"Loosely based....". When I hear this about a bio-pic, it is a complete turnoff to me. I think some it was because I was a history teacher--and to me, history is sacred--you tell it exactly like it was. Yet, in so many Hollywood films, the truth isn't deemed interesting enough and they heavily embellish the picture. Thus is the story of Lon Chaney in "The Man of a Thousand Faces". While the main points are correct, Chaney's interesting life just wasn't interesting enough for the folks at Universal and they played fast and loose with some of the facts. I didn't like this--but must acknowledge that it was an entertaining story.However, there is one other issue about the film about which I have a unique perspective. Like Chaney, I have a deaf family member--in my case, my daughter. And because of this, I can talk about a few things the average viewer wouldn't notice. When the people are using sign language in the film, they really are using sign language--though they do it a bit poorly. As a result, you can see that the parents of Chaney in the film are not natural signers--but I appreciate that they tried. One thing I did not appreciate, however, is that the film seemed to exploit Chaney's parents--creating problems that did not exist in real life. For example, when Chaney's first wife meets them, she has no idea they are deaf--but this was NOT the case in real life and it just felt cheap--like they were capitalizing on their deafness for the sake of a plot gimmick. That was pretty sad.Aside from my complaints and observations, I still think this is a very good film. Just understand it all is heavily dramatized and you can take some of it with a grain of salt. Also, it was nice to see the silent comic Snub Pollard in a bit scene midway through the film.

MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES is one of Hollywood's better films about Hollywood! Produced by Universal International in 1957 it recounts the life and times of one of the silent screens most formidable icons - Lon Chaney. From an excellent Oscar nominated screenplay by R.Wright Cambell, Ben Roberts and Ivan Goff it was skillfully directed by Joseph Pevney. Peveny, himself a useful supporting player in such movies as "Body And Soul" (1947) and Fox's "Street With No Name (1948) directed some of Universal's biggest productions i.e. "Away All Boats" (1956), "Tammy & The Bachelor" (1957) and one of Erroll Flynn's last efforts "Istanbul" (1957). Playing the leading role in this marvellous biopic is James Cagney who gives an outstanding measured performance as Lon Chaney the strange tortured character actor of silent pictures who, ironically, died from throat cancer with the advent of the talkies.Crisply photographed in black & white Cinemascope by the great Russell Metty ("Touch Of Evil") the picture conveys a strong sense of time and place. Expertly evoked is Vaudeville in the early part of the 20th Century where Chaney began as a song and dance man (Cagney delighting us with his special brand of hoofing) and early Hollywood where he became an extra at Universal Studios. Then with the help of his make-up box and his uncanny facility to alter his appearance - sometimes resulting in great pain - he soon became known as The Man Of A 1000 Faces.Notable reconstructions of Chaney's creations are quite brilliantly achieved in the picture. Cagney excels as the cripple being cured in a reworking of Chaney's famous scene from "The Miracle Man" (1919)and the phantom being unmasked in "Phantom Of The Opera" (1925). But especially noteworthy is a re-staging of Chaney's "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" (1923). Here Cagney is totally unrecognizable as he replicates Chaney's interpretation of Quasimodo being whipped on the punishment wheel in the village square. It is an intense moment in the picture and a remarkable achievement for Cagney the consummate actor! Little wonder that the great Orson Welles in the seventies declared that the screen's greatest actor was James Cagney!Others in the cast of this splendid film are Dorothy Malone giving an excellent performance as the singer and Chaney's first wife Cleva Creighton, Jane Greer as his second wife, Jim Backus as his press agent and Robert Evens as the boy wonder of the motion picture business Irving Thalberg.The picture also boasts a terrific music score by the underrated and now wholly forgotten film composer Frank Skinner (1897/1968). Skinner was composer in residence at Universal for many years and composed the music for some of their most prestigious productions such as "Tap Roots" (1948), "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), "Madame X" (1965) and "Shenandoah" (1965). "Man Of A 1000 Faces" was, however, his finest achievement! A soundtrack album of his music from the film - issued at the time of the picture's release - is now a much sought after recording!A wonderful movie on DVD presented in a sharp black & white widescreen format that every collector will want to own if only for Cagney's amazing performance. His Lon Chaney is just as powerful and just as memorable as his George M. Cohan, Cody Jarret or Marty "The Gimp" Snyder!

Other reviewers have knocked the film because it is not historically accurate and I can't dispute that. But for me, James Cagney's performance makes this a film that is a must-see. True, the film is short on depicting Lon Chaney's film characters and although we do get to see Cagney in makeup as the Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera, the scenes are extremely brief. Most of the film depicts Chaney's conflict with his first wife, wonderfully played by the stunning Dorothy Malone - whew, what a knockout!- and the stormy relationship with his son.The film is a soap opera but Cagney is wonderful showing that he can play drama, comedy and even dance and mime.

Man of a Thousand Faces is a film that positively reeks of Hollywood sap. It is quite obviously that the screenwriter took a look at a time line of Chaney's life and took out the major events only to write his own story. Jim Cagney stars as Lon Chaney,the man of a thousand faces. Chaney was a slender and tall man and Cagney was short and stubby.Is the film accurate? No not at all. The screenwriters obviously took a look at main events in Chaney's life and fabricated it to match a story. Cagney is a legend but he is not right at all for the role. Chaney was a tall and slender man and Cagney is short and stubby.Lon Chaney Jr was not born in a hospital,he was born prematurely in Chaney's cabin in Oklahoma. The doctors were afraid the boy was still born,Chaney took his Axe and rushed Lon Jr to the lake,cut a hole in the winter ice and dunked him under. Cleva was 17 years old when Lon Jr was born.Chaney and his first wife Cleva had trouble finding work and were forced to travel the country with various theater groups searching for a job. Lonchaney.com's bio claims Lon Jr would steal sandwiches and money when the audience was not looking.The whole plot about Chaney having conflicts with his wife is silly. Lon Jr never left and he very much loved his father and would tour with him. Chaney had work but it was not until he starred in the Hunchback of Notre Dame did he gain the success he had. The make-up job was fantastic for the time and the uninformed movie goers thought that was Chaney's actual face. Also the movie glamorized his time at Universal,yes his two major films were produced there but most of his films were made for MGM. In fact Universal fired Chaney because he thought he deserved more money.The ending is the part that gets me the most. Yes Chaney was sick but he died in his sleep.He never would let his illness get to him,in fact he was planning on making a huge come back and moving into the talkies.Chaney Sr hated the idea of Lon Jr becoming an actor. He thought he needed a man's job and forced him to seek various odd jobs. Chaney Jr became an actor because he had a family to feed and he thought he could get work because he was Lon's son.The life of a legend is poked and pulled at until it was turned into this. The Soundtrack is horrible as well,the music that plays when Chaney's mute parents are on screen is subtle racism to the deaf in my book. The movie is pathetic positively pathetic. Jim Cagney is an outstanding actor,but he should have never been offered this role. Chaney died at age 47,Cagney was all ready 57 years old when he began making the film.If you do the math the movie begins in 1905 when Chaney was 24 years old.We can't expect historical accuracy with every movie but as a fan of Chaney I felt insulted watching this piece of crap.You know Lon Chaney would suffer for his art,we need more people like him and less people who want to milk a story for a dollar