FREAKS (1932)
Special Features: Due to a scheduling issue, there is no screening of FREAKS on Thurs, July 26 as previously listed.
"We accept you, one of us! Gooble Gobble!" After practically inventing horror cinema with 1931's DRACULA, Tod Browning returned to MGM for this controversial, transgressive circus picture. Among a tight-knit coterie of sideshow performers, beautiful trapeze artist Cleopatra has her eyes set on Hans, a performer with dwarfism sitting on a large inheritance. With the aid of her strongman lover, Hercules, she attempts to marry and then poison Hans. But when her plot is uncovered, Cleopatra must face the wrath of the misfits and outcasts she has crossed. Misconstrued as an exploitative grotesquerie upon its release, FREAKS was not only a box-office disaster, but it tanked Browning's career. A reappraisal on the cult circuit in the 1960s resulted in the film finally being recognized for its expressionist visuals and Browning's bold compassion for his characters. DIR/PROD Tod Browning; SCR Willis Goldbeck, Leon Gordon, from the story "Spurs" by Tod Robbins. U.S., 1932, b&w, 64 min. NOT RATED
AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 64 Minutes
Opening Date: Friday, July 19, 2024
Genre: Drama
