thinbeach Seven years before Von Sternberg made what seems to be the most acclaimed silent crime film, and sometimes referred to as the first gangster picture - 'Underworld' - Wallace Worsley made 'The Penalty', a much better film about the secret service attempting to put a halt to the mysterious evil workings of an underworld head figure in San Francisco.Lon Chaney plays the head figure - who is one of the most superbly acted, and utterly despicable characters put to screen. Having both legs amputated above the knee at a young age, Chaney, who gets around on crutches, seeks to slyfully use evil to obtain as much power as possible. He does so by controlling an organized safety net around him, so that despite his physical liabilities, he has a commanding, all powerful presence, which he is not afraid to use for theft, murder and the abuse of women, amongst other things. Considering I first saw Chaney as the sad, compassionate neglected clown of 'He Who Gets Slapped' the transformation here is incredible. For modern audiences, he is perhaps most comparable to Jack Nicholson's more manic roles.Religious themes run throughout the film as Chaney takes pride in considering himself Satan personified. When a female sculptor posts an advertisement for a Satan model, Chaney ensures he is the only applicant, and we get the apt title card comparing his character to the mangled Satan who once thrown from Heaven, seeks to gain all the power of Hell. After a start that is a little slow, the hate filled tension slowly builds nicely as various players get caught up in his web. You never know what his intention is, but you know it won't end well.The plot twists at the end were a bit too predictable - and for a man whose evil resided primarily in his crafty intelligence, an awful lot seemed to be left to chance - unbelievably so - so that for mine this quality film falls just short of masterpiece. It is well worth watching however and must be considered one of the most important films in the crime genre. It also makes good use of cross cutting between different scenes to progress overlapping plot points.

MissSimonetta Lon Chaney remains one of the most loved figures of the silent era and for good reason: he was a fantastic actor who threw himself into his parts 100 percent. The Penalty (1920), his first starring effort, is no exception.With a plot featuring drug-dealing, prostitution, and murder, The Penalty is a grisly picture with a great, seedy underworld atmosphere. Chaney steals the show as the double amputee crime lord Blizzard; his performance is part terrifying, part wicked camp, and part sympathetic, all in all a complex villain. Also notable is Ethel Grey Terry as Rose, the woman who infiltrates Blizzard's underworld and hopes to bring him to justice- before falling in love with him, of course. Terry underplays it and gets to shine in an active role. No damsel in distress is she.Still, the film does have flaws. The "heroes" of the film are not only out-shined by the more charismatic Blizzard, they are also unlikeable for a modern audience with their sexist attitudes toward women, whom they believe should just stay at home and reproduce instead of following their ambitions. The ending smacks of deus ex machina, though I will say the filmmakers pull it off as best as they can.Absolutely essential for fans of the silent film era.

Scott LeBrun Silent screen legend Lon Chaney has a particularly enjoyable role which he plays to the hilt. His expressions and delivery are absolutely delicious; he looks like he is having a terrific time playing this demented antagonist. Experts believe that the pain he must have felt wearing a harness had an impact on his performance and added to his intensity. The other performers are fine but are simply blown off the screen by his flamboyant villainy.The story is a good one. Based on the novel by Gouverneur Morris and scripted by Charles Kenyon & Philip Lonergan, it tells of a man named "Blizzard" (Chaney), who as a child had had his legs unnecessarily amputated by incompetent doctor Ferris (Charles Clary). He grows up to be a crippled, embittered gangster in San Francisco who plots an insidious revenge, intending to get close to Ferris's sculptress daughter Barbara (Claire Adams). She's in a creative slump and has decided to make a portrait of "Satan after the fall", for which Blizzard means to model. While this is going on, an undercover operative named Rose (Ethel Grey Terry) has infiltrated his organization to get the goods on him."The Penalty" is a very diverting melodrama that does have a deliberate pace, but there are many fine moments with Mr. Chaney. In addition to its serious moments, it has some humour as well. It's especially funny when Blizzard asks of his henchmen, "Do I look like Satan?" One of the best lines of dialogue occurs when Blizzard is told that he's mad, and he responds that it's the kind of madness that succeeds. And Blizzard does indeed often look sufficiently mad.As directed by Wallace Worsley, this does have some neat details, such as hidden passageways, always fun to see in films from this period. And the story leads to a rather unexpected and touching resolution that is extremely effective.Must viewing for Chaney fans.Eight out of 10.

Neil Doyle LON CHANEY hobbles around on crutches, his legs mere stumps through a young doctor's mistake in amputating both legs above the knee after an accident as a young boy.Chaney, the actor, must have endured a lot of pain from having to bind both legs in order to convincingly play the double amputee--and, of course, he does it with so many flourishes using his crutches and nimbly mounting chairs and climbing using just the strength in his arms. There's strength in his face too, and it's used to advantage here when he poses for a bust of Satan, the Evil One. He can convey evil with just a slight change of expression and a look in his eyes, so much so that he's quite chilling in several scenes with very little make-up needed.The plot seems like a contrivance--an old-fashioned one about a man seeking revenge for the man that wronged him, but the plot throws in a couple of twists along the way so that in the end, "the penalty" is not the one you expected.I watched this on TCM and the only unfortunate thing was the irritatingly busy background score which became repetitive and inappropriate for the on screen action. Let's hope that someone else will compose a better score for this film, for it truly deserves better than the one provided so far.