not necessary. Initially, the doctors thought that they could not be overheard, but the child is able to hear them and he tells his parents that the doctors are lying about his medical condition. ?Dangerous Days? scenarist Charles Kenyon has adapted Gouverneur Morris? 1920 novel and altered the upbeat, optimistic, happy ending. The title ?The Penalty? here refers to the debt that the protagonist must pay for being such a heinous individual. Kenyon, Worsley, and Chaney make sure that Blizzard behaves like a cruel man. At one point, he roughs up one of his female employees when he finds her ability to make a hat less than satisfactory and reprimands her in front of her peers. Incredibly, though we are never shown how he acquired his power, the boy grows up to become an evil mastermind named ?Blizzard? and he rules the Barbary Coast underworld. The Federal Police want to bust him, but Blizzard is far too sagacious for them. Eventually, the police send in an undercover operative, Rose (Ethel Grey Terry of ?Wild Bill Hickok?), to work her way into Blizzard?s good graces. The chief of the Federal Police suspects that Blizzard is up to no good, but nobody has been able to gather enough evidence against him to destroy his organization. One way that Blizzard?s kept women can improve their chances of survival is to have an ear for music. When the crippled crime boss comes home, he prefers to sit at his piano and make music. Since he lacks the feet to push the pedals, he relies upon his kept women. Rose turns out to be the best kept woman that Blizzard has ever had and she is allowed to come and go as she pleases. Eventually, Rose discovers a concealed compartment in the fireplace. She notices a loose brick in the section of bricks in front of the fireplace and finds a trip wire in the niche. When she pulls the wire, the entire interior part of the fireplace ascends to reveal a vertical passage. A person can climb down a pair of straps connected by buckles to an underground passage that is wired for lighting and contains a surgeon?s operating suite. Meanwhile, the evil Blizzard is planning to repay the surgeon for his inexcusable act of medical malpractice for removing his legs. The surgeon?s adult daughter, Barbara Ferris (Claire Adams of ?The Big Parade?) is trying to become an artist, but her boyfriend, Ferris's assistant Dr. Allen (Kenneth Harlan of ?Dick Tracy vs. Crime Inc.?) has a low opinion of her aspirations. She wants to try her hand at one last project before she capitulates to her fiancé?s demands. Allen believes that "true women need love, a home, and children." Barbara prints a newspaper advertisement soliciting a model for her sculpture of Satan after the fall and Blizzard instructs his henchmen to turn away all comers. When he shows, Blizzard makes a believer out of the daughter and she begins to model his likeness in clay. While all this is going on, Blizzard has also orchestrated an audacious plan to loot the city of San Francisco by creating a riot in the suburbs that will draw the authorities away from the city so Blizzard?s minions can do their bidding. Blizzard?s other scheme?not quite as audacious, but just as malignant is to fool the old surgeon into cutting off the legs of his daughter?s fiance and grafting his legs onto Blizzard?s stumps. ?The Penalty? qualified as Lon Chaney?s first major motion picture and a harbinger of pictures to come. This black & white silent opus is quite hypnotic, especially when Chaney is on screen hobbling around on crutches and leather knee guards.
User Review - 10/10 by Jacob LThis movie is an absolute privilege to watch, not only because its one of the few Lon Chaney films to survive but also one of his greatest performances. In this film, he plays the crime lord Blizzard a double amputee out for revenge after his legs are accidently cut off as a boy during a botched operation. Chaney actually tied his legs behind him and walked on his knees in these buckets with leather straps so that he would look the part and wouldn't have to rely on trick angles. I mean he just gives each performance his absolute effort and it really shows in this picture. don't be turned away by it being a silent film as it's up to par and maybe even better than sound movies today. 5/5
User Review - 10/10 by Aaron WAnother amazing Lon Chaney classic, with Chaney taking the role as possibly one of the coolest villains in film history, the no-legged mob boss, nicknamed Blizzard, seeking revenge for the unnecessary amputation of his legs after a childhood car accident. He finds the doctor responsible and starts modeling for his amateur sculptor daughter's masterpiece, a bust of Satan after the fall. While he works his way closer to the daughter, he also puts into motion his elaborate plan to take over the city. Chaney was a master of his craft and this is probably my third favorite of his films that I've seen. The only problem I had with this one was the godawful score on the Kino disc. I won't deduct any points, though portions of it were rather distracting and didn't really fit the film at all.
User Review - 8/10 by Nicola JOh yes, The Penalty was worth waiting for. It's an underappreciated Lon Chaney melodrama, and what a melodrama it is! Some of the plot elements, from the IMDB keywords page: Psychological Abuse, Sewing Machine, Fireplace, Trapdoor, Riot, Telephone Operator, Gangster, Revenge, Underworld, Amputee, Traffic Accident, Thief, Surgeon, Show Girl, Secret Passage, Sculpture, Satan, San Francisco California, Murder, Marriage Proposal, Leg, Knifing, Hat, Hairpin, Gunfire, Gang, Father Daughter Relationship, Explosion, Drunkenness, Drug, Disabled Person, Brain Surgery, Barbary Coast What more do you need to know? Well, for starters, it's fascinating when viewed through a crip-lit lens. Chaney's a revenge-addled double-amputee crime boss named Blizzard, and his disability is handled with all the sensitivity that 1920 melodrama could muster. "We should chloroform that old cripple and be done with him", says San Francisco's police chief at one point. Definitely worth seeing! It's slow enough paced that you can watch it at double speed and not miss any interstitials if you want.
User Review - 8/10 by Harri KRobert De Niro ha tratado de ser Lon Chaney, y debe mirar esta pelicula con una sana envidia. Uno de los más horrorosos villanos caracterizados a lo largo de la historia de la actuación, es este protagonizado por el Hombre de las Mil Caras. Un niño es mutilado, y ya mayor planea venganza. Es increible el modo en que Chaney se maneja como si no tuviera las piernas. ¿Que hubiera pasado si Chaney no moria en el año 30?? Ah seguramente Cagney y Karloff y Edward Robinson y George Raft y Bela Lugosi y el propio Lon Chaney Jr no hubieran sido lo que fueron. Uno de los mejores actores actores que se ha visto, Lon Chaney.

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