Lon Chaney
dual role as Dan Tate 'The Blackbird' and "The Bishop"
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Synopsis
A London thief maintains a second identity as a charitable religious figure, using the supposed brother to supply alibis. The elaborate disguise protects his criminal activity while giving him access to a different kind of respect. Rivalry over a music-hall performer places growing pressure on his ability to keep the two lives separate.
Cast
DirectorsTod Browning
Behind the scenes
Lon Chaney changes posture and movement as well as clothing to distinguish the invented brothers. Tod Browning's story makes bodily performance the basis of a criminal strategy, continuing the director and actor's interest in identities sustained before an unsuspecting audience.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The reference concerns the original work. Restorations, colorization, translations and other territories may have different conditions. This site uses the player enabled by the channel.
Availability checked on September 10, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Lon Chaney — Unknown author · Public domain
- Owen Moore — Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research · Public domain
- Renée Adorée — Bain News Service · Public domain
- Owen Moore — Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research · Public domain
