This stylistic treasure offers a vision of the darker side of humanity in Victor Hugo's seventeenth-century England, translated through German Expressionism by the master, Paul Leni. As Gwynplaine, who goes through life with a grotesque grin fixed on his face (an early abuse of plastic surgery), Conrad Veidt uses what is left of his visage-eyes, cheekbones, the protruding veins on his forehead-to convey the tension of his position as carnival sideshow, plaything of the decadent Court, and would-be lover of the "beauteous blind maid" (Mary Philbin). A restless roving camera, on-point editing, and marvelous set-pieces join to evoke a sinister sensuality set against an innocent one-an interplay of fingers and gazes, the eroticism of exposed teeth in smiles from human to canine, and, in the background, the feverish fascination of the multitudes. Guy Madden has succinctly described the look of this film: "set decoration by Goya."