Laugh, Clown, Laugh
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| Laugh, Clown, Laugh | |
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| Directed by | Herbert Brenon |
| Written by | Joseph Farnham Elizabeth Meehan |
| Starring | Lon Chaney Bernard Siegel Loretta Young Cissy Fitzgerald Nils Asther |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Editing by | Marie Halvey |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | 1928 |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Laugh, Clown, Laugh was a silent film directed by Herbert Brenon in 1928.
[edit] Plot
Tito (Lon Chaney, Sr.), a traveling circus clown finds an abandoned child (uncredited). Tito adopts her and raises her as his daughter, naming her Simonetta after his partner Simon (Bernard Siegel). One day Simonetta (Loretta Young) encounters Luigi (Nils Asther), a wealthy man who falls madly in love with her, but she rejects him. She returns home to the circus and Tito suddenly realizes she is no longer a child. Tito further realizes he has feelings for Simonetta, but also believes his feelings are improper because he raised her as his daughter.
Luigi begins having fits of uncontrollable laughter because Simonetta has rejected him. Tito falls into melancholy because he believes he should not have Simonatta as a love interest. They both see the same doctor about their conditions and meet for the first time. They share their respective troubles and believe they can help each other, not knowing they both love the same woman. Nonetheless, the three eventually develop a strong friendship until Luigi asks Simonetta to marry him. Simonetta eventually accepts Luigi's proposal, which throws Tito into an even deeper melancholy. Simonetta learns of Tito's affections for her before she marries Luigi. She tells Tito she loved him before she loved Luigi, then goes to break her engagement with Luigi.
While Simonetta is breaking her engagement, Tito and Simon begin rehearsing some new material for their Flik and Flok act. Tito does not believe Simonetta's love is genuine, but that is just pity. He becomes emotionally hysterical, and falls from the highwire while practicing a familiar stunt.
There are two endings. In one, Tito dies from his fall, freeing Simonetta to marry Luigi. In the alternate, Tito survives his fall and Simonetta marries Luigi, and they all remain close friends.
