The Unholy Three (1925)

A ventriloquist (Lon Chaney) teams with a carnival strongman (Victor McLaglen) and a "little person" (Harry Earles) in a series of bizarre robberies. They name themselves The Unholy Three but when one of the robberies ends in murder, they need a fall guy. Based on the novel by Tod Robbins and directed by Tod Browning (FREAKS). One of Browning's and Chaney's best films, the movie was remade as a sound film in 1930 with Chaney and Earles recreating their roles but with another director at the helm. This silent version has a really creepy vibe, notably due to the maleficence of McLaglen's and Earles' characters who seem to get great pleasure in hurting people. Spending much of the film convincingly dressed as an elderly woman, Chaney gets an opportunity to show why he was anointed the title of the man of a thousand faces. If the film's ending seems unconvincing (there appears no repercussions to Chaney's criminal activity), it's a small blip in an otherwise excellent crime melodrama. With Mae Busch and Matt Moore.