Man of a Thousand Faces

Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) is a film detailing the life of silent movie actor Lon Chaney, in which the title role is played by James Cagney. In the early 1900s, actor Lon Chaney (James Cagney) is working in Vaudeville with his wife Cleva (Dorothy Malone). After Chaney quits the show he has been performing in, Cleva announces that she is pregnant. Lon is happy with the news, and tells Cleva that he has been hired by the famous comedy team Kolb... more

Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) is a film detailing the life of silent movie actor Lon Chaney, in which the title role is played by James Cagney. In the early 1900s, actor Lon Chaney (James Cagney) is working in Vaudeville with his wife Cleva (Dorothy Malone). After Chaney quits the show he has been performing in, Cleva announces that she is pregnant. Lon is happy with the news, and tells Cleva that he has been hired by the famous comedy team Kolb and Dill for an upcoming show. Cleva pressures Lon to take her to visit his parents (whom she has never met) in his home town of Colorado Springs. Lon is reluctant, because his parents are both deaf mutes, a fact Lon has never shared with Cleva. After meeting Lon's family, Cleva reacts with disgust, and runs off. Lon confronts Cleva who tells him that she does not want to give birth to his child, fearing that the child will be a deaf mute like Lon's parents, and that she doesn't want to be the mother of a "dumb thing". When Lon later tells... less