I watched this fun silent movie because it was directed by Todd Browning who directed the cult classic "Freaks" in 1932 and "Dracula" with Bela Lugosi in 1931 and other great bizarre movies in the 20s and 30s. This one stars John Gilbert as Cock Robin, the "Ballyhoo Man" at a carnival in Hungary. He's so attractive that all woman want him and he is happy to take advantage of all of them, but it gets him in trouble with their boyfriends and with the law. (It's worth pointing out here that John Gilbert was a huge star and sex symbol who was once engaged to Greta Garbo.)
We see Cock Robin as the barker for several sideshow acts - Zela, the half lady, Arachinda, the human spider, and Neptuna, the queen of mermaids, all of whom lust after him.
We also see Zalina, the carnival's wild woman, who wears a leopard skin dress and has wild blonde hair. She pulls a large Burmese Python out of a box and drapes it around her shoulders. That's all we get snake-wise in the movie, a lizard has the best role, which you can see on this page. |