[.ca] Penalty

From Amazon.com:
Lon Chaney, the Man of a Thousand Faces, was no mere makeup wizard, as this dark, deviant crime drama shows. Strapping his legs into a painful leather harness to play a double-amputee underworld kingpin, Chaney scrambles through the film like a human spider weaving his criminal web across San Francisco with equal parts seduction and terror. Crippled as child by an incompetent doctor, he dedicates his life to vengeance in a double-barreled plot that will bring both the city and the doctor (now an honored physician) to their knees. Director Wallace Worsley (who later collaborated with Chaney on his legendary Hunchback of Notre Dame) peppers the busy plot with bizarre touches of sexual menace and sadism, and he creates a wicked atmosphere of corruption and murder that implicates every character. Even the absurd twist of a happy ending can't wipe that away. --Sean Axmaker

Additional features:
Kino's DVD features a fine window-boxed transfer from a good-looking master (with some scenes taken from inferior source materials) and a moody modern synthesizer and percussion score by Michael Polher. Supplements include the 1914 single-reel Western By the Sun's Rays (a badly preserved and clichéd curiosity with Chaney as a sneak villain), a short video tour of Chaney's makeup box and costume from The Penalty, two and a half minutes of surviving footage from the lost Chaney film The Miracle Man, an essay by Chaney biographer Michael F. Blake, two trailers, and various stills, photos, and production materials. --Sean Axmaker

but what about the hats?:
the other comments are accurate. very good to excellent print. I found the music sympathetic to the film. But what about the hats? Fallen women in san francisco are making thousands and thousands of hats. there are very strict quality control standards (death for instance). And this is really the main essence of the subplot of the red takeover. The above reviews are right: great silent movie and an accurate barometer of why lon chaney is a star still. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HATS!!

Weird and rather fun:
Like many other movie fans, my only view of Lon Chaney was in The Phantom of the Opera. I enjoyed it a lot and decided to try some of his other work. The Penalty sounded the most interesting since Chaney's legendary makeup skills are used not on his face but on his legs. He is nothing short of amazing in his role as a double amputee/crime lord. Indeed, this is one of those movies that is carried by an actor's charisma. Unfortunately, the supporting cast is not nearly as fascinating as Blizzard. With the exception of Rose, they are just the standard gangster film characters. (The eager young man, the innocent young girl, the dogged investigater) Whenever Blizzard is onscreen, the movie really works and the viewer misses him when he is not there. Chaney takes a completely horrid character and makes him almost likable. It's no wonder this was the movie that made Chaney a real star. The plot involves Chaney's character, Blizzard, seeking revenge on the imcompetant doctor who amputated Blizzard's legs at the beginning of the movie. Meanwhile, the police are investigating Blizzard, hoping to bring down his entire gang. The print is nice enough, quite watchable. The soundtrack is another matter. It consists of NIN sounding loops and drumbeats. Some silent movie fans are purists when it comes to music and some are not. I am in the middle. I would have preferred a more traditional soundtrack (the clangs and bangs are distracting sometimes) but it did not wholly hamper my enjoyment of the film. I just want to give a warning to any traditionalists. The DVD boasts a suprising amount of extras for a silent film. A 1914 western short starring Chaney. I enjoyed seeing how little a western changed between the teens and the fifties! Also,and a brief but well-done tour of Chaney's makeup case. There is a book-to-movie comparison that explains why the ending was changed. (I think the movie would have been stronger if they had kept the original ending.) I won't spoil it of course but I didn't think it was in keeping with the mood of the rest of the movie. All in all, check it out for Chaney. It is an entertaining film and a great piece of film history.