The Unholy Three

Plot synopsis:
Three performers leave a sideshow after Tweedledee (Harry Earles), the midget, assaults a young heckler and sparks a melee. The three join together in an "unholy" plan to become wealthy. Prof. Echo, the ventriloquist, assumes the role of Mrs. O'Grady, a kindly old grandmother, who runs a pet shop, while Tweedledee plays her grandchild. Hercules (Victor McLaglen), the strongman, works in the shop along with the unsuspecting Hector McDonald (Matt Moore). Echo's girlfriend, pickpocket Rosie O'Grady (Mae Busch), pretends to be his granddaughter.
Using what they learn from delivering pets, the trio later commit burglaries, with their wealthy buyers as victims. On Christmas Eve, John Arlington (an uncredited Charles Wellesley) telephones to complain that the "talking" parrot (aided by Echo's ventriloquism) he bought will not speak. When "Granny" O'Grady visits him to coax the bird into performing, "she" takes along grandson "Little Willie". While there, they learn that a valuable ruby necklace is in the house. They decide to steal it that night. As Echo is too busy, the other two grow impatient and decide to go ahead without him.
The next day, Echo is furious to read in the newspaper that Arlington was killed and his three-year-old daughter badly injured in the robbery. Hercules shows no remorse whatsoever, relating how Arlington pleaded for his life. When a police investigator shows up at the shop, the trio become fearful and decide to frame Hector, hiding the jewelry in his room.
Meanwhile, Hector proposes to Rosie. She turns him down, but he overhears her crying after he leaves. To his joy, she confesses she loves him, but was ashamed of her shady past. When the police take him away, Rosie tells the trio that she will exonerate him, forcing them to abduct her and flee to a mountain cabin. Echo takes along his large pet ape (who terrifies Hercules).
In the spring, Hector is brought to trial. Rosie pleads with Echo to save Hector, promising to stay with him if he does. After Echo leaves for the city, Tweedledee overhears Hercules asking Rosie to run away with him (and the loot). The midget releases the ape. Hercules kills the midget before the ape gets him.
At the trial, Echo agonizes over what to do, but finally rushes forward and confesses all. Both he and Hector are set free. When Rosie goes to Echo to keep her promise, he lies and says he was only kidding. He tells her to go to Hector. Echo returns to the sideshow, giving his spiel to the customers: "That's all there is to life, friends, ... a little laughter ... a little tear."

Tags: romantic, murder

Review:
Vowing revenge on the world of normal' people, a sideshow ventriloquist, strong man & dwarf band together as THE UNHOLY THREE.Following Lon Chaney's great film successes at Universal Studios, Irving Thalberg managed to entice the actor to come to MGM.
A crime caper rather than a horror film, the chills are saved for right near the end with the rampages of a ferocious ape (actually a chimpanzee, photographed out of proportion) which no one seems surprised to find in a bird store.While ventriloquism may seem an odd pastime to depict in a silent movie, Chaney made it all seem so sensible.
So well was he received in this role that it was chosen to be remade five years later as Chaney's talking debut.Muscular Victor McLaglen (a British Army champion athlete) and tiny Harry Earles (one of the few adult actors who could disguise himself as a baby) give very solid support as Chaney's wicked cronies; much of the favorable outcome of the film is due to them.Pensive Mae Busch scores as the waifish pickpocket allied with Chaney; this very talented actress would get to shine a few years later in a series of appearances with Laurel & Hardy.
Lon Chaney heads a group of three thieves/carnival performers as they masquerade as an old woman, a man, and a baby in a pet shop where they sell birds that talk only by ventriloquism.
Throw in a great job by Mae Busch and little Harry Earles as a cigar-smoking midget disguised as a baby.
The synopsis has been outlined elsewhere, but briefly it involves a trio of crooks from the sideshow world: Professor Echo the ventriloquist (Chaney) who disguises himself as an old lady, a strong man (Victor MacLaglen), and a midget (Harry Earles) who masquerades as a baby.
"The Unholy Three" (MGM, 1925), directed by Tod Browning, is the kind of movie only Lon Chaney could do best, playing a tough guy with a good heart, donning a disguise or two, and coming out with one of the film's famous lines, "That's all there is to life, folks, just a little laugh, just a little tear." In reality, it's a change of pace for Chaney from his previous efforts, playing a tough but sympathetic character in a crime drama.The story features three museum freaks, Hercules, the strong man (Victor McLaglen), Tweeledee, the dwarf (Harry Earles), and Professor Echo, the ventriloquist (Lon Chaney), performing in a sideshow while Echo's girl, Rosie O'Grady (Mae Busch) goes through the crowd picking pockets.
Also working in the shop is Hector McDonald (Matt Moore), who becomes interested in Rosie but is unaware of the operation.Watching Lon Chaney disguised as a sweet little old lady is priceless, almost reminiscent to Tod Browning's latter melodrama of the sound era, "The Devil Doll" (MGM, 1936) in which Lionel Barrymore appeared as an escaped convict dressed as an elderly woman to elude the law, a role Chaney would have done, I'm sure, had he lived.
Along with Chaney, midget Harry Earles also repeats his Tweeledee performance.When "The Unholy Three" was presented on public television's 13-week series tribute to MGM, "Movies, Great Movies" in 1973, its host, Richard Schickel mentioned that this 1925 version was Lon Chaney's personal favorite of all his movies and one of MGM's biggest hits of that year.
(Watch the 1930 talkie and find out).Also interesting is seeing a young Victor McLaglen, the future Best Actor winner of 1935's "The Informer," still rugged but a little thinner; Mae Busch (famous for her variety of roles in several Laurel and Hardy comedy shorts and features for Hal Roach in the 1930s), usually playing a tough gal, here playing against type as a co-starring love interest; and Matthew Betz as Inspector Regan.
Tod Browning's direction should not go unnoticed, with one interesting scene having Chaney discussing his future plans in forming THE UNHOLY THREE to his supporters, as presented on screen in silhouettes, looking something like a "film noir" crook drama of the 1940s.The 1925 version of THE UNHOLY THREE, clocked at 86 minutes, currently includes the same orchestral scoring on Turner Classic Movies that was composed and originally chosen for the October 12, 1973, public television presentation of "Movies, Great Movies" a 13-week series tribute to MGM's 50th anniversary of its silent movies from the 1920s, as hosted by Richard Schickel.
In an effort to make more money than they do as traveling carnival show attractions, velvet-voiced ventriloquist Lon Chaney (as Echo), baby-impersonating dwarf Harry Earles (as Tweedledee), and strongman Victor McLaglen (as Hercules) team up to form a gang of jewel thieves who call themselves "The Unholy Three".
The crooked trio begins operating out of a bird shop run by Mr. Chaney, posing as sweet "Granny O'Grady", mother of pickpocket and gang moll Mae Busch (as Rosie).
Also remarkable is Mr. Earle, who hadn't mastered English for the re-make, but seemed fine by "Freaks" (1932); his wicked, cigar-smoking baby is classic."The Unholy Three" (1925) was honored as one of its year's best pictures at "Film Daily" (#2), Motion Picture Magazine (#3), and The New York Times (#3) - after winners "The Gold Rush", "The Big Parade", and "The Last Laugh".
The film is perversely appealing - which was then, and is now, a Chaney/Browning hallmark.******** The Unholy Three (8/16/25) Tod Browning ~ Lon Chaney, Mae Busch, Harry Earles, Matt Moore.
I had an afternoon free so I decided to watch the two versions of this Lon Chaney classic back to back, beginning with this one -- Tod Browning's silent original.
It's the story of a crooked carnival ventriloquist (Lon Chaney) who teams up with the midget (Harry Earles) and strong man (Victor McLaglen ) for a series of robberies.
In many ways this was a precursor to the popular Little Rascals/Our Gang short subject FREE EATS, where a couple of gangsters act as parents to a couple of little people dressed as infants, mistakenly referred to as "fidgets".Whether it's the silent version or sound remake, I thought this was a wildly entertaining story either way, though it's difficult to fairly judge one film or the other when they're viewed together so closely like this.
Lon Chaney certainly wasn't one for making conventional movies - as his frequent director Tod Browning was the same in his work."The Unholy Three" is one such film.
Tod Browning's direction is very good as he sets the tone of the film from the beginning.As the leader of the gang, Lon Chaney is terrific but he is brilliantly supported by Harry Earles and Victor MacLagen.
This Lon Chaney vehicle, directed by the great Tod Browning, is the story of three circus performers who begin to thieve jewels.
Chaney, a ventriloquist, dresses up as an old woman, one of his cohorts a man posing as the old woman's son, and the third, a midget, as his infant son (one of the major reasons to see this flick is that the same midget, here named Tweedledeedee, also plays Hans, the midget who marries the acrobat Cleopatra in Browning's later masterpiece, Freaks; in this film he actually is seen smoking a giant cigar, which, in Freaks, his fiancee suggested that he shouldn't smoke).
Only a great actor like Lon Chaney could do justice to the dual role of Echo the ventriloquist/Gramdma O'Grady.
But then this film was the product of the equally inimitable Tod Browning, the man who subsequently created the notorious movie "Freaks, which also featured the unique talents of Harry Earles.
The story involves three side show performers; Echo the Ventriloquist (Lon Chaney), Hercules the Strong Man (future Academy Award Winner Victor Mclaglen) and Tweedledee the Midget (Harry Earles).
Also assisting them is "Sweet Rosie O'Grady" (Mae Busch), a pickpocket who had formerly been in business with Echo when they were both working in the carnival.Although Lon Chaney was known for his spectacular horror films, in his day he made a lot of crime films as well, and "The Unholy Three" falls under that heading.
Apart from the scenes in which he is disguised as the "sweet Little old lady", in which he is very convincing, in this film Chaney appears as a regular person, which was a relatively rare thing in his career.Presented by a superior cast of actors, "The Unholy Three" is certainly among the most unique crime dramas ever filmed.
And--as many astute film fans can tell you-- the limits of the bizarre and fantastic would really get stretched in 1931 by the release of 2 films titled "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" respectively.Getting back to "Unholy", we have Lon Chaney as the ringleader of a crooked trio consisting of the circus strongman, Hercules and--dare I say--a "midget" played by Harry Earles.
Another advantage of this silent feature is the viewer doesn't have to spend much time trying to decipher the words coming out of Harry's mouth--although I will say, there were times when I missed the dialogue from Harry; i.e., the scene where the little guy threatens to put some lilies under Rosie's chin if she squealed.Overall, of all the Browning/Chaney collaborations I have seen, "Unholy" would rank at the top of my list.8.5 stars.
The Unholy Three is an unusual film because he's quite an ordinary man here, but he effects the disguise of an old woman for criminal purposes.Due to some light fingered activity at a carnival he was employed at Chaney, strong man Victor McLaglen, and midget Harry Earles find themselves unemployed.
Personally I think he was way too big to be a toddler, but that's a little dramatic license that director Todd Browning was taking.Chaney also buys a pet shop and Mae Busch who was a carnival waif goes and lives with them.
A film with several of director Tod Browning's favorite things - actor Lon Chaney, human oddities in a carnival sideshow, unusual disguises, and a killer animal.
The first half of the film is interesting, starting with the establishing shots in the carnival, where we see the usual sorts of things, a sword swallower and a pair of conjoined twins, as well as some surprises, a burlesque dancer shaking her bosoms with the promise of more inside, and a little person (Harry Earles) kicking a child in the audience in the face out of anger.A ventriloquist (Chaney) has the idea of forming a gang of thieves with the little person and a strongman (Victor McLaglen) to make up an "unholy three", and we soon see them in disguise, Chaney dressed as an old woman and Earles as a baby, in order to operate out of a bird shop.
The sound bubbles appearing over the parrots when Chaney throws his voice to make them seem like they're talking is also pretty cute.The love triangle subplot (with the shop owner played by Matt Moore and girlfriend played by Mae Busch) is less interesting, and unfortunately the film lags in the second half, particularly during a trial scene.
Ventriloquist Echo (Chaney) will assume the disguise of Granny O'Grady, a nice old lady who runs a pet store specialising in parrots.
When the unhappy purchaser later calls the store to complain, Granny O'Grady will snoop out the place, paving the way for horseshoe- bending strongman Hercules (Victor McLaglen) and short-tempered midget Tweedledee (Harry Earles) to sneak in and steal any spied valuables.
But when Echo's girlfriend Rosie (Mae Busch) falls for Hector, the plan quickly starts to fall apart.There are a lot of things about The Unholy Three that are utterly ridiculous, such as Echo's needlessly convoluted plan, and the idea that anyone would buy the cigar-chomping Earles as a baby in a cart.
Chaney really was the man of a thousand faces; effortlessly convincing as both a harmless old lady and a sympathetic anti-hero, and Earles - who would later appear in Freaks - is great fun, delivering what is undoubtedly the film's greatest line ("If you tip that boob off to who we are, I'll lay some lilies under your chin!").
At the same time, there are so many implausible elements thrown into the mix that you must suspend disbelief in order to sit back and enjoy the excellent performances.While LON CHANEY is undoubtedly at his best as the old Granny who runs a bird shop for talking parrots, the attention is compulsively drawn to the evil dwarf (HARRY EARLES).
Later on, he served as one of the Munchkins for THE WIZARD OF OZ, but here he's a grown man able to pose convincingly as a baby--a very conniving infant who instigates the robbery and murder of a wealthy store patron.Since Echo (LON CHANEY's ventriloquist name), throws his voice whenever the parrots talk, the ventriloquism device is used for effect in the climactic courtroom scene where Chaney decides to help an innocent man wrongly accused of the murder.
Even though the device of throwing his voice at a trial is completely beyond belief, he manages to convince the viewer that such a thing was entirely possible.Chaney is very effective as the smiling Granny, Earles is scary as the psychopathic dwarf posing as a baby between puffs on a cigar, and MAE BUSCH is effective as the woman Chaney loves.Although slowly paced, it's well worth watching, drawing the viewer from the start with its strange and incredible story, an entertaining triumph for all concerned.
Unholy Three, The (1925) ** 1/2 (out of 4)A Tod Browning film about a ventriloquist (Lon Chaney), a strongman (Victor McLaglen) and a midget (Harry Earles of Freaks fame) who join forces after leaving the sideshow to become "The Unholy Three".
(Special Request for the Cinema- Gods: More midget characters like this in movies, please.) But far and away the Best is still Lon Chaney, as Professor Echo, the Ventriloquist.
With direction by Todd Browning and based on a novel by Tod Robbins (his story "Spurs" was turned into the film "Freaks"), "The Unholy Three" was an evocative and macabre thriller.Professor Echo (Lon Chaney) is a circus ventriloquist, who is in league with strongman Hercules (Victor McLaglen) and an evil midget Tweedledee(a sensational Harry Earles).
Co-produced and directed by Tod Browning, this above average silent crime drama was later remade as a sound picture with two members of the original cast, Lon Chaney and Harry Earles.
Based on the novel by Tod Robbins, with scenario by Waldemar Young, Chaney plays Professor Echo, a ventriloquist, who teams with dwarf Earles, dubbed Tweedledee, and strongman Victor McLaglen, who's called Hercules, to scam unawares customers into buying parrots from their pet shop.Initially, all three were in a sideshow during which Echo used Rosie O'Grady (Mae Busch) to pickpocket its customers.
After a police raid, Echo convinces Tweedledee and Hercules to join him, forming "The Unholy Three", who along with O'Grady and an innocent, unsuspecting employee Hector MacDonald (Matt Moore) set up shop.Echo uses his gift to make the parrots appear to talk to him, dressed as an old woman and pretending to be O'Grady's 'Granny', in order to fool their customers into paying high prices for the otherwise ordinary birds.
"The Unholy Three" is not a Lon Chaney horror film but rather an interesting crime caper drama.We meet the main characters in a seedy side show.
First is Echo the ventriloquist (Chaney) his "girl friend" and pick pocket artist Rosie O'Grady (Mae Busch), strongman Hercules (Victor McLaglan) and baby faced midget Tweedledee (Harry Earles).
They hire wimpish Hector McDonald (Matt Moore) who is unaware of the goings on, to run the store.The cover if you will, is a bird shop (really?) where Echo uses his ventriloquist skills to convince rich customers to buy what they think is a talking parrot.
Directed by Tod Browning in his first collaboration with MGM, the film is somewhat of a precursor to his 1932 film 'Freaks', which has more fantastic characters on display in an even more bizarre tale.Browning sets up the action with a quick view of circus performers to whet the viewer's appetite for strangeness; there's an immense fat lady, a tattooed woman, a sword swallower and Siamese twins, all to get us ready for Professor Echo (Lon Chaney), an otherwise normal looking ventriloquist, Hercules the strongman (Victor McLaglen), and midget performer Tweedledee (Harry Earles).
Not only does the Professor fall for pretty Rosie O'Grady (Mae Busch), so does shop employee Hector McDonald (Matt Moore).Though there are some suspenseful scenes throughout the story, others will leave you rather perplexed and scratching your head.
He concocts a scheme, gaining the partnership of a strongman(John Ford veteran Victor McLaglen)and his pint-sized dwarf friend Tweedledee(Harry Earles, most know him from Browning's controversial film "Freaks"), to thieve the rich by pretending to be a family operating a store.
Meanwhile, Hercules, the strongman, and Tweedledee decide to rob a client who recently purchased a parrot..in the film Echo is so good at voices, he can persuade possible shoppers to purchase parrots he provided the dialogue to..under the disguise of an elderly lady, Mrs. Granny O'Grady as Tweedledee pretends to be a little child..and kill the millionaire putting a damper on the future plans of The Unholy Three.
It's mainly of interest for the actors, who give great performances even though they can't use their voices.Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, is wonderful as Echo, the criminal mastermind who convinces as a friendly elderly woman; Victor McLaglen provides muscle as a hulking strongman; and, best of all, the diminutive Harry Earles – who returned in a central role in FREAKS – is great as the murderous criminal who disguises himself as a baby!
"Between 1919 to 1929, Tod Browning and Lon Chaney produced ten films.
The leader, Professor Echo, the ventriloquist (Chaney), masquerades as 'Granny O'Grady' (That is one ugly old lady!), the owner of a bird shop.
When Hercules and Tweedledee pull a job on their own and commit murder, Echo is outraged and spends the rest of the story repairing their damage.Echo is another example of the character Chaney most often played in Browning's films, a sympathetic man who shows his evil side, only to find some degree of redemption in the end.