He Who Gets Slapped
After a baron steals his scientific discoveries, runs away with his wife, and slaps him in public, a man joins a Parisian circus sideshow as a clown whose act consists of being slapped repeatedly and becomes infatuated with a showgirl colleague whose father intends to marry her off to the baron.
From the archive
He Who Gets Slapped is a 1924 film starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, and John Gilbert.[1][2] It was directed by Victor Sjöström. The film is based on the Russian play ТоÑ, кÑо полÑÑÐ°ÐµÑ Ð¿Ð¾ÑÑÑÐ¸Ð½Ñ ("He Who Gets Slapped", transliterated as Tot, kto poluchayet poshchechini) by playwright Leonid Andreyev, which was published in 1914 and in English, as He Who Gets Slapped, in 1922. The Russian original was made into a Russian movie in 1916. The film is significant for many reasons, foremost being that it was the first production to start filming in the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was not, however, MGM's first released movie, as the release was postponed until the Christmas season when higher attendance was expected. The film was highly profitable for the fledgling MGM, and was critically hailed upon release. This film was also the first to feature Leo the Lion as the mascot MGM logo. Leo the Lion first appeared in the logo for Goldwyn Pictures Corporation in 1917, and the logo passed to MGM when the companies merged. The film was important in the careers of Chaney, Shearer, Gilbert, and Sjöström. Some sources claim that Béla Lugosi plays the uncredited role of a clown, although this is based solely on the resemblance of a particular actor to Lugosi. Director: Victor Sjöström Writers: Leonid Andreyev (play), Carey Wilson (adapted for the screen by) Stars: Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer and John Gilbert
Why this is free to watch
He Who Gets Slapped (1924) is hosted by the Internet Archive as a public-domain or openly licensed work, which means its copyright has expired, lapsed, or was released by the rights holder. The uploader declared an explicit licence, linked in the source panel. Nitrate streams the file directly from the Archive and hosts no video itself.
- Director
- Victor Sjöström
- Starring
- Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Ruth King, Marc McDermott, Ford Sterling, Tully Marshall, Edward Arnold
Player shortcuts
- Space Play / pause
- ← → Skip 10s
- ↑ ↓ Volume
- M Mute
- F Fullscreen
- 0–9 Jump to %
