When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
Acting
Veidt's frozen grin conveys infinite sorrow without sound.
Cinematography
German Expressionism crashes into Hollywood grandeur.
Costume
The rictus makeup still haunts comic book villains today.
Director
Paul Leni
Conrad Veidt
Gwynplaine / Lord Clancharlie
Mary Philbin
Dea
Cesare Gravina
Ursus
Brandon Hurst
Barkilphedro
Olga Baclanova
Duchess Josiana
Sam De Grasse
King James II
Stuart Holmes
Lord Dirry-Moir
Josephine Crowell
Queen Anne
Károly Huszár
Innkeeper
Henry A. Barrows
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Charles Brinley
Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Bob Kane and Bill Finger explicitly cited Gwynplaine as the Joker's visual origin in 1940, making this the accidental birth of comics' greatest villain.
Conrad Veidt performed his own terrifying smile retention using prosthetics and wire pulls—no CGI, just suffering for art.
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