The Man Who Laughs

The Man Who Laughs (1928) is a Universal Pictures silent drama you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by Paul Leni and adapted from Victor Hugo's novel, the film stars Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine — a nobleman's son whose face is surgically carved into a permanent grin on the orders of the despotic King James II.

Raised by a wandering showman named Ursus, Gwynplaine earns his living as a sideshow attraction. Crowds pay to laugh at his face. He endures it. The one person who cannot see his disfigurement is Dea, a blind girl he loves and protects. When the old king dies, a scheming court jester discovers that Gwynplaine holds a dormant aristocratic title — and suddenly the freak the court laughed at becomes a threat worth destroying.

Veidt's makeup for this role directly inspired the look of DC's Joker decades later. It remains one of the most visually striking performances of the silent era — a face frozen in mirth that the actor somehow fills with grief and tenderness. Stream The Man Who Laughs (1928) online on iFILM.