The Shock

A Lon Chaney silent for Universal, directed by Lambert Hillyer. Chaney plays Wilse Dilling, a crippled San Francisco underworld enforcer sent to infiltrate a rural household, where his growing conscience and affection for the daughter (Virginia Valli) pull him against his boss's scheme. One of the rare Chaney films in which his character wins the girl, it showcases his gift for transformation through a physically demanding, sympathetic performance. Made for roughly $90,000, it was a sizable hit for the studio. As a work published before 1930, it is in the public domain in the United States.