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Mockery (1927)

Mockery might not be a fable in the strictest sense, but the simplicity of the characters and what they represent made me think of it as a kind of fable as I was watching it. 

Sergei (Lon Chaney) is a poor peasant somewhere in the Siberian forest. Countess Tatiana (Barbara Bedford) runs into him and asks for his help getting to Novokursk. This is during the Russian Civil War, and although Sergei doesn't know she's a countess, he's obviously going to help her. She's a beautiful woman, and Sergei would probably help her regardless. His only fear is that they will get to Novokursk and then she will forget about him. 

When they arrive in Novokursk, her Countess identity is revealed, but she stays true to her promise, helping Sergei find employment. But they are of different social classes, and so this limits the amount of time they will have together as "friends." 

Meanwhile, Sergei is listening to Ivan (Károly Huszár), who is poisoning Sergei's mind against the Countess. He tells Sergei that he should be working to overthrow her and her class. He could then be her equal and take her by force. Sergei isn't too bright, and he's jealous that he will never be more than a peasant. The idea of the peasants taking over appeals to him, even if it's just because it's the only way that he might be able to "have" Tatiana. He seems to know that "taking her by force" isn't going to work, though. He would like them to be equals naturally, and he doesn't want to "force" her to be his friend. 

Anyway, as the film comes to its climax, Sergei has started to fight against Tatiana, but she goes above and beyond her promise, basically saving him from the firing squad. Sergei, in turn, will protect the Countess from Ivan and his goons, sacrificing himself for her. 

This is my second Lon Chaney film, and I liked it a better than He Who Gets the Slap (1924). I would point out that Sergei has a monobrow that never seems to stay in place. It's knocked out of place after one fight scene, just hanging out above his brow, and later in the film it comes and goes. Otherwise, his "mask" is rather "monster like," or maybe almost Planet of the Apes.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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