The Unholy Three

Chaney's final film (and his only talkie) is far from wonderful but it's certainly weird, with its tale of crimes committed by a gang comprising a ventriloquist disguised as a bird-shop proprietress, a strong man, and a midget who dresses and babbles like a baby when the occasion warrants. As if these weren't enough, there's also a romantic hero (played by chipper Elliott Nugent, pal of James Thurber and later a movie director) and a very bad-tempered gorilla. With that cast list, coherence is the last thing you should expect, and you certainly never get it. Much more slackly directed than Browning's original (which it often cribs from), it's still fun of a creaky historical kind.