Lon Chaney
Phroso ("Dead-Legs" Flint)
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Synopsis
A stage magician is paralysed in a confrontation with the man taking away his wife. After her death, he adopts the child left behind and moves to Africa, nursing a plan to punish the rival through the next generation. Years of calculated cruelty lead toward a revelation capable of undoing the meaning of his revenge.
Cast
DirectorsTod Browning
Historical context
Tod Browning and Lon Chaney push their recurring interest in performance and damaged identity into a particularly harsh revenge melodrama. Its African outpost and portrayal of local people reflect colonial horror conventions, while the plot deliberately unsettles the avenger's claim to moral authority.
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
- Lionel Barrymore — Unknown author · Public domain
