A Blind Bargain
Encyclopedia
A Blind Bargain is a silent
horror film
starring Lon Chaney and Raymond McKee, released through Goldwyn Pictures
. The movie was directed by Wallace Worsley
and is based on Barry Pain
's 1897 novel, The Octave of Claudius. It is considered a lost film
.
Critical response for the film was good, most praising Lon Chaney's dual performance as the mad doctor and his servant as being the highlight of the picture.
. The story involves a mad scientist who turns circumstances on a young man to do his bidding.
Robert Sandell (Raymond McKee), despondent over his ill luck as a writer, and his mother's declining health, attacks and attempts to rob a theatergoer, Dr. Lamb (Lon Chaney Sr.), a sinister, fanatical physician living in the suburbs of New York. Lamb takes the boy to his home, learns his story, and agrees to perform an operation on Mrs. Sandell (Virginia True Boardman
) on one consideration - that Robert shall at the end of eight days, deliver himself to the doctor to do with as he will, for experimental purposes. Frantic with worry over his dying mother's condition, Robert agrees.
Mother and son take up their residence in the Lamb home, where Robert is closely watched, not only by the doctor, but by his wife (Fontaine La Rue), and a grotesque hunchback (Lon Chaney, in a dual role), whom Robert learns afterwards is the result of one of the doctor's experiments.
Dr. Lamb, anxious to keep his hold on Robert, not only gives him spending money, but assists him in having his book published through Wytcherly, head of a publishing company. Robert meets Wytcherly's daughter, Angela (Jacqueline Logan
) and promptly falls in love.
In the meantime, the days are slipping by to the time of the experiment. Robert has been warned by Mrs. Lamb and the hunchback that great danger threatens him. At dawn, they show him as a warning a mysterious underground vault in which is a complete operating room and a tunnel of cages in which are strange prisoners - previously failed experiment of Lamb's. In agony and fear, Robert goes to the physician and tries to buy himself out of the bargain - for his book has been published, and he is now a successful writer. There is yet one day before the time limit is up, but the doctor, realizing his victim may try to escape, seizes him, and straps him to the operating table. He is rescued by Mrs. Lamb, and the hunchback releases a cage door and the doctor is himself brought to a horrible end at the hands of an ape-man wrecked mentally by the doctor's experiments.
Finally freed from the terms of his "blind bargain", Robert returns to his home to learn that his writings have met with success and that Angela waits for him at the marriage ceremony.
For the finale, the ape-man that is released upon Dr. Lamb was played by Wallace Beery
, in a cameo performance.
The film was released December 3, 1922 at the Capitol Theater in New York, and met with a standing ovation the opening night of the film.
and studio elements of Tom and Jerry
cartoons
The footage count in the film was 4152 feet (1,265.5 m). The film was tinted and toned
various colors, including blue tone/flesh tint, blue tint, night amber, straw amber, light lavender, green tint, and one sequence at a party was stencil
colored using the Handschiegl Color Process
, in multi-coloring bubbles that were made during a party.
in a film titled Free to Love. McKee's character is one of a criminal who is a hunchback. This character is the direct result of McKee's working with Chaney in A Blind Bargain and shows the Chaney influence on McKee. The character is a strange amalgam of Chaney's character in A Blind Bargain and of his real-life hunchback co-stars, Johnny George
who was a Chaney regular in several films.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
starring Lon Chaney and Raymond McKee, released through Goldwyn Pictures
Goldwyn Pictures
Goldwyn Pictures Corporation was an American motion picture production company founded in 1916 by Samuel Goldfish in partnership with Broadway producers Edgar and Archibald Selwyn using an amalgamation of both last names to create the name...
. The movie was directed by Wallace Worsley
Wallace Worsley
Wallace A. Worsley Sr. was an American stage actor who became a director in the silent film era. Worsley directed 29 films during the years 1918-1928 and acted in 7 films. He directed several films starring Lon Chaney Sr...
and is based on Barry Pain
Barry Pain
Barry Eric Odell Pain was an English journalist, poet and writer.-Biography:Born in Cambridge, Barry Pain was educated at Sedbergh School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He became a prominent contributor to The Granta...
's 1897 novel, The Octave of Claudius. It is considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Critical response for the film was good, most praising Lon Chaney's dual performance as the mad doctor and his servant as being the highlight of the picture.
Plot
The film is a contemporary (1920s, though the book was published in 1897) picture that takes place in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The story involves a mad scientist who turns circumstances on a young man to do his bidding.
Robert Sandell (Raymond McKee), despondent over his ill luck as a writer, and his mother's declining health, attacks and attempts to rob a theatergoer, Dr. Lamb (Lon Chaney Sr.), a sinister, fanatical physician living in the suburbs of New York. Lamb takes the boy to his home, learns his story, and agrees to perform an operation on Mrs. Sandell (Virginia True Boardman
Virginia True Boardman
Virginia True Boardman was an American actress of the silent era.Born Margaret Shields in Fort Davis, Texas, she began her theatrical career in 1906, as Virginia Eames and went on to appear in 52 films between 1911 and 1936...
) on one consideration - that Robert shall at the end of eight days, deliver himself to the doctor to do with as he will, for experimental purposes. Frantic with worry over his dying mother's condition, Robert agrees.
Mother and son take up their residence in the Lamb home, where Robert is closely watched, not only by the doctor, but by his wife (Fontaine La Rue), and a grotesque hunchback (Lon Chaney, in a dual role), whom Robert learns afterwards is the result of one of the doctor's experiments.
Dr. Lamb, anxious to keep his hold on Robert, not only gives him spending money, but assists him in having his book published through Wytcherly, head of a publishing company. Robert meets Wytcherly's daughter, Angela (Jacqueline Logan
Jacqueline Logan
Jacqueline Logan was a star of the silent motion picture screen who was on board William Randolph Hearst's yacht The Oneida in 1924 when film director Thomas Ince died. The young actress was under contract to Ince at the time. Logan was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922. She was born in Corsicana, Texas...
) and promptly falls in love.
In the meantime, the days are slipping by to the time of the experiment. Robert has been warned by Mrs. Lamb and the hunchback that great danger threatens him. At dawn, they show him as a warning a mysterious underground vault in which is a complete operating room and a tunnel of cages in which are strange prisoners - previously failed experiment of Lamb's. In agony and fear, Robert goes to the physician and tries to buy himself out of the bargain - for his book has been published, and he is now a successful writer. There is yet one day before the time limit is up, but the doctor, realizing his victim may try to escape, seizes him, and straps him to the operating table. He is rescued by Mrs. Lamb, and the hunchback releases a cage door and the doctor is himself brought to a horrible end at the hands of an ape-man wrecked mentally by the doctor's experiments.
Finally freed from the terms of his "blind bargain", Robert returns to his home to learn that his writings have met with success and that Angela waits for him at the marriage ceremony.
Background/Production
Based on Barry Pain's novel, The Octave of Claudius, A Blind Bargain tied together horrific elements for which Lon Chaney Sr. became so well known. His characterizations of both Dr. Lamb and the hunchback assistant showcased Chaney's talent for makeup.For the finale, the ape-man that is released upon Dr. Lamb was played by Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, in a cameo performance.
The film was released December 3, 1922 at the Capitol Theater in New York, and met with a standing ovation the opening night of the film.
Preservation and technical specifications
Today, the film is considered lost. The original negative was destroyed in 1931 by MGM several years after the takeover of Goldwyn Studios, and the last print is believed to have perished in the same fire in Vault #7 in 1967 that supposedly destroyed London After MidnightLondon After Midnight (film)
London After Midnight aka The Hypnotist is a silent mystery film with horror overtones produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film stars Lon Chaney, Marceline Day, Conrad Nagel, Henry B. Walthall, and Polly Moran and was directed by Tod Browning. It is also a lost film, quite...
and studio elements of Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
cartoons
The footage count in the film was 4152 feet (1,265.5 m). The film was tinted and toned
Film tinting
Film tinting is the process of adding color to black-and-white film, usually by means of soaking the film in dye and staining the film emulsion...
various colors, including blue tone/flesh tint, blue tint, night amber, straw amber, light lavender, green tint, and one sequence at a party was stencil
Stencil
A stencil is a thin sheet of material, such as paper, plastic, or metal, with letters or a design cut from it, used to produce the letters or design on an underlying surface by applying pigment through the cut-out holes in the material. The key advantage of a stencil is that it can be reused to...
colored using the Handschiegl Color Process
Handschiegl Color Process
The Handschiegl color process produced motion picture film prints with color artificially added to selected areas of the image. Aniline dyes were applied to a black-and-white print using gelatin imbibition matrices.-History of the process:...
, in multi-coloring bubbles that were made during a party.
Influences
Three years after A Blind Bargain was released, Chaney's co-star, Ray McKee appeared with Clara BowClara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
in a film titled Free to Love. McKee's character is one of a criminal who is a hunchback. This character is the direct result of McKee's working with Chaney in A Blind Bargain and shows the Chaney influence on McKee. The character is a strange amalgam of Chaney's character in A Blind Bargain and of his real-life hunchback co-stars, Johnny George
John George (actor)
John George was a dwarf actor who appeared in at least 130 movies from 1916 to 1960. George worked in films of all genres alongside countless stars although often for only the briefest of appearances....
who was a Chaney regular in several films.
Cast
- Lon ChaneyLon ChaneyChaney is an American surname of French origin, and may refer to:* Charles "Bubba" Chaney , Louisiana politician* Chris Chaney, US musician* Darrel Chaney, US baseball player* Don Chaney, US basketballer* Esty Chaney , US baseballer...
... Dr. Arthur Lamb/The Ape Man - Raymond McKee ... Robert Sandell
- Virginia True BoardmanVirginia True BoardmanVirginia True Boardman was an American actress of the silent era.Born Margaret Shields in Fort Davis, Texas, she began her theatrical career in 1906, as Virginia Eames and went on to appear in 52 films between 1911 and 1936...
... Mrs. Sandell - Aggie HerringAggie HerringAggie Herring was an American actress. She appeared in 119 films between 1915 and 1939.She was born in San Francisco, California and died in Santa Monica, California.-Selected filmography:* Daredevil Jack...
... Bessie - Virginia Madison ... Angela's Mother
- Fontaine La Rue ... Mrs. Lamb
- Jacqueline LoganJacqueline LoganJacqueline Logan was a star of the silent motion picture screen who was on board William Randolph Hearst's yacht The Oneida in 1924 when film director Thomas Ince died. The young actress was under contract to Ince at the time. Logan was a WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922. She was born in Corsicana, Texas...
... Angela Marshall - Wallace BeeryWallace BeeryWallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
... Beast man (uncredited)