Laugh, Clown, Laugh was a
1928-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 31 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's mascot Leo the Lion roars for the very first time, creating one of the most popular American film logos....
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
starring
Lon ChaneyLon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema. He is best remembered for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his...
and
Loretta Young-Early life:She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah as Gretchen Young, of Luxembourgian descent.At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. She and her family moved to Hollywood when she was three years old. Loretta and her sisters Polly Ann Young and Elizabeth Jane Young worked as child actresses,...
. The movie was directed by
Herbert BrenonHerbert Brenon was a film director during the era of silent movies through the 1930s. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was educated at St Paul's School and at King's College London...
and produced and released through MGM Studios.
Tito (
Lon Chaney, Sr.Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema. He is best remembered for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his...
), a traveling circus clown, finds an abandoned child (uncredited). Tito adopts her and raises her as his daughter, naming her Simonetta after his partner Simon (
Bernard SiegelBernard Siegel is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Genetics Policy Institute based in Wellington, Florida.A graduate of the University of Miami undergraduate and law, he is an attorney and member of the Florida Bar since 1975...
). One day Simonetta (
Loretta Young-Early life:She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah as Gretchen Young, of Luxembourgian descent.At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. She and her family moved to Hollywood when she was three years old. Loretta and her sisters Polly Ann Young and Elizabeth Jane Young worked as child actresses,...
) encounters Luigi (
Nils AstherNils Asther was a Danish-born Swedish stage and film actor.-Biography:Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Asther grew up in Sweden and attended the Royal Dramatic Theater School in Stockholm...
), a wealthy man who falls madly in love with her, but she rejects him.
Laugh, Clown, Laugh was a
1928-Events:Although some movies released in 1928 had sound, most were still silent.* July 31 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's mascot Leo the Lion roars for the very first time, creating one of the most popular American film logos....
silent filmA silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially spoken dialogue. The idea of combining motion pictures with recorded sound is nearly as old as film itself, but because of the technical challenges involved, synchronized dialogue was only made practical in the late 1920s with...
starring
Lon ChaneyLon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema. He is best remembered for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his...
and
Loretta Young-Early life:She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah as Gretchen Young, of Luxembourgian descent.At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. She and her family moved to Hollywood when she was three years old. Loretta and her sisters Polly Ann Young and Elizabeth Jane Young worked as child actresses,...
. The movie was directed by
Herbert BrenonHerbert Brenon was a film director during the era of silent movies through the 1930s. He was born in Dublin, Ireland, and was educated at St Paul's School and at King's College London...
and produced and released through MGM Studios.
Plot
Tito (
Lon Chaney, Sr.Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema. He is best remembered for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted characters, and his...
), a traveling circus clown, finds an abandoned child (uncredited). Tito adopts her and raises her as his daughter, naming her Simonetta after his partner Simon (
Bernard SiegelBernard Siegel is the Executive Director of the nonprofit Genetics Policy Institute based in Wellington, Florida.A graduate of the University of Miami undergraduate and law, he is an attorney and member of the Florida Bar since 1975...
). One day Simonetta (
Loretta Young-Early life:She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah as Gretchen Young, of Luxembourgian descent.At confirmation, she took the name Michaela. She and her family moved to Hollywood when she was three years old. Loretta and her sisters Polly Ann Young and Elizabeth Jane Young worked as child actresses,...
) encounters Luigi (
Nils AstherNils Asther was a Danish-born Swedish stage and film actor.-Biography:Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Asther grew up in Sweden and attended the Royal Dramatic Theater School in Stockholm...
), a wealthy man who falls madly in love with her, but she rejects him. She returns home to the circus and Tito suddenly realizes she is no longer a child. Tito further realizes he has feelings for Simonetta, but also knows his feelings are improper because he raised her as his daughter.
Luigi begins having fits of uncontrollable laughter because Simonetta has rejected him. Tito falls into melancholy because he believes he should not have Simonatta as a love interest. They both see the same doctor about their conditions and meet for the first time. They share their respective troubles and believe they can help each other, not knowing they both love the same woman. Nonetheless, the three eventually develop a strong friendship until Luigi asks Simonetta to marry him. Simonetta eventually accepts Luigi's proposal, which throws Tito into an even deeper melancholy. Simonetta learns of Tito's affections for her before she marries Luigi. She tells Tito she loved him before she loved Luigi, then goes to break her engagement with Luigi.
While Simonetta is breaking her engagement, Tito and Simon begin rehearsing some new material for their Flik and Flok act. Tito does not believe Simonetta's love is genuine, but that it is just pity. He becomes emotionally hysterical, and falls from the
highwireHighwire may refer to:* HighWire Press, a division of the Stanford University Libraries that produces and hosts scholarly publications online* A style of tightrope walking* "Highwire" a song by the Rolling Stones featured on Flashpoint....
while practicing a familiar stunt.
There are two endings. In one, Tito dies from his fall, freeing Simonetta to marry Luigi. In the alternate, Tito survives his fall and Simonetta marries Luigi, and they all remain close friends.
2002 Re-Score, 2003 Release
In January 2002, the third annual Young Film Composers Competition sponsored by
Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a cable television channel featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
(which is owned by
Turner Broadcasting SystemTurner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the company managing the collection of cable networks and properties started by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner in the mid-1970s....
- the
Time WarnerTime Warner Inc. is the world's largest entertainment conglomerate , as well as the world's fourth largest media conglomerate, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City...
subsidiary that also owns MGM's pre-1986 films through
Turner EntertainmentTurner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution.-Background:Turner Entertainment Co...
) began. One of the entrants was a college student named Scott Salinas and he won. In November 2002, he scored it at TODD-AO digitally recorded which the film first aired in February 2003 and at the same time, a promo showing Scott Salinas' experience composing the score for
Laugh, Clown, Laugh.