He Who Gets Slapped
1924 · Movie · NR · 72 min · ★ 7.6 · 83% critics
After being publicly humiliated and robbed of his work and home life by a powerful aristocrat, a devastated man vanishes into a Paris circus, reinventing himself as a clown whose act is built on repeated slaps. When he grows attached to a young performer, he’s pulled into a tense struggle as her family tries to trade her future for status and security.
Based on He Who Gets Slapped
Where to watch
Watch free on Tubi.
1 hour to watch.
Streaming availability and prices may be inaccurate or change — verify with the provider before subscribing.
unSUB's subscription recommendations are informational only, not financial advice.
More value for your money
Similar titles, ranked by watch-hours per subscription dollar.
Details
- Years
- 1924
- Release date
- 1924-12-22
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 72 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 83/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.6/10 (106 votes)
- Budget
- $172,000
About
If you’re up for a dark, surreal silent drama about humiliation, obsession, and cruelty played out under circus lights, this delivers; Not for you if you want light comedy, realism, or a purely uplifting tone like The Crowd.
Pros: haunting, surreal circus imagery; powerful lead performance; sharp cruelty theme | Cons: far-fetched premise; heavy-handed metaphor; uneven storytelling pace
Themes
- circus
- clown
- clowning
- based on play or musical
- love
- remake
- tragedy
- betrayal
- unrequited love
- silent film
- betrayal by friend
- slap
- +2 more
Cast & crew
Lon Chaney
as Paul Beaumont
Norma Shearer
as Consuelo
John Gilbert
as Bezano
Ruth King
as Marie Beaumont
Marc McDermott
as Baron Regnard
Ford Sterling
as Tricaud
Tully Marshall
as Count Mancini
Edward Arnold
as (uncredited)
Paulette Duval
as Zinida (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst
as Clown (uncredited)
Directed by Victor Sjöström