There are many Hollywood biographies. It takes a lot for a film biography to be well made. The actor’s craft is playing other people. This alone takes talent. It takes an actor of exceptional skills to do a biography. This is where James Cagney comes into the picture. He previously won an academy award for his portrayal of George M. Cohan. He challenges himself in Man of a Thousand Faces, playing Lon Chaney, a man of acting skills par excellence. He has in this film proved up to the challenge. Cagney makes everyone believe that you are seeing Lon Chaney’s life unfold before your very eyes. Cagney takes the audience on a journey from Chaney’s early vaudeville career to movie star.
Lon Chaney was one of the earliest film stars. He lifted Quasimodo and Eric the phantom from the pages of literature, and made both of them iconic screen characters. He was famous but he had a troubled personal life. This is where James Cagney is at his best. He shows the aspects of Chaney’s life, excelling in the scenes depicting his troubled marriage, with his first wife, Cleva, (Dorothy Malone), whose acting skills are on display. She is exceptional when she confronts Cagney, when she finds out that his parents are deaf. She becomes unhappy because she is pregnant and worries that her baby will be born deaf. Later when the child is born, Chaney claps his hands, and his newborn son cries, much to his wife’s relief.
It would seem that the Chaney’s marriage, would succeed; but as time goes on, and the pressure of show business, the marriage collapses. The final straw for the couple, is when a despondent Cleva, tries to kill herself, while Lon Chaney is performing. After his wife recovers, Chaney divorces her. This prompts him to leave the stage, at the suggestion of his good friend and agent, Clarence Locan, (Jim Backus). Backus has a solid supporting role as Locan, who sees Lon Chaney through thick and thin. Locan’s advice is to move to Hollywood, which Chaney does, also marrying Hazel Bennet, (Jane Greer). Chaney’s career consists of hard work, taking every role he can get. He works at his craft, even creating makeup for all of his characters, where eventually he gets his nickname, Man of a Thousand Faces. There are some great shots showing Cagney, as Chaney transforming into different characters. A good scene shows Cagney as Chaney, transforming into an East Indian pirate, while cast and crew watch in awe.
Lon Chaney’s personal and professional life seem to be going well. His world comes crashing down, one day, on the set of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. His ex-wife, Cleva, pays him a visit. She wants to see their son, Creighton, who she gave up after the divorce. Lon Chaney treats her harshly, and denies her request. This scene is even more compelling, because Chaney is in makeup as Quasimodo. After this Creighton(Roger Smith) finds out and goes with his mother.
Chaney’s career continues to soar. We see Cagney recreating the famous scene from The Phantom of the Opera, when Christine unmasks him. Afterward, Chaney and the actress congratulate each other on the scene. It is scenes like this, that help show Chaney as a regular guy. After this, the audience is shown many of the characters that Chaney created. The day comes when silent films fade into history, and the great film star, Lon Chaney is asked to put his voice to sound. He reluctantly does this, with a remake of his silent film, The Unholy Three. The film succeeds and Chaney is told he will be known as The Man of a Thousand Voices. His film career is short lived when Chaney becomes ill with cancer. He has reconciled with his son and has gotten back from fishing. He collapses and is put to bed. The final scene shows Cagney at his best. He is unable to speak, and motions for his makeup case. He takes it, and writes Lon Chaney Jr. on it, handing it to his son, who aspires to be an actor. After this, Lon Chaney dies. The director, Joseph Pevney, does a fitting tribute, panning the images on the wall of several of Chaney’s characters; giving the audience a final look at the legacy of The Man of a Thousand Faces.
James Cagney gives one of his best performances in Man of a Thousand Faces. He was, like Lon Chaney, famous for playing bad guys or sympathetic characters. Although Lon Chaney would have been appreciated by film fans, and historians, this movie keeps his memory alive forever. James Cagney has done something in this film, that every actor should do. He makes you forget he’s Cagney and fully projects Lon Chaney.