Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

MissSimonetta Lon Chaney remains one of the most loved figures of the silent era and for good reason: he was a fantastic actor who threw himself into his parts 100 percent. The Penalty (1920), his first starring effort, is no exception.With a plot featuring drug-dealing, prostitution, and murder, The Penalty is a grisly picture with a great, seedy underworld atmosphere. Chaney steals the show as the double amputee crime lord Blizzard; his performance is part terrifying, part wicked camp, and part sympathetic, all in all a complex villain. Also notable is Ethel Grey Terry as Rose, the woman who infiltrates Blizzard's underworld and hopes to bring him to justice- before falling in love with him, of course. Terry underplays it and gets to shine in an active role. No damsel in distress is she.Still, the film does have flaws. The "heroes" of the film are not only out-shined by the more charismatic Blizzard, they are also unlikeable for a modern audience with their sexist attitudes toward women, whom they believe should just stay at home and reproduce instead of following their ambitions. The ending smacks of deus ex machina, though I will say the filmmakers pull it off as best as they can.Absolutely essential for fans of the silent film era.

simeon_flake A car accident leaves a small boy in the care of a doctor who decides to amputate both of the boy's legs. The boy also has a contusion at the base of his skull--a plot point that will become very important towards the end of the movie.Much to the doctor's shock and dismay, one of his colleagues reveals that amputation wasn't necessary and the boy overhears how the doctor butchered him. Years later, the boy would grow up to become Blizzard, the King of the San Francisco underworld.Blizzard has plans--not only to rob the city blind, but to exact revenge on the doctor who robbed him of his legs.This was without doubt, the best Lon Chaney Sr. movie I have seen. No elaborate facial makeups, just the acting skills of a master silent screen star--and the no doubt arduous pains Chaney must have gone through to affect the double amputee look.This might also be one of the very few Chaney Sr. films I've seen where he gets a girl. Not the one he had his eyes on throughout the film, but a girl nonetheless and after an operation, it appears Chaney may get a very happy ending--that is until he must pay the Penalty.This might also be the best restoration I have seen of all of Chaney's surviving silents. There's still one or two I have not purchased yet, but there was not a whole lot in the way of grain or dirt, static, whatever else may effect old movies such as these.Overall, if you're a fan of Lon Chaney, then "The Penalty" is required viewing. 10 stars

Scott LeBrun Silent screen legend Lon Chaney has a particularly enjoyable role which he plays to the hilt. His expressions and delivery are absolutely delicious; he looks like he is having a terrific time playing this demented antagonist. Experts believe that the pain he must have felt wearing a harness had an impact on his performance and added to his intensity. The other performers are fine but are simply blown off the screen by his flamboyant villainy.The story is a good one. Based on the novel by Gouverneur Morris and scripted by Charles Kenyon & Philip Lonergan, it tells of a man named "Blizzard" (Chaney), who as a child had had his legs unnecessarily amputated by incompetent doctor Ferris (Charles Clary). He grows up to be a crippled, embittered gangster in San Francisco who plots an insidious revenge, intending to get close to Ferris's sculptress daughter Barbara (Claire Adams). She's in a creative slump and has decided to make a portrait of "Satan after the fall", for which Blizzard means to model. While this is going on, an undercover operative named Rose (Ethel Grey Terry) has infiltrated his organization to get the goods on him."The Penalty" is a very diverting melodrama that does have a deliberate pace, but there are many fine moments with Mr. Chaney. In addition to its serious moments, it has some humour as well. It's especially funny when Blizzard asks of his henchmen, "Do I look like Satan?" One of the best lines of dialogue occurs when Blizzard is told that he's mad, and he responds that it's the kind of madness that succeeds. And Blizzard does indeed often look sufficiently mad.As directed by Wallace Worsley, this does have some neat details, such as hidden passageways, always fun to see in films from this period. And the story leads to a rather unexpected and touching resolution that is extremely effective.Must viewing for Chaney fans.Eight out of 10.

wes-connors Lon Chaney (as Blizzard) is the underworld lord and master of San Francisco, despite a striking disability - he has no legs. Mr. Chaney's "Blizzard" was, as a boy, a "victim of San Francisco traffic", and had his legs amputated above the knees, after an accident. Moreover, the amputations were unnecessary; they were needlessly preformed by young, inexperienced Charles Clary (as Dr. Ferris); Mr. Clary also leaves a brain contusion untreated. As a boy, Chaney hears an older, experienced doctor scold Mr. Clary on the unnecessary procedure; but, they cover up the crime, and dismiss the young amputee's protests as delusions, caused by ether.Twenty-seven years later, the powerful crime lord decides to enact his terrifying revenge on the doctor who cut off his legs. Cheney answers a newspaper ad posted by Clary's daughter Claire Adams (as Barbara Ferris); she is a sculptress, looking for someone to model Satan, for her bust: "WANTED -- Model to pose for statue of 'Satan After the Fall.' If you think you look like Satan, apply at studio of Barbara Ferris, 32 Institute Place. 8284" The Satanic-looking Chaney is the perfect candidate to sit for the young woman; and, Ms. Adams welcomes him into her art studio, unaware (yet) of his unfortunate association with her father. Meanwhile, Cheney's underworld operation is being infiltrated by a spy; lawman Milton Ross (as Lichtenstein) has sent his best undercover agent, Ethel Grey Terry (as Rose), to gets the goods on Chaney. He is especially interested in why Chaney has his "show girls" making thousands of hats… "The Penalty" has a noticeable degree of implausibility, as do many films; and, it does become make the film more than a little distracting, at times. Yet, Chaney's performance is so commanding, and so thoroughly enjoyable, it's really pointless to list faults. The film works on the strength of Lon Chaney's performance. Director Wallace Worsley, photographer Donovan D. Short, and art director Gilbert White contribute to the master, by giving the film a great, atmospheric look.Among the supporting players, James Mason (as Frisco Pete) is easily the standout. Young Edouard Trebaol (as Bubbles) is also well-employed, and natural, alongside the high degree of emoting present amongst the adults. Trebaol memorably re-teamed with Chaney in "Oliver Twist" (they were "Fagin" and "The Artful Dodger"). Interestingly, in the original Gouveneur Morris novel, "Bubbles" had an expanded role, which eventually revealed him to be the son of "Blizzard". That subplot would have added greatly to this film, further contrasting cruelty and humanity; and, of course, recalling the boy "Blizzard", and his earlier loss. It would have also confirmed the adult Chaney's obvious sexual prowess (note how women kneel down to play Chaney's pedals has he tickles the ivories).Whatever its faults, "The Penalty" set the standard for the expertly performed and extremely successful Lon Chaney role - grotesque, anguished, sympathetic, and/or deformed. It started here. Give yourself a penalty if you pass up this Chaney classic. ********** The Penalty (11/15/20) Wallace Worsley ~ Lon Chaney, Ethel Grey Terry, Claire Adams, Jim Mason