Freaks

Freaks is a 1932 horror film about sideshow performers directed by Tod Browning.

Overview

Freaks tells the story of a normal-sized trapeze artist named Cleopatra (played by Olga Baclanova) who marries a sideshow midget Hans, (played by Harry Earles) for money that he had inherited. She mocks the other members of the troupe during their wedding celebrations and faces their retribution when she, along with her accomplice and lover, the strongman (Henry Victor), attempt to poison Hans. The film also stars Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, and Earles' real life sister Daisy Earles.

Related Topics:
Trapeze - Olga Baclanova - Sideshow - Midget - Harry Earles - Henry Victor - Wallace Ford - Leila Hyams

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Among the characters featured as "freaks" were the Hilton twins, a pair of female conjoined twins. There were several microcephiles who were referred to in the film as "pinheads". The most notable of these was Schlitze, who wore a dress mainly to make it easier to use the bathroom, but who was in fact a male named Simon Metz. Other microcephiles were Zip and Pip (Elvira and Jenny Lee Snow, the inspiration for Zippy the Pinhead). Also featured were the hermaphrodite Josephine Joseph, with her left/right divided hair ( and who was believed to be the inspiration for the hairstyle of Phil Oakey of the band Human League); Johnny Eck, the legless man; and the completely limbless Prince Randian (also known as a torso), who, in a notable scene, lights a cigarette with his mouth.

Related Topics:
Hilton twins - Conjoined twins - Microcephiles - Simon Metz - Elvira and Jenny Lee Snow - Zippy the Pinhead - Hermaphrodite - Josephine Joseph - Phil Oakey - Human League - Johnny Eck - Prince Randian - Cigarette

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