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


See all Freaks articles

Quotes from

Phroso: Schlitze your a real man,s woman.


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.


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


read more quotes from Freaks...

Facts about

Dwarf John George - for reasons unknown - does not appear in "Freaks", even though a role was specifically written for him in the screenplay.
Samuel Marx, head of MGM's Story Department, recalled with peculiar pride, "And so, Harry Rapf, who was a great moral figure, got a bunch of us together and we went in and complained to Irving Irving Thalberg about 'Freaks'. And he laughed at that. He said, 'You know, we're making all kinds of movies. Forget it. I'm going to make the picture. Tod Browning's a fine director. He knows what he's doing.' And the picture was made." But the lunchroom protests didn't end. As a result, a makeshift table was constructed and the cast of "Freaks" (with the exception of Harry Earles and Daisy Earles, Violet Hilton and Daisy Hilton, and the more "normal" cast-members) were forced to eat their meals outdoors.
One woman, after seeing "Freaks", wrote a letter to Tod Browning at MGM, exclaiming that "You must have the mental equipment of a freak yourself to devise such a picture." Another viewer complained, "To put such creatures in a picture and before the public is unthinkable."
read more facts about Freaks...
Share this page:
Visit the Classic Movie Hub Blog CMH
National Film Registry

Freaks

Released 1932
Inducted 1994
(Sound)




See All Films in National Registry >>
Also directed by Tod Browning




More about Tod Browning >>
Also produced by Irving Thalberg




More about Irving Thalberg >>
Related Lists
Create a list


See All Related Lists >>
Also released in 1932




See All 1932 films >>
More "Pre-Code Cinema" films



See All "Pre-Code Cinema" films >>
More "Circus" films



See All "Circus" films >>
More "Book-Based" films



See All "Book-Based" films >>