The Unholy Three (1925)

Here's an early outing for Tod Browning, the director who would later make the controversial horror classic FREAKS. THE UNHOLY THREE, which was remade as a talkie five years later, shares some similarities with Browning's later movie, as it starts off in a familiar carnival sideshow setting. Soon, however, things take a turn in a crime direction as the film's three anti-heroes set up home in a pet shop and use various disguises to commit a string of robberies in the area.This is a lengthy silent outing that hasn't aged well in comparison to some contemporary fare. Aside from one fantastic little moment right at the film's climax – in which a chimpanzee, made huge by camera tricks, runs amok a la MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE – there's no horror to be had and the story is slow-moving beyond belief. It's mainly of interest for the actors, who give great performances even though they can't use their voices.Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, is wonderful as Echo, the criminal mastermind who convinces as a friendly elderly woman; Victor McLaglen provides muscle as a hulking strongman; and, best of all, the diminutive Harry Earles – who returned in a central role in FREAKS – is great as the murderous criminal who disguises himself as a baby! Also on hand is love interest Mae Busch, familiar for her roles in many Laurel and Hardy flicks of the 1930s. The horror of THE UNHOLY THREE is very diluted and often shied away from, with the focus instead on courtroom scenes and, incredibly, dialogue. It even manages to have something of a happy ending, which is a little bizarre. I can't imagine anyone sitting and enjoying this film today, but it is worth a look as an interesting example of early cinema.

Co-produced and directed by Tod Browning, this above average silent crime drama was later remade as a sound picture with two members of the original cast, Lon Chaney and Harry Earles. Based on the novel by Tod Robbins, with scenario by Waldemar Young, Chaney plays Professor Echo, a ventriloquist, who teams with dwarf Earles, dubbed Tweedledee, and strongman Victor McLaglen, who's called Hercules, to scam unawares customers into buying parrots from their pet shop.Initially, all three were in a sideshow during which Echo used Rosie O'Grady (Mae Busch) to pickpocket its customers. After a police raid, Echo convinces Tweedledee and Hercules to join him, forming "The Unholy Three", who along with O'Grady and an innocent, unsuspecting employee Hector MacDonald (Matt Moore) set up shop.Echo uses his gift to make the parrots appear to talk to him, dressed as an old woman and pretending to be O'Grady's 'Granny', in order to fool their customers into paying high prices for the otherwise ordinary birds. Echo is therefore in charge of the trio though Tweedledee, who pretends to be an infant around others, later connives with the dimwitted Hercules to exclude Echo from a jewelry robbery on Christmas Eve, during which they kill Mr. Arlington (Charles Wellesley, uncredited), who'd been an unsatisfied parrot customer.The three then decide to pin the murder on their ignorant employee MacDonald, with whom Rosie had fallen in love, much to the dismay of Echo who'd wanted her for himself. However, the trio's mistrust of one another and a personal plea from Rosie, who'd been taken against her will to their mountain hideout, to Echo eventually unravels things. A pet shop gorilla figures in the outcome. The film effectively ends with MacDonald's trial, during which Echo uses his gift to satisfy an agreement with Rosie.Matthew Betz, who plays the detective, Edward Connelly, who plays the judge, William Humphrey, who plays MacDonald's defense attorney, and E. Alyn Warren, who plays the prosecuting attorney, also appear.

"The Unholy Three" is not a Lon Chaney horror film but rather an interesting crime caper drama.We meet the main characters in a seedy side show. First is Echo the ventriloquist (Chaney) his "girl friend" and pick pocket artist Rosie O'Grady (Mae Busch), strongman Hercules (Victor McLaglan) and baby faced midget Tweedledee (Harry Earles). Echo, fed up with the carnival life devises a plan whereby he, Hercules and Tweedldee would become the Unholy Three and commit a series of robberies. Echo disguises himself as "Grandma" Moses and the midget as her baby grand daughter. They hire wimpish Hector McDonald (Matt Moore) who is unaware of the goings on, to run the store.The cover if you will, is a bird shop (really?) where Echo uses his ventriloquist skills to convince rich customers to buy what they think is a talking parrot. Later when the customer discovers that the bird cannot talk they call "Grandma" Moses who goes to their home to case the place for a robbery. Hector develops a crush on Rosie and she at first doesn't reciprocate. The robberies are going well for the group until one night when Rosie shows interest in Hector. The three are about to embark on another robbery when Echo showing his jealousy, stays behind to spoil Rosie's date. Hercules and the midget proceed on their own but in their haste murder the victim Mr. Arlington (Charles Wellesley). Echo is furious but goes along with the plan of pinning the crime on the hapless Hector.The trio and Rosie flee to an isolated cabin as Hector is arrested for the murder. Then it gets interesting.Lon Chaney as usual disappears into his character(s). His depiction of the aged grandmother is another of his great characterizations. He literally becomes a convincing old lady. His Echo displays a wide range of emotions through Chaney's remarkable pantomime talents: dominance, fear, hate, kindness, cruelty etc. The romance between Rosie and Hector is a little hard to believe given her background. Hector does mention at one point though, that he too has a past but does not elaborate.Given that Echo saves Hector, one has to wonder why he was not charged with the robberies but seems to get off scott free. Does Chaney get the girl in the end, what do you think?Remade as a sound feature in 1930.

This was definitely a career highlight for Lon Chaney. It showed why he was a master of disguise and also why he was so beloved by the movie going public - no matter how bad the character was, he always kept a little humanity in his heart. With direction by Todd Browning and based on a novel by Tod Robbins (his story "Spurs" was turned into the film "Freaks"), "The Unholy Three" was an evocative and macabre thriller.Professor Echo (Lon Chaney) is a circus ventriloquist, who is in league with strongman Hercules (Victor McLaglen) and an evil midget Tweedledee(a sensational Harry Earles). They call themselves "The Unholy Three" and together with Rosie (Mae Busch) they work a pickpocketing sideline. But Echo has plans - in the disguise of sweet Granny O'Grady, he opens a pet shop full of talking parrots - strangely enough, once they are bought the parrots stop talking!!! This is Echo's big scheme - when Granny is called to the various homes to find out what is wrong with the birds, Tweedledee, disguised as a child, "Little Willie" cases the place and within a few days the house has been robbed and the police are baffled.John Arlington has bought a parrot and invites Granny O'Grady to his house to see if she can coax the bird to talk. At Arlington's home, Tweedledee is dazzled by some priceless jewelry and when, later that night Echo is waylaid into trimming a Christmas tree - Tweedledee, who is the real evil mastermind, convinces Hercules to do the job with him alone. They do but kill Arlington and leave a small child close to death - Echo shows by his reaction - "You....Filth", that he is not like the other two, that deep down he has feelings. The police close in - but the person they arrest is Hector (Matt Moore). He is completely innocent and has been hired to front the shop and be a "fall guy" in case the worst happens. Rosie and Hector, though, have fallen in love and she will do whatever it takes to free him - even sharing a loveless life with Echo.The plot is quite complex - there is even a giant monkey (actually a cleverly enlarged chimpanzee) that Echo keeps in a room, just in case the others "get out of line". The courtroom scene is a marvellous display of the emotions and expressions that Lon Chaney can create. He slips into court and because Hector only knows him as Granny, he doesn't recognise him. Echo then sends him a note with instructions - if Hector will go back on the stand then Echo will do the rest. There is a scene that shows Chaney's face displaying a myriad of emotions, from apprehension, fear, happiness and finally relief.Aside from Lon Chaney's acting brilliance, Harry Earles is a revelation as the depraved Tweedledee. A couple of his scenes were quite shocking. His introduction, at the beginning of the film as a carnival attraction shows his character in a few seconds. During a scene in which people taunt and make fun of him, he kicks a small child in the face and then has to be restrained. When he and Hercules come back from the robbery "gone wrong" - he is laughing as he recalls how the victims begged for mercy. Harry Earles found the role of a lifetime in "Tweedledee" the crazed and evil midget. It was quite extraordinary how he could convincingly switch from being an angry, cigar smoking crook to a little baby playing with his toys. In one nail biting scene when the police come to question them, the jewels are hastily put into a toy elephant and of course it is the toy the policeman picks up and starts to tinker with. Mae Busch is also very good as Rosie - she may not have the flapper prettiness of Lila Lee, who played Rosie in the 1930 remake, but she makes Rosie real.Apart from the "gaffe" of outdoor scenery being obviously a painted backdrop (when Echo and Rosie are talking in the woods, their shadows show) a few of the indoor scenes seem to be painted sets - it just adds to the illusion, mystery and moodiness of the film.Highly, Highly Recommended.