Monday, April 09, 2007
Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo?
It is called 'Who put the B in the Ballyhoo?'(Houghton Mifflin).The book features the Feejee Mermaid, Bearded Lady, Giants and Midgets, Fat Lady, Wild Men of Borneo, Last Living Unicorn etc. It's the first children's picture book to cover the subject of sideshows.
Written and illustrated by Carlyn Beccia ,Who Put the B in the Ballyhoo reveals the historical truths about the fantastical via pithy rhymes, vintage poster-like art, and distinctive typography.
Prepare to be amazed and astounded!
Visit Carlyn here, or order her book via Amazon here.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Freaks - The Motion Picture
In 1930 MGM announced that Tod Browning, the man behind the Universal horror film Dracula, would be a sideshow picture loosely based on the Tod Robbins short story ‘Spurs’. The film was intended to be MGM’s big launch into the horror genre. Few realized the controversy that was to come.
Browning was born Charles Albert Browning, Jr. in Kansas on July 12, 1880. He was fascinated by the circus and carnival life, and at the age of 16 he ran away from home to join the circus.
Changing his name to ‘Tod’, Browning toured with several sideshows and carnivals. He was a clown for the Ringling Bros. Circus but was primarily a talker, and performed the bally for the Wild Man of Borneo. In almost a precursor to his future Dracula fame he also performed a live burial act and was billed as "The Living Corpse".
To say that the subject matter of the film Freaks and director Browning were compatible is a gross understatement.
The basic plot of Freaks was conventional melodrama. A husband discovers that his wife is trying to kill him so she can steal his money and run off with her lover. However to this simple formula the unusual backdrop of a circus sideshow was added, the husband was a midget, the wife a Russian acrobat and lover a cruel circus strongman named Hercules.
Did I mention the cast of human marvels? Quite literally, almost every major sideshow star of the 1930’s had a part in the filming of Freaks. The cast included Harry Earles and Daisy Earles, sibling midgets who played lovers. Daisy and Violet Hilton, the famous conjoined twins, were also featured in a romantic sub plot and Schlitze, Zip and Pip - the adorable pinheads – charmed their way through many scenes. Johnny Eck 'The Half-Boy' and Frances O'Conner the ‘Living Venus De Milo’ both showcased their limbless prowess as did another armless wonder, Martha Morris, and the completely limbless Prince Randian. The cast was rounded out by dwarf Angelo Rossitto, the ‘Living Skeleton ‘Peter Robinson, bearded Olga Roderick, the bizarre bird women Koo Koo and Elizabeth Green and Josephine-Joseph the ‘Half-woman, Half-man’. Perhaps the most incredible aspect of the unique casting was the fact that these sideshow marvels were not hired as mere background. Each and every one of them were given screen time to showcase their unique skills and characteristics.
When the cast began to appear at MGM, opposition to the production grew to alarming proportions. Louis B. Mayer, executive president, who had originally request a film ‘more horrific than Dracula’, became firmly against allowing the project to continue and many of his executives tried to organize a petition to halt the film. Eventually, their arguments focused on the commissary, where regular staff and stars of MGM found it impossible to dine with the cast of Freaks. Within a few days all cast members were banned from the commissary, with the exception of the Hilton sisters and Harry and Daisy Earles.
The film was shot in 36 days on a modest budget of 300,000. The initial screening was a total disaster. The executives were shocked and nauseated by what they saw and Browning was ordered to redo parts of the film. Most notably the ending was changed. Originally, the film concluded with the lecherous Heracles singing soprano after the sideshow marvels presumably castrate him in the spirit of retribution. That ending is now considered lost.
Even with the changes, the film received so much bad press and created such ill will that MGM was forced to withdraw it from circulation. MGM suffered a loss on the film of more than $164,000.
MGM considered the film to be a total embarrassment and were prepared lock it way in their vaults until a lucrative offer appeared from exploitation producer Dwain Esper. Esper offered to lease the film for 25 years for $5000 plus royalties and MGM agreed. Esper got a hold of the official release, the original cut and unused footage. He then re-cut the film, added oddity footage from different sources and took the film on the road as an adult’s only attraction under the title The Monster Show. In 1947 Esper released a legitimate reissue to mainstream cinemas, but the film failed to find its audience for a second time. When the film reverted back to MGM ten years later, the film remained in the vaults for a number of years before being screened as a pet project to a receptive audience at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.
The 60’s saw the film become successful throughout Europe and in Britain. Interestingly, Britain had banned the film some forty years earlier. The film became a cult classic in France and was revived by colleges and art-house cinemas.
Finally, in what is likely the most interesting development, in the 1980’s the founder of the Church Of Satan in San Francisco, and former carnival worker, Anton LaVey purchased the rights to Freaks and re-released it as public domain.
The public reaction to Freaks during its initial release essentially ended Browning's career as a sought after director. While most of his previous films had consisted of normal and abnormal characters, Freaks emphasized a role-reversal. Browning managed to capture the compassion that he felt for the cast to the screen and turned an exploitation horror film into a very real and touching commentary on human beings. Browning essentially turned the ‘monsters’ of the film into the heroes. It only took the general public more than 30 years to agree with his conclusion.
Note: As stated, Freaks is now public domain and can be viewed or downloaded here for your viewing pleasure. Thank you to The Athanasuis Kircher Society for passing along the above link and public domain information.
Browning was born Charles Albert Browning, Jr. in Kansas on July 12, 1880. He was fascinated by the circus and carnival life, and at the age of 16 he ran away from home to join the circus.
Changing his name to ‘Tod’, Browning toured with several sideshows and carnivals. He was a clown for the Ringling Bros. Circus but was primarily a talker, and performed the bally for the Wild Man of Borneo. In almost a precursor to his future Dracula fame he also performed a live burial act and was billed as "The Living Corpse".
To say that the subject matter of the film Freaks and director Browning were compatible is a gross understatement.
The basic plot of Freaks was conventional melodrama. A husband discovers that his wife is trying to kill him so she can steal his money and run off with her lover. However to this simple formula the unusual backdrop of a circus sideshow was added, the husband was a midget, the wife a Russian acrobat and lover a cruel circus strongman named Hercules.
Did I mention the cast of human marvels? Quite literally, almost every major sideshow star of the 1930’s had a part in the filming of Freaks. The cast included Harry Earles and Daisy Earles, sibling midgets who played lovers. Daisy and Violet Hilton, the famous conjoined twins, were also featured in a romantic sub plot and Schlitze, Zip and Pip - the adorable pinheads – charmed their way through many scenes. Johnny Eck 'The Half-Boy' and Frances O'Conner the ‘Living Venus De Milo’ both showcased their limbless prowess as did another armless wonder, Martha Morris, and the completely limbless Prince Randian. The cast was rounded out by dwarf Angelo Rossitto, the ‘Living Skeleton ‘Peter Robinson, bearded Olga Roderick, the bizarre bird women Koo Koo and Elizabeth Green and Josephine-Joseph the ‘Half-woman, Half-man’. Perhaps the most incredible aspect of the unique casting was the fact that these sideshow marvels were not hired as mere background. Each and every one of them were given screen time to showcase their unique skills and characteristics.
When the cast began to appear at MGM, opposition to the production grew to alarming proportions. Louis B. Mayer, executive president, who had originally request a film ‘more horrific than Dracula’, became firmly against allowing the project to continue and many of his executives tried to organize a petition to halt the film. Eventually, their arguments focused on the commissary, where regular staff and stars of MGM found it impossible to dine with the cast of Freaks. Within a few days all cast members were banned from the commissary, with the exception of the Hilton sisters and Harry and Daisy Earles.
The film was shot in 36 days on a modest budget of 300,000. The initial screening was a total disaster. The executives were shocked and nauseated by what they saw and Browning was ordered to redo parts of the film. Most notably the ending was changed. Originally, the film concluded with the lecherous Heracles singing soprano after the sideshow marvels presumably castrate him in the spirit of retribution. That ending is now considered lost.
Even with the changes, the film received so much bad press and created such ill will that MGM was forced to withdraw it from circulation. MGM suffered a loss on the film of more than $164,000.
MGM considered the film to be a total embarrassment and were prepared lock it way in their vaults until a lucrative offer appeared from exploitation producer Dwain Esper. Esper offered to lease the film for 25 years for $5000 plus royalties and MGM agreed. Esper got a hold of the official release, the original cut and unused footage. He then re-cut the film, added oddity footage from different sources and took the film on the road as an adult’s only attraction under the title The Monster Show. In 1947 Esper released a legitimate reissue to mainstream cinemas, but the film failed to find its audience for a second time. When the film reverted back to MGM ten years later, the film remained in the vaults for a number of years before being screened as a pet project to a receptive audience at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival.
The 60’s saw the film become successful throughout Europe and in Britain. Interestingly, Britain had banned the film some forty years earlier. The film became a cult classic in France and was revived by colleges and art-house cinemas.
Finally, in what is likely the most interesting development, in the 1980’s the founder of the Church Of Satan in San Francisco, and former carnival worker, Anton LaVey purchased the rights to Freaks and re-released it as public domain.
The public reaction to Freaks during its initial release essentially ended Browning's career as a sought after director. While most of his previous films had consisted of normal and abnormal characters, Freaks emphasized a role-reversal. Browning managed to capture the compassion that he felt for the cast to the screen and turned an exploitation horror film into a very real and touching commentary on human beings. Browning essentially turned the ‘monsters’ of the film into the heroes. It only took the general public more than 30 years to agree with his conclusion.
Note: As stated, Freaks is now public domain and can be viewed or downloaded here for your viewing pleasure. Thank you to The Athanasuis Kircher Society for passing along the above link and public domain information.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Charles Tripp -
Eli Bowen -
Jean Carroll -
Millie-Christine -
Rosa & Josepha Blazek -
Eugen Sandow -
Maximo and Bartola -
Ralph Krooner -
Robert Melvin -
Dick Hilburn -
Jeffrey Hudson -
Percilla -
Caroline Crachami -
Schlitzie -
Radica and Doodica -
Ben Dova - Sarah Biffen - Frank 'Cannonball' Richards - Edward Mordake - Minerva and Charmion - Mademoiselle Gabrielle - Captain Fred Walters - Elephantiasis -
Myrtle Corbin - Niccolo Paganini - Rasmus Nielsen - Count Orloff - Ichthyosis - Maurice Tillet - Mary Ann Bevans - Hypertrichosis - Le Pétomane - Wild Men of Borneo -
Barbara Urslerin - Mortado - Mirin Dajo - Captain Costentenus - Pickled Punks - Tai Djin - Martin Laurello - Alfred Langevin - Sacred Family of Burma - The Monster of Ravenna -
Sealo - Stefan Bibrowski - Perumal - Carl Unthan - The Tocci Twins - Len and Ernie -
Nora Hildebrandt - Nikolai Kobelkoff - Grady Stiles Jr. - Johnny Eck - Anna Swan -
Francesco Lentini - George Lippert - The Feejee Mermaid - The Great Waldo -
Fedor Jefticheive - Jo-Jo The Dog-Faced Boy - Eko and Iko - Freaks - Frieda Pushnik -
George Williams - Fake Freaks - Mignon - Isaac W. Sprague - Prince Randian -
The Hilton Sisters - Krao - Dolly Dimples - Laloo - Louis Cyr - Mme. Clofullia -
Betty Lou Williams - Frances O'Connor - Fanny Mills - Carrie Akers - The Little Prince - Pasqual Pinon - Robert Melvin - Ella Harper - Grace McDaniels - Zip - Julia Pastrana - Fat Men - Bill Durks - Zebra People - Petrus Gonzales - Two-Headed Boy of Bengal -
Juan Baptista dos Santos - Blanche Dumas - Lazarus-Joannes - Parasitic Twins -
Robert Wadlow - The Little Man of Nuremberg - Josef Boruwlaski - Melvin Burkhart -
The Rubber Man - The Great Omi - Chang and Eng Bunker - Ritta and Christina -
The Hungarian Sisters - The Scottish Brothers - The Biddenden Maids
The Hungarian Sisters - The Scottish Brothers - The Biddenden Maids
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Dedicated to vindicating those people who were once labeled as freaks. Within this page 'Human Marvel' replaces the terms freak and human oddity.The Human Marvels Website is Licensed.
Please credit any reproductions to J. Tithonus Pednaud, cited sources or www.thehumanmarvels.com.