[WT Sharpe]

Right now I'm remembering the wonderful film I watched last night: The Man Who Laughs, a 1928 silent adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic by filmmaker Paul Leni. It was a wonderful and engaging drama/adventure, and the final half-hour kept me sitting up and glued to the edge of the bed. It has been said that the physical appearance of the title character was the inspiration for Batman's Joker character, and it's easy to see why; although the character of Gwynplaine was as far removed from Bob Kane's creation as humanly possible. My only gripe with the film was the soundtrack added by a Batman fan. Yes, the Batman theme played throughout, which was highly distracting, to say the least. The only time the moody Batman theme music wasn't playing was during the appearances of Dea, a blind girl and love interest for Gwynplaine whose life the Smiling Man saved while he was a small boy and she was a baby. Whenever she was on screen, the soundtrack played "Beautiful Dreamer", which, while being more appropriate to the time the film was made, in this case only served to throw the Batman theme that filled the rest of the screen time into even sharper relief.

I highly recommend this film to all who love good filmmaking and rousing adventures. Without the Batman theme, if you can find it, but with it if you can't.