Freaks
(1932)
Rusty: Below are links to reviews and further info from selected film sites. Links surrounded by a solid border lead directly to a page about this movie on that site. Links surrounded by a dashed border lead to a Google search for this exact movie title on that site. You may find it more efficient to open these links in separate browser tabs. Click Show More / All / Default to see more available links or return to the standard default selection. More (or fewer) choices of links can be selected via Options, and you can save your personal defaults (requires login).
Freaks is a 1932 American horror film in which the eponymous characters were played by people who worked as carnival sideshow performers and had real deformities. The original version was considered too shocking to be released, and no longer exists. Directed and produced by Tod Browning, whose career never recovered from it, Freaks has been described as standing alone in a sub-genre of one. At 16, Browning had left his well-to-do family to join a traveling circus; he drew on his personal experiences for Freaks. Because of his success as the director of Dracula, he was given a considerable leeway for a major studio's first horror film; this and the fact he was working in Pre-Code Hollywood enabled a unique production. In the film, the physically deformed "freaks" are inherently trusting and honorable people, while the real monsters are two of the "normal" members of the circus who conspire to murder one of the performers to obtain his large inheritance.