Quick LinksA Joker You Can Actually Root For The Creators of Batman Agree
Whether it be through Joaquin Phoenix’s mentally troubled rendition in 2019’s Joker, Heath Ledger’s mass-murdering portrayal in The Dark Knight trilogy, or the awkward version Jared Leto created for the Suicide Squad movie back in 2016, Batman’s number one villain has always been known for his wicked smile. A cheek-to-cheek grin overlapped with bright red lipstick is certainly a memorable but eerie trademark. The Joker even shows this off when he pops up in Batman’s debut comic back in 1940, drawn with his back to the reader, turning around ever so slightly to show off his evil and mischievous smirk.

That is a long time ago — 84 years! But all we have to do is travel back an additional 20 years (we’ve gone back all this way; a little more is nothing), and The Joker’s signature appearance can be found in a Universal movie titled The Man Who Laughs. Sounds familiar already, doesn’t it?

Originally released in 1928 (and then being remade in 1966, 1971, and 2012), this American-made romantic drama — yes, you read that right — has been reclassified in recent times as more of a horror film than anything else. Starring names that headlined the silent era of film, such as Mary Philbin (who had a role in The Phantom of the Opera) and Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (Major Strasser in 1942’s Casablanca), the two certainly gave outstanding performances in this tale of tainted (and creepy) love. While The Man Who Laughs doesn’t depict heroes, villains, or anything fantastical for that matter, The Joker (and his grotesque grin) has an impact from the very start of this melodrama . . . just wait until you hear how this movie starts.

A Joker You Can Actually Root For

Before sending an exiled nobleman, Lord Clancharlie, to his death by the use of a fatal device called an Iron Maiden, King Charles II sends the man into a shock by informing him that his son has not only been captured but disfigured, with a surgically-implemented permanent smile. While no disturbing imagery complements the on-screen revelation, the thought itself quickly reminds those familiar with DC Comics of a certain someone.

Plus, Gwynplaine is a central part of this story, so his facial torture travels through his eyes and straight into viewers’ minds. There are also numerous times in the film when the main character is going through some sort of emotional turmoil but cannot physically show anything other than a mile-wide grin. In another world, this might be a better Joker origin story than what we got with director Todd Phillips’ creation (Folie à Deux, that is).

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As an orphaned child, young Gwynplaine meets a showman named Ursus. As the leader of a traveling troupe, years go by with Gywnplaine as a part of the act. Even with a permanent beam across his face, he and a blind woman named Dea (who is part of Ursus’ troupe) fall in love. As much as the romance is akin to something like Beauty and the Beast in the beginning, Gywnplaine’s actual sideshow act, “The Laughing Man,” was the perfect opportunity for German director Paul Leni to provide a close-up shot of the main character’s eerie disfigurement in all of its glory. Even though this movie was filmed in black and white, you cannot imagine this character not having slicked-back green hair, a white-painted face, and red lipstick.

The Creators of Batman Agree

While The Man Who Laughs itself is an adaptation of French author Victor Hugo’s novel from April 1869, this German expressionist film was certainly touched upon when crafting The Joker, even though it’s become somewhat of a sensitive topic among the original Batman comic book team. Even though the creator and writer of the Batman comic (Bob Kane and Bill Finger, respectively) say that they made The Joker from their own minds, Kane’s artist (Jerry Robinson) says differently. The Comic Book Hall of Fame inductee says that he was inspired to create The Joker from the card of the same name found in a traditional deck of playing cards. The rivalry among the three may have turned bitter, but all of them do agree that photographs of Actor Hans Walter Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine, which Robinson brought to the other two one morning, very much had a helping hand in creating the timeless villain.

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With The Joker now being linked to a silent-era film from the 1920s (and a late 1800s novel by association), this long-running lineage proves that a single box office bomb will not kill the character, as much as many Terrifier fans would like to think (through some well-made memes). And for those who want to see this spiritual prequel for themselves, The Man Who Laughs is streaming for free on YouTube. Just don’t get too attached to Gwynplaine — there’s a maniacal reason why future versions of his character are called The Clown Prince of Crime. The latest iteration of the character can be seen in Joker: Folie à Deux, which is still playing in many theaters.