A sound remake of a silent Lon Chaney vehicle, "The Unholy Three" takes full advantage of his talents. His principal role is that of "Echo", a circus ventriloquist who forms an underworld trio with Hercules the strongman (Ivan Linow) and an unnamed little person (Harry Earles from "Freaks"). They go on to run a pet store while still dabbling in criminal schemes behind the scenes; their earnest employee Hector (Elliott Nugent) falls in love with Echos' gal pal Rosie (Lila Lee).
Although no classic, "The Unholy Three" is generally good fun: snappy, witty, often very funny. It's true that Chaney is far and away the most talented individual on screen, as he adopts the guise of a sweet old grandmother figure (Mrs. O'Grady), and performs several voices. That said, Lee provides an enjoyable amount of sass, and Nugent is likeable as the nice guy who becomes the fall guy. Earles is reasonably amusing, but is very hard to understand most of the time.
Mostly a comedy, this does have some good moments of tension, such as when an investigating detective (Clarence Burton) comes very close to discovering some purloined jewels. Director Jack Conway also does some entertaining scenes involving shadows. As for the plot, it does hew pretty close to the silent original, with the resolution reworked to take advantage of the advent of sound.
This is a landmark film in two important ways: it was the only "talkie" of Chaney's career, and unfortunately, it was also his swan song; he died of throat cancer mere weeks after the release. It would have been interesting to see his career continue further into the sound era; as it was, he was slated to play the title role in Universals' production of "Dracula" before his untimely passing. And he is a total hoot in this picture, delivering the laughs as well as some subtle menace and, perhaps, even a conscience. It's fascinating to actually hear his voice.
Seven out of 10.
Although no classic, "The Unholy Three" is generally good fun: snappy, witty, often very funny. It's true that Chaney is far and away the most talented individual on screen, as he adopts the guise of a sweet old grandmother figure (Mrs. O'Grady), and performs several voices. That said, Lee provides an enjoyable amount of sass, and Nugent is likeable as the nice guy who becomes the fall guy. Earles is reasonably amusing, but is very hard to understand most of the time.
Mostly a comedy, this does have some good moments of tension, such as when an investigating detective (Clarence Burton) comes very close to discovering some purloined jewels. Director Jack Conway also does some entertaining scenes involving shadows. As for the plot, it does hew pretty close to the silent original, with the resolution reworked to take advantage of the advent of sound.
This is a landmark film in two important ways: it was the only "talkie" of Chaney's career, and unfortunately, it was also his swan song; he died of throat cancer mere weeks after the release. It would have been interesting to see his career continue further into the sound era; as it was, he was slated to play the title role in Universals' production of "Dracula" before his untimely passing. And he is a total hoot in this picture, delivering the laughs as well as some subtle menace and, perhaps, even a conscience. It's fascinating to actually hear his voice.
Seven out of 10.