Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Man of a Thousand Faces Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 12, 2019

Commentator Tim Lucas mentions Love Me or Leave Me early in his analysis of Man of a Thousand Faces, something I personally found prescient on Lucas’ part simply because I had been thinking of the same film seconds before it was mentioned on the commentary track. Love Me or Leave Me managed to be a relatively gritty biographical picture, but one that certainly had its fair share of Hollywood gloss. It also secured Cagney his first Academy Award nomination as Best Actor since he brought that particular trophy home in 1943 for his work in Yankee Doodle Dandy. In a strange kind of way, Man of a Thousand Faces might be seen as a combo platter of sorts featuring elements from both of those aforementioned films, and it certainly serves as a showcase for Cagney’s inimitable acting style, not to mention his significant song and dance chops, something that may have been intentionally designed to deliver Cagney another Best Actor nomination ( Man of a Thousand Faces failed in that regard). Cagney faces the daunting challenge of not only portraying silent cinema icon Lon Chaney in this film, he also was tasked (along with a little help from his “friends”) with recreating some of Chaney’s more remarkable achievements in makeup, groundbreaking designs that helped propel Chaney into the stratosphere of superstardom courtesy of such still well remembered films as The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. That said, Man of a Thousand Faces probably tips more steadily into that “Hollywood gloss” element than even Love Me or Leave Me, and it’s saddled with a somewhat melodramatic script (one which kind of ironically did manage to wrestle the film’s sole Academy Award nomination) which, as even Lucas gets into, approaches Douglas Sirk territory at times.

Cagney’s character in Love Me or Leave Me was kind of a heel, and while not at the level of that film there are certainly some prickly elements to Chaney as he’s presented in Man of a Thousand Faces, though the film really seems to want to go out of its way to depict Chaney’s first wife, Cleva (Dorothy Malone), as a fairly despicable, if emotionally troubled, human being. She’s shown being heartless with regard to Chaney’s “deaf and dumb” (as they’re described in the film) parents (played winningly by Celia Lovsky and Nolan Leary), and she also has an outburst or two when she tells Lon she doesn’t want anything to do with the baby she’s carrying if it turns out to be similarly afflicted. That doesn’t end up happening, but Cleva’s mothering skills aren’t exactly above reproach, and the film still continues to ply a pretty overheated dynamic between Lon and Cleva, with hints of Cleva dallying elsewhere, and an almost Grand Guignol vignette (evidently more or less factual) that puts an end to the marriage, but which also curtails Lon's burgeoning theatrical career.

That allows Chaney to move on to “nice girl” Hazel (Jane Greer), who becomes his second wife, though the film at this point tends to dart off into little scenes documenting Chaney’s newfound success in the nascent silent film industry. There’s a certain “greatest hits” approach here, at least with regard to those two legendary silent “monster” movies alluded to earlier, but the film probably understandably lionizes Chaney not just as a diligent worker, but an innovative thinker who helped develop a whole new approach toward creating characters for the screen.

A throughline for the film seeks to establish the relationship, often fraught with conflict, between Lon and his son Creighton (played at different ages by Dennis Rush, Rickie Sorenson, Robert Lyden and Roger Smith). Cleva’s erratic behavior plays into some of this, but there’s a kind of underdeveloped aspect to what should probably ultimately be the central relationship of the film. As such, Lon’s final bequeathing of his makeup case to Creighton (who of course took the stage name of Lon Chaney Jr.) is perhaps robbed of a bit of its intended emotional import.

Man of a Thousand Faces may not be as “fictionalized” as, say, something like Night and Day, but it is still probably a bit too sleek for its own good. Cagney is brilliant throughout, though, and makes the film consistently compelling, even when the screenplay is dipping into fairly maudlin territory.

Man of a Thousand Faces Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Man of a Thousand Faces is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Academy with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. Arrow's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

Man of a Thousand Faces has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with mono audio.

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 2K resolution on an Arriscan at NBC Universal. The film was graded and restored at Dragon DI, Wales. Picture grading was completed on a Pablo Rio system and restoration was completed using a combination of PFClean and Revival software. The audio was remastered from the three channel dialogue, music and effects dubbed master track by NBC Universal.

This is a great looking transfer which should easily please this film's fans. Detail levels are commendable throughout the presentation, offering precise looks at patterns on a number of nicely appointed costumes and sets, but also with regard to the recreations of some of the iconic makeup that Chaney helped to fashion for some of his best remembered film appearances. Detail levels are so good, in fact, that a couple of "seams" in some of the makeup can be spotted. Contrast is solid throughout, supporting good black levels and a nicely modulated gray scale. Grain resolves naturally throughout and gives the presentation depth and texture.

Man of a Thousand Faces Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Man of a Thousand Faces features a fine sounding DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track, one which capably supports both the long dialogue scenes as well as some of the more music hall like performances that Chaney gives in his earlier theatrical career. The track offers good fidelity throughout all frequency ranges, and there are no problems with damage, distortion or dropouts.

Man of a Thousand Faces Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary by Tim Lucas


• The Man Behind a Thousand Faces (1080p; 20:53) features the always enjoyable Kim Newman discussing Lon Chaney.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:33)


• Image Galleries

  Production Stills (1080p; 13:30)

  
  

  Posters and Lobby Cards (1080p; 2:50)

Arrow has also supplied a typically well appointed insert booklet.

Man of a Thousand Faces Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Several years ago I had the distinct pleasure of conducting the musical version of The Producers here in my hometown of Portland, and the actor playing Max Bialystock in that production was the son of Joseph Pevney (who directed Man of a Thousand Faces and a ton of other notable film and television properties) and Mitzi Green. Film and television fans may be aware of Joseph Pevney's career, but sadly Mitzi Green seems to have largely disappeared into the mists of show business forgetfulness, but she was an amazing Broadway performer and she had the incredible good fortune to debut two of the all time Rodgers and Hart classic songs on The Great White Way — "My Funny Valentine" and "The Lady is a Tramp". Our scenic designer for The Producers kind of sweetly decided to pay homage to Joseph Pevney and Mitzi Green for Max's office, filling it with mementos from their careers. I know for a fact there were posters of some Pevney films on the walls and even a Tribble on a bookshelf (Pevney directed that well remembered episode of Star Trek: The Complete Original Series), but I just don't clearly recall if Man of a Thousand Faces itself actually was referenced somewhere. That said, Man of a Thousand Faces is certainly one of Pevney's better remembered films, and it is a generally well constructed and always beautifully performed piece, even if it dallies in melodrama at times. It may frankly not get at some underlying elements of Chaney's life and relationships, but it's a compelling love letter to one of the titans of early cinema. Technical merits are solid, the supplementary package while not bounteous is very enjoyable, and Man of a Thousand Faces comes Recommended.