Man of a Thousand Faces

Overview

James Cagney stars as horror film legend Lon Chaney in this biographical portrait. The son of deaf-mute parents, Chaney earns his first success on the vaudeville circuit, where he learns the creative make-up skills that later earn him the titular nickname.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/24/2008
UPC:	0025195032582
Original Release:	1957
Rating:	NR
Source:	Universal Studios
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	2:02:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Cagney	Lon Chaney,Carrie Chaney
Dorothy Malone	Cleva Creighton Chaney
Jane Greer	Hazel Bennet
Marjorie Rambeau	Gert
Jim Backus	Clarence Logan
Robert Evans	Irving Thalberg
Celia Lovsky	Mrs. Chaney
Jack Albertson	Dr. J. Wilson Shields
Roger Smith	Creighton Chaney at Age 21
Robert Lyden	Creighton Chaney at Age 13
Rickie Sorensen	Creighton Chaney at Age 8
Dennis Rush	Creighton Chaney at Age 4
Nolan Leary	Pa Chaney
Simon Scott	Carl Hastings
Clarence Kolb	Himself
Danny Beck	Max Dill
Philip Van Zandt	George Loane Tucker
Hank Mann	Comedy Waiter
Snub Pollard	Comedy Waiter,Comedy Waiter
Marjorie Bennett	Maid
Rickie Sorenson	Creighton Chaney, age 8
Frank Skinner	Composer

Technical Credits

Ben Roberts

Ivan Goff

R. Wright Campbell

Ralph Wheelwright

Joseph Pevney	Director
Clifford Stine	Special Effects
Ben Roberts	Screenwriter
Ivan Goff	Screenwriter
R. Wright Campbell	Screenwriter
Ralph Wheelwright	Screenwriter
Robert Arthur	Producer

Editorial Reviews

The Man of a Thousand Faces is an above average 1950s biopic distinguished by a sympathetic performance by James Cagney as silent film star Lon Chaney. Produced by Universal, the studio for which Chaney had become a major star in The Phantom of the Opera, the Oscar-nominated screenplay is more fanciful tribute than objective history. Fortunately, the film has Cagney, and, fortunately for Cagney, the committee-written screenplay has a varied emotional range, allowing him to exhibit a showy spectrum of styles. While probably the best of director Joseph Pevney's feature films, there's little in the way of a director's voice. This was a studio project, and Pevney's forte was the efficient management of production budgets, not cinematic brilliance. Russell L. Metty's black & white cinematography is a solid asset, giving portions of the film an appropriate 1920s feel, but overall this is a by-the-numbers production, brightened by its casting choices and Cagney's stellar lead performance.