This is such a great movie! Scott has included some great info on the FAD site (Tod Browning, Hilton Sisters). This is a must see if you haven't had the chance.
**My favorite freak was the armless legless black guy that could roll cigarettes with his mouth.
Random Trivia - The Ramones were inspired to write "Gabba, Gabba, Hey" after hearing the "Gooble Gobble" chant from Freaks.
Renowned Death Hag
I have a soft spot for the pinheads! They are so cute....I could eat them. With BBQ sauce and an ear of corn.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!
Renowned Death Hag
Yep, that one is in my collection. Too bad it's so short - just barely over an hour!
Renowned Death Hag
Originally Posted by joplinfrk
LOL!
Renowned Death Hag
Great flick! I agree about the pinheads...
Renowned Death Hag
oh gagggggggggg!!!!!!!! lmao
pull the string!
I have never heard of this. Please do educate the rest of us.
Also, Can I please ask a stupid question of Magblax. Why do you look like a salad. Very kewl looking.
Renowned Death Hag
Freaks was a movie that was made in the late 1930's that showcased many well known "freaks" of the time: pinheads, legless men, bearded ladies, etc. Not exactly Acadamy Award grade stuff, but amusing nonetheless!
Also, check out the book Freak Show: The Selling of People For Fun and Profit! It's the history of the freak show with a section of P T Barnum thrown in. Again, not highbrow material but fun, fun, FUN with a capital ph! Chock full of pictures, too!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!
Renowned Death Hag
a tip o'the hat to david bowie,for the lyrics "tod brownings freak you were" in diamond dogs,which turned on millions to the movie.
Death Hag Extraordinaire
I remember when I was a kid and saw that movie.Scared the hell outa me.Now I can see it for the camp classic that it is.Love the revenge angle at the end.
It is an old classic horror film from the 30s (you can read Scott's write up of Tod Browning in the Directory for more info..also check out The Hilton Sisters). Browing used real sideshow freaks as actors in the film and it was banned for years and rereleased in the 60s. I would love it if they brought back the freakshows! Anyway it is a must see!!
P.S. I look like a salad because I'm just trying to get "ahead" (that sounded really bad! LOL)
Every time I see your avatar I'm reminded of "Cabbage Head" in Kids in the Hall.
Awesome flick....it`s like a trainwreck you can`t look away from
I love that film! Very creepy, the acting isn't all that great, but the film is a classic for a reason.
Death Hag Extraordinaire
On Turner Classic Movies (TCM) at 8:15 pm central time.Some folks have expressed an interest in this old creepy classic.Now the chance to see it.TCM is showing alot of old horror classics now.
Does TCM show movies without commercial interruptions?
Thanks for the update!! I'm watching.
Renowned Death Hag
They DON'T have commercials during the movie!!!
Last edited by joplinfrk; 10-20-2007 at 08:06 AM.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!
I really really wanted to like this movie when I first saw it about 5 years ago. I really did. But I have to be honest that it completely and totally disturbed me. Haunted me. I just got so freaked out and I have no desire to see it again. Which is so weird because honestly, nothing freaks me out or grosses me out usually. I mean I can sit and eat a huge dinner while watching the goriest thing, but Freaks is something I cannot handle. I just keep hearing "One of us, one of us"...*shudder*
Your reaction really isn't all that surprising. Film censors in the UK were so taken aback by what they saw that the film was banned there until the 1960s.
Tod Browning's (the director) career didn't fare so well after the film came out either. But I guess it's a tribute to his filmmaking that the film still packs a wallop today, 75 years after its release.
I can only guess what audiences with 1930s-era sensibilities must have made of it.
Just for laughs: are there any cable channels that currently show films without commercial interruptions?
I remember in the 90s, AMC would show nothing but classic films, all commercial free. But I guess they stopped doing that in 2003 (?) when there was a format change.
It was sure nice while it lasted, though.
That's what I always think too. It's not often that you see something made that long ago that is soo shocking and disturbing.
I can only guess what audiences with 1930s-era sensibilities must have made of it.
Guys:
Check out www.midnightpalace.com if you dig vintage movies, radios, clothes, etc.
Renowned Death Hag
Wow- I watch TCM a lot and I don't have any commercial interruptions. I just watched "Valentino" a few nights ago.. Good flick- not really correct from what I've read, but still a good flick.
Performing my signature monkey hump move since 10/16/2007...
RIP Dad- 11/14/1947 to 12/16/2013
DAMMIT to hell. I had no idea!!! I've always wanted to see that movie, but am too lazy to try to find a copy in a video store (would the odds even be with me on that?) and last night, I had my step-pigs over. What a glorious opportunity it would have been to frighten them to their very cores with a haunting classic such as that! But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......................WE had to watch a very bad tape of "Whose Line Is It Anyway" because my step-daughter tapes that crap all the time and then brings it over, offering it up to us all like after dinner mints. We spent an hour watching the tape disintegrate in my VCR right before our very eyes! Did I say DAMMIT????
I've never been much good at "reading between the lines," but I think I'm sensing some hostility there! [smile]
Oh...say no more.
Can you offer to trade off video choices with her on alternating visits, perhaps? This assumes you cannot manage a way to garrote her with the videotape itself (after all: poison for poisoners!).
All kidding aside, it looks like you could prolly score the Freaks DVD online for about $15, shipped. Perhaps you could drop a Dark Hint to your other half that $15 is a cheap price to guarantee the continued safety and well-being of his beloved mons^dub^dub^dub^kids.
LOL, ST Moron, you're a rare gem. There IS some underlying hostility toward my husband's demon spawn, but I do also acknowledge, begrudgingly, that they are good kids. I just think they're a little too sheltered and need a good scare once in awhile, heh heh.
Death Hag Extraordinaire
Watched it last nite.Still creeps me out.
Prince Randian.
Ahhhh...Quite the Freak aficianado. Love it! He was awesome. I read that he married and had several kids.
I'm so upset, apparently it was on one of the old movie channels last night. I missed it! I only caught the tail end of the credits. Next time.... next time.
Close: 1932 was the release date.
Movies that came out prior to 1934 are often called "pre-code" films. That's because the Hays Code (or "Production Code") had no mechanism for enforcement until July 1934. After July 1934, movies had to be submitted to the Production Code Administration for approval before release. Before that time, the Production Code was written down, but was not actively enforced. Big difference.
The reason I make such a fetish of elaborating on this is because if Freaks had come out even two years later, there's a good chance it would never have been seen at all by a mainstream audience. It was made under the auspices of MGM (a member of the "studio system") and as such, had to win approval (or rather, a certificate of approval) from the PCA. Since people find Freaks upsetting even today, I can only guess at how someone watching it in the 1930s must have felt about it.
As it was, audiences in the UK didn't see it for some thirty years after its initial release, as the film censors there banned it until the 60s.
Last edited by ST Moron; 10-20-2007 at 10:47 AM.
Well, here's a small sample (Prince Randian in action):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo2aVjw2doc
Renowned Death Hag
Thanks, ST..I didn't know that.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!
i own it in dvd.
My mother was so disturbed when she saw it for the first time that at first she was mad at me for making him watch it!Now, shes a quite a fan of the film too.
Renowned Death Hag
Am I the only one who wonders how Chang and Eng Bunker fathered all those kids? I mean...I know, but..how? How does the other one "shut off" and not watch? Just curious.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]peek-a-boo!!
I've always wanted to check this movie out....
Death Hag
Use google video sometimes the full film is on there if not there is clips of the best stuff
i have this movie. it is disturbing, but i still like it. the end is creepy but the people get what they deserve. honestly, i dont think the storyline itself is all that weird its just the fact that they used 'freaks' to carry it out.
i got my dvd from amazon for christmas and i dont think it was too expensive.. maybe $15ish? the dvd also has commentary and i watched about half way through the commentary but i fell asleep and haven't yet finished watching. the man who is talking says that none of the freaks were happy that they decided to make that movie (i think? i'd have to rewatch it). i also think the one person who didnt have a problem with it was the man who was a torso with only arms, but then i think he later also had a change of heart.
and the little guy who plays one of the main characters was also one of the lollipop guild members in the wizard of oz! i love him. and also, schlitzie, who scott mentions in tod browning's post, was actually a boy dressed as a girl because it was the dress was easier for bathroom purposes i believe.
Last edited by cindyk; 11-06-2007 at 12:52 PM.
ok so anyone that know me knows i need help but this time im not talking about the medical intervention kind
i really want to watch freaks but i cant find one that is the right region for australia so if there are any aussie or kiwi hags out there who have it and could make a copy for me please god let me know
Death Hag Extraordinaire
Have you tried amazon.com or ebay? You might be able to find a copy there if you want to buy it.
Or, you can go here and watch it for free!
http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/freaks.php
The most dangerous woman of all is the one who refuses to rely on your sword to save her because she carries her own.
- R.H. Sin
i tried ebay and amazon but the only ones i can find are region 1 or whatever the US is
I LOVE IT!!! I want it on DVD soooo bad...I'm gonna see if I can find that book too...
Renowned Death Hag
I guess this makes me rather old but I do recall going to a Freak Show, and seeing "Dora" the Fat Woman, I was rather young and don't recall anyone else I may have seen but do remember her.. It was scary as I recall.. likely that is why it has stuck.. Not sure when they stopped doing Freak Shows (Side Shows), but it was in Toronto...(CNE)... I know a lot of people were used and some nasty stuff was happening and I am glad they don't have it now ...
There's more to the truth than just the facts. ~Author Unknown
Love the movie, it's one of my favorites!
I've never been to a real-live "Freak" show, but I did see a show on t.v. once about the murder in FLA of Lobster Boy. He had lobster-like claw hands and feet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grady_Stiles
Even cooler, though, was that Lobster Boy lived in Gibsonton, FLA (from wikipedia):
Gibsonton was famous as a shideshow wintering town, where various circus "freaks" would spend the off season. It was home to Percilla the Monkey girl, the Anatomical Wonder, and the Lobster Boy. Siamese twin sisters ran a fruit stand here. At one time, it was the only post office with a counter for dwarves. Aside from the agreeable winter climate, Gibsonton offered unique circus zoning laws that allowed residents to keep elephants and circus trailers on their front lawns.
I have an old post card of Grady Stiles from when he was a boy....I guess they were a way to make money for the family
I love this movie... it is not only a favorite year 'round, but a "must see" on my Halloween list... I taped it off of AMC about 10 years ago... good stuff...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022913/
http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/32/freaks.html
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...10065089064433
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeYWV9HUuoA
It's showing tonight in Seattle.
Anyone want a date?
Obviously this is my favorite movie. It speaks a lot to me about the human condition. It makes you think about what is "normal." In all honesty, there is no such thing. We all have the same basic desires in life. Even the severely handicapped have the need to be loved and taken care of, to be happy. In my job, I work with people who would have been considered freaks 50 years ago. Including a microcephalic ("pinhead"). They are not in any way scary or intimidating, especially when you get to know them.
I love Freaks because the point of the movie was at first to scare, but then to give people insight on the lives of people with physical and mental differences. Unfortunately the world was not ready for that kind of a message.
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