The Pathos of a Monster – Lon Chaney Jr. (A Forgotten Hollywood Essay) By Writer and Contributor Manny Pacheco
Photo: Lon Chaney Sr. in his breakout role in The Miracle Man (Paramount, 1919).
Universal Studios had a hammerlock on the horror genre during Hollywood’s studio era. Their stable of stars, directors and writers understood the very nature of putting the face on a memorable monster. An eerie remote locale…dark and desperate situations…flawed characters (including a fair share of assorted loathsome ghouls), and a script tinged with wicked humor; this was the recipe for success.
Chaney Sr. In one of his most legendary roles as The Phantom of the Opera (Universal, 1925) just five years before his untimely death.
No actor embraced terror better than Lon Chaney Jr., employing a novel approach he learned from his famous father. His personal understanding of pathos, and his sincere application of its principle, made him a fruitful star of the scary movie. And maybe, the most underrated. Chaney earnestly underplayed his scripted situations, concentrating on inner human frailties and the hidden resignation of potential victimization that cynically lie within us. Conversely, he also displayed total resolve with conviction of purpose where death could be the ultimate result. Moviegoers alternately rooted for his success and his demise. Chaney became Hollywood’s first cinematic anti-hero during its Golden Age. He embraced his assignments, and improving with each opportunity.
Named Creighton at birth, he was the first born to silent screen star Lon Chaney. The elder Chaney was the melodramatic counterpart to Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, and Mary Pickford. He became a superstar of the silent era. Lon Sr. applied his craft well because of his pinpoint ability to pantomime. He developed his expertise of visual expression while growing up with parents who were both deaf. He also learned how to handle ridicule that comes with affliction. A loving child, the elder Chaney empathized with his folks’ condition and protected them throughout their lives. The early twentieth century was a time when the public incorrectly surmised that hearing deficiencies might be physically inherited.
As a result, Lon Chaney created memorably tormented silent screen characters. The use of makeup and contortionism cemented his propensity in grabbing at the heartstrings of audiences worldwide. Affectionately regarded as The Man of a Thousand Faces, he actively searched for roles appealing to the misunderstood. The term “monster” was used to describe his parts in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. Unfortunately, Chaney died of cancer in 1930 after making just one talkie in his career.
Creighton learned life lessons on how to relate to individuals different from the norm, and he adapted his father’s acting style after his death. Pathos ticketed his appeal with filmgoers. Unlike tragedy, which results from the purposeful and at times malicious intent of a given action, pathos is the unintentionally creative and imaginative sadness stirred to help us understand unemotional plights placed on innocent individuals. The younger Chaney understood the premise that unremarkable people could deliver abundant doses of pathos. He witnessed examples within his family and while working outside of Hollywood. His first decision was to change his name to Lon Chaney Jr. in homage to his father.
An Oscar nomination could have been garnered by Chaney for his performance as Lennie Small in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men had the movie not been released in that magical year of 1939. Nevertheless, this was a tour de force for the actor. Chaney received critical acclaim for his kind, dim-witted, and unintentionally dangerous portrayal.
Lon Chaney Jr. won his own horror film immortality for his sympathetic and terrifying performance as the cursed Lawrence Talbot in The Werewolf (Universal, 1941).
Universal Studios confidently found their successor to Boris Karloff, Claude Rains, and Bela Lugosi. Lon Chaney Jr. was immediately cast in Man Made Monster and in his signature role as The Wolf Man. He obliged with terrific performances. The irony of the latter movie comes from how the title character is victimized during an act of heroism. The Wolf Man was not the consequence of an experiment, or in defiance of religion.
“Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolf bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.”
Lawrence Talbot (Chaney’s character) loathed his situation, especially at the onset of the cyclical full moon causing his transformation. And his consequential grief after the fact was immense. Like a disease, Lycanthropy lingered and endured to Talbot’s chagrin. Chaney successfully developed this character, helping him step from his father’s formidable shadow.
Chaney Jr. reprised his role as “Wolfman” Talbot in House of Frankenstein (Universal, 1944). Pictured with Elena Verdugo as the doomed gypsy girl, Ilonka.
Unlike Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr. gleefully accepted his work and managed to portray the Wolf Man, the Mummy, Dracula, and even Dr. Frankenstein’s monster over the next decade.. In 1948, Chaney insisted the unearthly fiends in Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein play it straight to achieve a believable dichotomy of humor and the macabre. Chaney was instinctually correct and the production became the biggest money-making monster film in the history of Universal Studios.
Though his unique brand of pathos was Lon Chaney Jr.’s strong suit, and while he battled alcoholism, no one ever accused him of living a pathetic life. He accepted the idea of being his father’s son, the notion of a studio system’s typecasting, and a gradual decline into minor character roles with grace, dignity, and professionalism. Chaney managed to deliver chilling performances on his own terms. I believe he would be proud of this unexpected accomplishment, a natural byproduct of his disciplined effort at becoming a fine and respected actor who vastly appreciated the human condition.
Author Manny Pacheco has enjoyed a growing acclaim through his Forgotten Hollywood Book Series, now included in the library collections of the Hollywood Heritage Museum, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American Film Institute, among others. He's currently in production to turn his literary work into a Forgotten Hollywood Documentary. A Southern California television and radio personality for over three decades, Manny appeared on NBC's Santa Barbara, co-hosted the Daytime Emmy-nominated In Studio on KCOP, and currently hosts Forgotten Hollywood, a web-based podcast on the TherapyCable Channel. He is also a weekend traffic anchor on KNX 10-70 News Radio.
Website: www.forgottenhollywood.com
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