“In a side-show circus, where the greatest attractions are deformed people, the gorgeous trapeze artist Cleopatra is the lover of the strong Hercules. She plays as if she liked the German midget Hans, who is in love with her, to borrow his money and get expensive gifts he gives to her. When the jealous German midget Frieda , who loves Hans, asks Cleopatra to spare Hans from a great deception, she accidentally discloses that he is an heir of a great fortune. Cleo decides to get married with Hans to poison him and get his inheritance. In the wedding feast, Cleopatra openly flirts with Hercules and mocks the side-show performers. When a very ill Hans is saved by a doctor that tells that he has been cruelly poisoned, the other freaks snoops in Hans trailer and they find what Cleopatra is doing with him. In a stormy night, all the freaks join forces and transform Cleopatra in the Feathered Hen. Although not shown in the DVD, which has the commercial alternative version, in the original story Hercules is castrated and becomes a soprano singer”
“Freaks” is one of the most controversial horror films from the 30’s, mainly because director Tod Browning hired real sideshow freaks as the actors. It does have a rather unsettling effect, but I think that really does work for the film. Browning builds up a great amount of suspense with the good use of locations, story and lots of atmosphere. The ending, where we see freaks crawling in the mud, is pretty creepy. Anyway check this one out-it’s worth watching.” IMDB
“Born to a barmaid, Violet and her conjoined twin sister Daisy Hilton were raised by the midwife who delivered them. This woman, Mary Hilton, saw her meal ticket in the curly-haired babies and trained them to perform. The girls were ill-treated and kept in a state of poverty until they arranged a private meeting with a lawyer at the age of 23. They then became their own managers and remained popular vaudeville performers until live shows were replaced by motion pictures. After performing in Freaks (1932) and Chained for Life (1951), Violet and Daisy fell into poverty and obscurity. They were found dead in their apartment when their employer, a grocer, reported that they hadn’t shown up for work. They left no known survivors” IMDB
