Freaks Overview:

Freaks (1932) was a Horror - Black-and-white Film directed by Tod Browning and produced by Irving Thalberg, Tod Browning, Dwain Esper, Harry Rapf and Hildegarde Stadie.

Freaks was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1994.

BlogHub Articles:

Freaks (1932): We’re All Sideshow Attractions

By 4 Star Film Fan on Jun 8, 2023 From 4 Star Films

One of the personal details of Tod Browning’s life was his adolescence spent working in the circus. This gives him an accessibility to the material that some other less-attuned director might have lacked. And yet there’s little denying Freaks is a genuine showpiece when it comes to turni... Read full article


Legends of Tomorrow (2016) s05e12 – Freaks and Greeks

on May 13, 2020 From The Stop Button

And, now, in the ?they all can?t be winners? category, we have Freaks and Greeks, which sends the Legends to Hudson University to steal a chalice from a frat. It?s not a frat in 1979. It?s a frat in 2020, run by special guest star Drew Ray Tanner; he?s Greek party god Dionysus, who?s finally found ... Read full article


Freaks (1932): Horror?

By Carol Martinheira on Oct 30, 2018 From The Old Hollywood Garden

Freaks (1932): Horror? On October 30, 2018October 30, 2018 By CarolIn Uncategorized I mean, sure, the final moments are some of the scariest and most macabre in film history, but Freaks (1932) far transcends the horror genre. In fact, it has been widely described as a ... Read full article


Monstros / Freaks (1932)

By L? on Jul 9, 2016 From Critica Retro

Monstros / Freaks (1932) O ano era 2009, e eu era uma rec?m-chegada no mundo do cinema. Tinha 16 anos e era f?cil de impressionar. N?o sei por que abri uma lista com o t?tulo “os 10 filmes mais impressionantes da hist?ria”. L?, na 10? posi??o, uma imagem j? me assustou: o Homem-To... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: FREAKS (1932)

By Jennifer Garlen on Oct 31, 2014 From Virtual Virago

Tod Browning made a lasting mark on the horror genre with Dracula (1931), but Freaks (1932) is by far the stranger and more inventive of the two films. The director had explored the circus before with Lon Chaney silents like The Unholy Three (1925) and The Unknown (1927), as well The Show (1927) wit... Read full article


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Quotes from

Roscoe: [whenever he asks only one of the two Siamese twins to stay, and the twins have to leave together] You always use that as a excu-excuse, an alib-b-b-bi.


Phroso: Schlitze your a real man,s woman.


[referring to a "half-man/half-woman" who has given Hercules an alluring look]
Roscoe: I think she likes you - but he don't.


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Facts about

During filming, director Tod Browning was plagued with dreams in which Johnny Eck and a pinhead would keep bringing a cow in backward through a doorway in the middle of shoots.
The reunion of Hans and Frieda, seen at the end of most prints, was not part of Tod Browning's original cut. It was added during the re-editing to give the film a happier ending.
When MGM production chief Irving Thalberg gave Willis Goldbeck the assignment to write a draft of a screenplay based on Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins's story "Spurs", the only direction he gave Goldbeck was that the script had to be "horrible". The writer completed his draft quickly and turned the script over to Thalberg. A few days later, Goldbeck was summoned to Thalberg's office, where he found the producer slumped forward on his desk with his face buried in his arms, as if overwhelmed. After a moment, Thalberg sat up straight and looked at Goldbeck. "Well," said Thalberg, "it's horrible."
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National Film Registry

Freaks

Released 1932
Inducted 1994
(Sound)




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Also directed by Tod Browning




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Also produced by Irving Thalberg




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Also released in 1932




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More "Pre-Code Cinema" films



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More "Circus" films



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