Directed by Tod Browning
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Warner Archive Collection)
Lon Chaney is "The Blackbird", a jewel thief who falls in love with a French puppeteer at the local vaudeville drinking hall in a seedy London neighborhood. He's got competition from a well-dressed gentleman jewel thief who hangs out at the same place. They decide to go into business together, but the girl gets in the way. In a strange twist, Chaney's jewel thief has a secret alter-identity as his own crippled brother, a parson of some type that people call "The Bishop", who represents the kinder, gentler side of his persona. As the "The Blackbird", he stoops to framing his partner-in-crime for murder, but as "The Bishop" he can't bear the guilt, and eventually it gets the best of him. Chaney occasionally overdoes it in a flashy role, especially in the overwrought finale, but it's fascinating to watch him ply his craft, of which he is a master.
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