A Blind Bargain

A Blind Bargain
Wallace Beery (background) and Lon Chaney, on the original, 1922 theatrical poster
Directed byWallace Worsley
Written byJ.G. Hawks
Based onThe Octave of Claudius
by Barry Pain
Produced bySamuel Goldwyn
StarringLon Chaney
Raymond McKee
Jacqueline Logan
Virginia True Boardman
Fontaine La Rue
CinematographyNorbert Brodine
Edited byPaul Bern
Music byJ. Bercovitch (cue sheet)
Distributed byGoldwyn Pictures
Release dates
  • December 3, 1922 (1922-12-03)
(premiere)
  • December 10, 1922 (1922-12-10) (United States)
(release date)
Running time
57 minutes (5 reels)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

A Blind Bargain is a 1922 American silent horror film starring Lon Chaney and Raymond McKee, released through Goldwyn Pictures. The film was directed by Wallace Worsley and is based on Barry Pain's 1897 novel The Octave of Claudius.[1] Lon Chaney played a dual role in the film, as both Dr. Lamb and "the Ape Man", one of Chaney's few "true horror films". The claim that Wallace Beery appeared as an ape-man uncredited has never been proven, but does persist in many sources.[2][3]

Although the film was finished in November 1921, it was only released in December 1922. This delay was due to problems with the censors, as the film's theme dealt with doctors creating artificial life and attempting to play God. The film was cut from six reels to five in the process, and the title cards had to be rewritten four times.[4] The film is now considered lost and remains today one of the most sought after lost films of Lon Chaney's career.[5] A lobby card from the film exists on the internet,[6] as well as a photo of Chaney in the Ape Man makeup.[7]

  1. ^ White Munden, Kenneth, ed. (1997). The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States: Feature Films, 1921-1930. University of California Press. p. 67. ISBN 0-520-20969-9.
  2. ^ Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 127. ISBN 1-879511-26-6.
  3. ^ "A Blind Bargain (1922)". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Blake, Michael F. (1998). "The Films of Lon Chaney". Vestal Press Inc. Page 127.ISBN 1-879511-26-6.
  5. ^ Soister, John T. (2012). American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929. McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-786-48790-5.
  6. ^ "Photographic image" (JPG). Lonchaney.org. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  7. ^ "Silent Era : Progressive Silent Film List". Silentera.com. Retrieved May 29, 2022.