West of Zanzibar 1928

     This film is based on a play written by Chester De Vonde, Kilbourn Gordon and adaptation by Waldemar Young.  Phroso is a magician and his wife Anna leaves him for another man named Crane.  Phroso and Crane fight over Anna leaving and Phroso is paralyzed after a fall.  Later, Anna returns and Phroso finds her in a church.  There is a young child with her and Anna is dead.  Phroso believes Anna’s child was fathered by Crane.  Phroso and the child leave for East Africa and 18 years pass.  Phroso is known as Dead Legs by his pals and he is plotting revenge against Crane.  The African men have been poaching elephant tusks and bringing them to Dead Legs.  The Ivory belongs to Crane.  Dead Legs is seeking revenge and retribution.

     This is a silent black and white film with title cards used to show the words of the actors.  Because of the technical challenges to add sound most films were silent before late 1920.  This may the strangest movie that I have ever seen!!  The black and white and the silence really make this an eerie film!!  There is a lot of action and a lot of characters.  Revenge is the main theme.  3* (this movie is OK)

65 min, Drama directed by Tod Browning and written by Elliott J. Clawson, Joseph Farnham and with Lon Chaney, Lionel Barrymore, Mary Nolan, Warner Baxter, Jacqueline Gadsdon, Tiny Ward, Kalla Pash, Curtis Nero.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10 with 1545 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 81% audience with 456 ratings, Movies Silently Score 5*, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5*, Amazon 4.4* out of 5* with 22 ratings.

Special Note:  Remade in 1932 with the play’s original title Kongo.  In the ceremonial tribal dances by the African people the local extras had difficulty dancing to the drums.  A radio was brought to the set and it played Jazz tunes by a local station.  The original ending ended with the child now a woman stabbing Dead Legs.  Set builders laid down a burlap base and then covered it with a mixture of paint and putty to create the consistency and appearance of the floor where Dead Legs lives.  Reel #4 of this film was lost or at least a considerable part of it.  An MGM laser disc was released i 1993 and Dead Legs is mistakenly referred to as Daddy Legs?