ClassyWas Excellent, smart action film.

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

wes-connors This is most notable as MGM superstar Lon Chaney's last feature film - and only "talkie" - he succumbed to cancer at age 47, as it was being released. "The Unholy Three" (1925) was one of Mr. Chaney's greatest silent triumphs, and this version is an inferior re-make. However, Chaney is revealed to be in fine voice. He was ranked the #1 male "Box Office Star" 1928-29, according to the industry standard "Quigley Poll"; and, would have certainly continued to be successful. Chaney's illness doesn't seem to hurt his performance; and, he enhances his earlier characterization; note, for example, how Chaney's "Grandma" testifies for Elliott Nugent (as Hector McDonald).While Chaney is fine, the film suffers in other areas. Most obviously, Harry Earles (repeating his role as Tweedledee) has not yet mastered the English language, and is often very difficult to understand (when he should be understood). And, the "Gorilla climax" sequence doesn't play as well in this version. In the original, as directed by Tod Browning, the gorilla was menacing; here, it's more humorous. Also, Chaney's treatment of Lila Lee (as Rosie O'Grady) seems too violent with sound. Watch him slap Ms. Lee so hard you can see the impression (make-up) on her left cheek. "I'll even take that from you, Echo," she replies.Chaney's last words: "I'll send you a postal card." ******* The Unholy Three (7/3/30) Jack Conway ~ Lon Chaney, Lila Lee, Harry Earles, Elliott Nugent

JoeKarlosi I had an afternoon free so I decided to watch the two versions of this Lon Chaney classic back to back, the original 1925 version directed by Tod Browning, and this later sound remake, which was directed by Jack Conway. It's the story of a crooked carnival ventriloquist (Lon Chaney) who teams up with the midget (Harry Earles) and strong man (Ivan Linow) for a series of robberies. Chaney dresses as an old woman and Earles plays a baby to perfect their scheme. In many ways this was a precursor to the popular Little Rascals/Our Gang short subject FREE EATS, where a couple of gangsters act as parents to a couple of little people dressed as infants, mistakenly referred to as "fidgets".I thought this was a wildly entertaining story either way, though it's difficult to fairly judge one film or the other when they're viewed so close together like this. There are pros and cons to both movies for me, though I think I would give this 1930 sound re-do the edge over the previous silent. Of course, this rendition is notable not only for the fact that it's Lon Chaney's last film, but also that it's his one and only SOUND film. I found that I preferred Lila Lee in the role of Rosie O'Grady here as opposed to the silent actress, Mae Busch. I also thought this one had a better courtroom sequence, as well as a more satisfying wrap-up for an ending. The sound film moves more briskly, while the silent felt slightly overlong (though the other was still quite good, and well-directed).It was an amazing treat to get to hear Chaney in his only talking film, and he actually sounded very much as I'd always imagined he would from his gruff exterior. It's essential to hear him doing the voice of the old woman, which was lacking in the original. On the other hand, it was sometimes difficult to always understand the dialogue spoken by Harry Earles (as Tweedledee the midget) and Ivan Linow (as Hercules the strong man). Jack Conway didn't do a bad job at all with this take, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if most fans feel partial to the silent original just because it was directed by the legendary Tod Browning. My advice is to see them both! **** out of ****

John Francisco Somehow the ape in the silent version was okay. It was kind of an off the wall movie all around, so an ape? Why not. However, the addition of sound made the ape look remarkably out of place. Perhaps like some other silent stars the switch to talkies found it out for lacking talent.Thankfully the same cannot be said of Lon Chaney. His one talkie, and I think choosing to remake The Unholy Three was a sound decision. The scenes with Chaney and Earles, both as Echo and Tweedledee, and as Mrs O'Grady and her grandson, were the highlights for me. Rosie was a far more interesting character in this version, mainly down to the charismatic Lila Lee.Watching Chaney disappear into the night on the back of a train was also surprisingly moving.Not as good as the silent version, but I'm glad it was made.

Neil Doyle LON CHANEY delivers an interesting performance (especially when posing as a kindly old woman), but not even the great Chaney can overcome all the defects in this remake of the 1925 silent.For starters, the performances around him include two extremely bad examples of early screen acting--from awkward Lila Lee and a young man who would later turn his talent to directing rather than acting--Elliot Nugent. Nugent has the hapless role of an innocent, naive young man and plays it in hopelessly nerd style--a foretaste, perhaps, of his Broadway role as the timid professor in THE MALE ANIMAL. Anyway, his is the weakest performance in the film with Lila not far behind.The tale itself is interesting enough to hold the attention--and especially chilling is the malice (pure evil) displayed by Harry Earle as the malevolent midget. Unfortunately, most of his dialogue is unintelligible due to his German accent, something director Jack Conway should have noted.Only real satisfaction is watching Lon Chaney in one of his last roles. He is excellent and makes it painful to realize he was fighting throat cancer while filming was underway. A better script, production values, and tighter direction by Conway would have worked wonders to make this tale more chilling and believable. Summing up: At best, it is an interesting example of Chaney's considerable talent despite the primitive acting technique displayed by Lila Lee and Elliot Nugent. Nugent's performance makes one grateful he switched to directing later in his career, with more satisfying results.