
Synopsis
Budapest sideshow barker Cock Robin performs a fake beheading while pursuing a young woman for her money. His former lover Salome sees through him, and her jealous companion brings real violence into their theatrical world. A performance built on harmless deception becomes entangled with theft, murder and divided loyalties.
Watch the film ↓- Video edition
- Wikimedia Commons
- Original language
- No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
- This copy runs
- 76:09
- Subtitles
- No subtitle track in this language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.
Wikimedia Commons · Tod Browning · Public domain
Cast
Inspirations
Tod Browning draws on Charles Tenney Jackson's novel The Day of Souls. The sideshow setting lets him place staged danger beside the more serious threats created by the performers' private conduct.
Sources and availability
General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.
Availability checked on September 15, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- John Gilbert — MGM studio · Public domain
- Renée Adorée — Bain News Service · Public domain
- Lionel Barrymore — Unknown author · Public domain
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