Creighton Tull Chaney, known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film The Wolf Man (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard in Son of Dracula, Frankenstein's monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), the Mummy in three pictures, and various other roles in many Universal horror films, including six films in their 1940s Inner Sanctum series, making him a horror icon. He also portrayed Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men (1939) and played supporting parts in dozens of mainstream movies, including High Noon (1952), The Defiant Ones (1958), and numerous Westerns, musicals, comedies and dramas.
This is an overview of 1923 in film, including significant events, a list of films released and notable births and deaths.
The year 1914 in film involved some significant events, including the debut of Cecil B. DeMille as a director.
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted, characters and for his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques that he developed earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces".
The Wolf Man is a 1941 American gothic horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr. in the title role. Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, and Maria Ouspenskaya star in supporting roles. The title character has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. The film is the second Universal Pictures werewolf film, preceded six years earlier by the less commercially successful Werewolf of London (1935). This film is part of the Universal Monsters movies and is of great cinematic acclaim for its production.
He Who Gets Slapped is a 1924 American silent psychological thriller film starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, and John Gilbert, and directed by Victor Sjöström. The film was written by Victor Seastrom and Carey Wilson, based on the Russian play He Who Gets Slapped by playwright Leonid Andreyev, which was completed by Andreyev in August 1915, two months before its world premiere at the Moscow Art Theatre on October 27, 1915. A critically successful Broadway production, using an English language translation of the original Russian by Gregory Zilboorg, was staged in 1922, premiering at the Garrick Theatre on January 9, 1922, with Richard Bennett (actor) playing the "HE" role on stage. The Russian original was made into a Russian movie in 1916.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is a 1943 American horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. The script, written by Curt Siodmak, follows The Ghost of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man, though with a number of retcons. Most significantly, Talbot only transforms into werewolf form during a full moon, which became a standard part of werewolf lore. The film involves Larry Talbot, who is resurrected when his tomb is disturbed. His search for a way to end his seeming immortality leads to his befriending Frankenstein's monster.
Submarine Patrol is a 1938 film directed by John Ford. The screenplay was by Rian James, Darrell Ware, and Jack Yellen. The film starred Richard Greene, Nancy Kelly and Preston Foster. The supporting cast features George Bancroft, Elisha Cook, Jr., John Carradine, Maxie Rosenbloom, Jack Pennick, Ward Bond and an unbilled Lon Chaney Jr. as a Marine sentry. The movie was partly written by William Faulkner.
The Black Pirates is a 1954 Ansco Color adventure film made by Salvador Films Corp. about a band of pirates scouring a small Central American town for a buried treasure. It was directed by Allen H. Miner and produced from a screenplay by Fred Freiberger and Al C. Ward based on the story by Johnston McCulley.
The Mystic is a 1925 American MGM silent drama film directed by Tod Browning, who later directed MGM's Freaks (1932). It was co-written by Browning and Waldemar Young, writing a similar storyline to their earlier 1925 hit film The Unholy Three. Browning was unable however to hire his favorite star Lon Chaney this time around, and The Mystic wound up a little-known film with a cast of now-forgotten names. Aileen Pringle's gowns in the film were by already famous Romain de Tirtoff . A print of the film exists.
Lucky Devils is a 1933 American Pre-Code action film about group of Hollywood stuntmen and their dangerous daredevil stunt work, starring William Boyd and Bruce Cabot, and features an early appearance by Lon Chaney Jr.
Doris Roberta Merrick was an American film actress and model.
Captain China is a 1950 American adventure film directed by Lewis R. Foster and written by Lewis R. Foster and Gwen Bagni. The film stars John Payne, Gail Russell, Jeffrey Lynn, Lon Chaney Jr., Edgar Bergen, Michael O'Shea and Ellen Corby. The film was released on February 2, 1950, by Paramount Pictures.
Young Fury is a 1965 American Western film directed by Christian Nyby and written by Steve Fisher. The film stars Rory Calhoun, Virginia Mayo, William Bendix, Lon Chaney Jr., Richard Arlen and John Agar. The film was released in February 1965, by Paramount Pictures. This was William Bendix's final film role, as he died in December 1964, two months before its release.
Angel's Holiday is a 1937 American comedy film directed by James Tinling and written by Frank Fenton and Lynn Root. The film stars Jane Withers, Joan Davis, Sally Blane, Robert Kent, Harold Huber and Frank Jenks. The film was released on June 7, 1937, by 20th Century Fox.
Two Gun Sheriff is a 1941 American western film directed by George Sherman, written by Doris Schroeder, and starring Don "Red" Barry, Lynn Merrick, Jay Novello, Lupita Tovar, Milton Kibbee and Fred Kohler Jr. It was released on April 10, 1941, by Republic Pictures.
A Missouri Outlaw is a 1941 American western film directed by George Sherman and written by Jack Lait Jr. and Doris Schroeder. The film stars Don "Red" Barry, Lynn Merrick, Noah Beery, Sr., Paul Fix, Al St. John and Frank LaRue. The film was released on November 25, 1941, by Republic Pictures.
Sixteen Fathoms Deep is a 1948 American adventure film directed by Irving Allen and starring Lloyd Bridges, Lon Chaney Jr. and Arthur Lake. It was a remake of the 1934 film of the same title in which Chaney had also starred.
The Wolf Man is the title of several horror film series centered on Larry Talbot, a man who upon being bitten by a werewolf becomes one himself, and his subsequent attempts to cure himself of his murderous condition. The franchise was created by Curt Siodmak.
The Big Chase is a 1954 American crime drama film directed by Arthur Hilton and starring Glenn Langan, Adele Jergens, Lon Chaney Jr., Jim Davis and Douglas Kennedy. One of the film's scenes was directed by producer Robert L. Lippert Jr. This is the second film in which Langan appeared with Jergens, his real-life wife.
