Films The Unholy Three by Tod Browning and The Unholy Three by Jack Conway, modified, 71’32, 2022
In 1925, Tod Browning directed the silent film The Unholy Three, starring Lon Chaney as a ventriloquist. This original version is now in the public domain.
In 1930, a sound remake of the same film was released, this time directed by Jack Conway, with Lon Chaney reprising his role.
The 2022 version is a hybrid: a “speaking” reinterpretation of the silent film. Silent sequences are synchronized with the soundtrack of the 1930 talkie remake, raising copyright questions about the hybridization of a protected sound track with public domain images.
At times, fragments of the talkie version slip in — doubles emerging behind curtains or through doors that open and close. In this hybrid film, both silent and speaking, each character becomes the ventriloquist of their own double.
Carolle Sanchez 