The Sideshow of Life (1924)
Directed by Herbert Brenon
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Synopsis by Janiss Garza
English orphan Andrew Lackaday (Ernest Torrence) grows up and becomes a clown for a French circus. After the circus becomes bankrupt, his trained dog is run over by a car belonging to Lady Auriol Dayne (Anna Q. Nilsson). For Lackaday's next gig, he teams up with Elodie, a dancer (Louise Lagrange), and they make a success in the smaller Parisian theaters. When the war breaks out, Lackaday enlists and works his way up to brigadier general. Once again he meets up with Lady Auriol. At war's end, he has to return to being a clown, but he has lost his talent. Elodie saves him by proclaiming to the audience that he is a war hero. Lackaday's friend, Horatio Bakkus (Maurice Cannon), marries Elodie, and Lackaday accepts an offer from a friend in Australia. He finds Lady Auriol on the ship, and she says she is going to accompany him. Perhaps Herbert Brenon, the director of this picture, had an affinity for clowns -- he later directed Lon Chaney in Laugh, Clown, Laugh.
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Keywords
English [nationality], orphan, circus, circus-performer, clown, enlistment, General, post-traumatic-stress