Film · Goldwyn · 1920
The Penalty
24Leave it.
An able-bodied Chaney bound his legs for a revenge picture that never cools.
Take controlThis scores 24. The Penalty cannot be blocked by name on this shelf. The lock is the phone. Block it
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The review
Say the legs before you say the plot. A master criminal, wrongly amputated as a boy, wants revenge on the doctor. Lon Chaney, an able-bodied actor, plays him with his legs bound. Adult. 1920, a notorious hit of its kind. I won't describe the violence. The want is the whole plot. The binding isn't a footnote under a famous turn. It's how the body was faked, and you should say so.
A revenge plot doesn't get extra credit for being notorious. A wrong done to a boy is real, and the picture answers with a man who won't put the want down. Not for a family night. Adults can watch the grudge if they know the legs are a costume on a man who had his own. I won't call that bravery.
Journal
Keep The Penalty in the record.
No house has filed a sentence for this yet.
Live Historic number 24. Yours can differ.
The glance
Industry and Household and Piety and Courage and Republic and Temperance and Truth and Stewardship are the thin ones.
Does anyone here do a real job, and does that job matter?
This phone is set for a grown person, just me. Change the ages.
Consider this
The Moonshiner
35 instead of 24
The Moonshiner is still a crime film, and it scores 35 instead of 24. What you gain is republic: Revenue men are the law, and in this reel the law is the raid.
The eight
- 4Industry
Crime is how he lives, and the old injury only feeds that life.
- 3Household
Wronged as a boy, the man keeps a grudge and no household.
- 1Piety
Revenge is the whole plot, and nothing is allowed to stop him.
- 2Courage
What he risks is revenge on the doctor, and the want never cools.
- 2Republic
A doctor's wrong becomes his private hunt, not a law he takes.
- 1Temperance
The want is the plot, and he is never asked to set it down.
- 4Truth
The amputation was wrongful, then spent on a criminal's revenge.
- 2Stewardship
Left behind is the grudge, played by an able-bodied man, legs bound.
Where to watch
Finding the page.
Live Historic · The Penalty · 24IMDb
