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He Who Gets Slapped

He Who Gets Slapped

1924 · 72 min · EN · NR · 7.5 (114 votes)
Dir. Victor Sjöström · Starring Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Ruth King, Marc McDermott, Ford Sterling
DramaThrillerRomance

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.

VIBE

A haunting silent spectacle of a man's public humiliation masking private anguish. The circus becomes a stage for profound sorrow and unrequited love, where every slap echoes a deeper betrayal.

tragicmelancholicintensehauntingslow-burnsilent filmmelodramaexpressionisticcircus aestheticbetrayalunrequited loveperformancesuffering
▶ Stream on TCM, Eternal Family
circusclownclowningbased on play or musicalloveremaketragedybetrayalunrequited lovesilent filmbetrayal by friendslapcircus clowncircus performer
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