The Black Bird

The Black Bird (1926)

Genres - Drama, Crime, Spirituality & Philosophy  |   Sub-Genres - Crime Drama  |   Release Date - Jan 11, 1926 (USA - Unknown), Feb 13, 1926 (USA)  |   Run Time - 77 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
  • AllMovie Rating
    8
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Share on

Synopsis by Hal Erickson

This characteristically grim Lon Chaney/Tod Browning collaboration stars "The Man of a Thousand Faces" in two distinct characterizations. By day, the crippled Bishop of Limehouse (Chaney) is a kindly, beneficent figure, ministering to the needs of the poor and destitute. But by night, the Bishop sheds his clerical garb-and his physical handicap-to become the Black Bird, mastermind of a vast underworld organization. Completely undetectable and untouchable, the Black Bird can only be destroyed by himself-a fact that consumes the film's final reels. Renee Adoree and Owen Moore also star in this atmospheric melodrama, which was adapted by Waldemar Young from Tod Browning's story The Mockingbird.

Characteristics

Moods

Themes

Keywords

bishop, criminal, mastermind, underworld, disguise, handicap, double-life