The Penalty is an American psychological thriller crime film starring Lon Chaney and originally released in 1920 by Goldwyn Pictures. The movie was directed by Wallace Worsley, and written by Philip Lonergan and Charles Kenyon, based upon the pulp novel by Gouverneur Morris. The supporting cast includes Charles Clary, Doris Pawn, Jim Mason, and Claire Adams. The copyright for the film was owned by Gouverneur Morris, who wrote the novel on which the film was based. The budget for the film was $88,868.00. Portions of the film were shot in San Francisco.
Original release poster. The Penalty was originally a sole Goldwyn production in 1920 and was rereleased by MGM in the late 1920s.
Lon Chaney in The Penalty
Lon Chaney preparing for the scene.
Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney was an American actor and makeup artist. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and afflicted, characters and for his groundbreaking artistry with makeup. Chaney was known for his starring roles in such silent horror films as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). His ability to transform himself using makeup techniques that he developed earned him the nickname "The Man of a Thousand Faces".
Chaney during the production of The Miracle Man (1919)
Chaney with his personal makeup kit in 1925
Chaney as Erik, the Phantom of the Opera
Ethel Grey Terry and Chaney in The Penalty (1920)
