Painted Faces
Directed by Albert S. Rogell
Written by Fanny and Frederic Hatton; story by Frances Hyland
1929/US
Tiffany-Stahl Productions
IMDb page
First viewing/YouTube
Now there’s some sad things known to man
But ain’t too much sadder than
The tears of a clown
When there’s no one around – Hank Crosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder
Joe E. Brown gives a nuanced performance in this pre-Code courtroom drama.
Hermann (Brown) performs as the clown Beppo in a vaudeville show. One fateful night, a performer named Roderick arrives. He has been making unwanted advances to a young fellow performer. Her boyfriend is insanely jealous. When Roderick is murdered, the young man is found with a gun in his hand.
Herrmann ends up on the jury for the young man’s trial on capital murder. (We will overlook how improper this would be as he knew all the principals personally). We move to the jury room where eleven members want to go home and will vote guilty on the first and all subsequent ballots. Herrmann is the sole holdout. He won’t explain himself but keeps repeating that the evidence is circumstantial and he just knows the boy did not do it. Far be it from me to spoil a mystery.
I had never seen a picture with Joe E. Brown from back in his heyday and was curious so decided to try this out. I was impressed. Brown gives a nuanced performance in which he moves from pathos to comedy with ease. He even maintains a creditable (German?) accent throughout. I enjoyed the film.
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – 1970 performance
