Man of a Thousand Faces

Man of a Thousand Faces is a 1957 American dark drama film detailing the life of silent movie actor Lon Chaney, in which the title role is played by James Cagney. Directed by Joseph Pevney, the film's cast included James Cagney, Dorothy Malone, Jane Greer and Jim Backus. Chaney's grown son (who later became a famous actor known as "Lon Chaney Jr.") was played by Roger Smith, later the star of television's 77 Sunset Strip, and studio chief Irving Thalberg was portrayed by Robert Evans, who soon left acting and eventually became head of Paramount Pictures. The film's four writers were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the 30th Academy Awards. Plot In the early 1900s, actor Lon Chaney (James Cagney) is working in vaudeville with his wife Cleva (Dorothy Malone). Chaney quits the show and Cleva announces that she is pregnant. Lon is happy and tells Cleva that he has been hired by the famous comedy team Kolb and Dill for an upcoming show. Cleva pressures Lon to visit his parents (whom she has never met) in his hometown of Colorado Springs. Lon is reluctant because his parents are both deaf mutes, a fact Lon has never shared. Cleva reacts with disgust and does not want to give birth, fearing that the child will also be a deaf mute and she doesn't want to be the mother of a "dumb thing."