The Great Gabbo

A pre-Code early sound musical drama directed by James Cruze, based on Ben Hecht's short story "The Rival Dummy." Erich von Stroheim stars as Gabbo, a ventriloquist who becomes increasingly unhinged as he relies more and more on his dummy Otto as his only means of emotional expression. Betty Compson co- stars as Mary, his former assistant and lover. The film was originally released with Multicolor sequences, now surviving only in black and white. As a work published before 1930, it is in the public domain.