MOVIEmeter
Top 5000
Down 85 this week

Freaks (1932)

Unrated  |   |  Drama, Horror  |  20 February 1932 (USA)
8.0
Your rating:
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X  
Ratings: 8.0/10 from 30,159 users  
Reviews: 248 user | 179 critic

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

Director:

Writer:

(suggested by story: "Spurs") (as Tod Robbins)
0Check in
0Share...

Watch Now

From $2.99 on Amazon Video

ON DISC

The 25 Most Immersive Worlds in Cinema

Highly immersive cinematic worlds can carry a movie, and we've rounded up the best of the best.

See the full list

User Lists

Related lists from IMDb users

a list of 48 titles
created 09 Apr 2012
 
a list of 39 titles
created 09 Oct 2012
 
a list of 41 titles
created 12 May 2013
 
a list of 24 titles
created 17 Jul 2013
 
a list of 25 titles
created 3 weeks ago
 

Related Items

Search for "Freaks" on Amazon.com

Connect with IMDb


Share this Rating

Title: Freaks (1932)

Freaks (1932) on IMDb 8/10

Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.

Take The Quiz!

Test your knowledge of Freaks.

User Polls

1 win & 1 nomination. See more awards »

Videos

Photos

Learn more

People who liked this also liked... 

Documentary | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.5/10 X  

Feature film examining the existence of films in which people are murdered on camera and the culture surrounding them. Through interviews with former FBI Profilers, Cultural Academics, and ... See full summary »

Director: Paul von Stoetzel
Stars: Larry C. Brubaker, Todd Cobery, Linda Flanders
Horror | Mystery | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.1/10 X  

A prank goes too far for the popular students at Hamilton High as they begin to pay for their actions 10 years later at their high school reunion.

Director: Steve Goltz
Stars: Nick Sommer, Kaleb Shorey, Stephanie Leigh Rose
Action | Comedy | Music
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2.5/10 X  

In this action comedy, Jack Goldwater, an IRS agent on loan to the Federal Air Marshal Service, is relieved of field duty after insulting a powerful U.S. Senator, and finds himself exiled ... See full summary »

Director: J. Neil Schulman
Stars: Nichelle Nichols, Ethan Keogh, Susan Smythe
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X  

Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein (goaded by an even madder scientist) builds his monster a mate.

Director: James Whale
Stars: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive
King Kong (1933)
Adventure | Fantasy
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal giant gorilla who takes a shine to their female blonde star.

Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack
Stars: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot
Comedy | Drama
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X  

Young filmmaker decides to make a movie of his life.

Director: Jim McBride
Stars: L.M. Kit Carson, Eileen Dietz, Louise Levine
Crime | Drama | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X  

A quiet but disturbed young man puts the life of a woman he's obsessed with under a virtual microscope when he installs hidden cameras throughout her house.

Director: Eric Nicholas
Stars: Ana Claudia Talancón, Colin Hanks, Jordana Spiro
Peeping Tom (1960)
Drama | Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X  

A young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.

Director: Michael Powell
Stars: Karlheinz Böhm, Anna Massey, Moira Shearer
Dracula (1931)
Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X  

The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon the virtuous young Mina.

Director: Tod Browning
Stars: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners
Frankenstein (1931)
Horror | Sci-Fi
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8/10 X  

An obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.

Director: James Whale
Stars: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff
Action | Comedy | Horror
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.2/10 X  

A group of Finnish and British people get stuck at a cabin when they are attacked by a creature that is a half human, half rabbit.

Director: Joonas Makkonen
Stars: Hiski Hämäläinen, Enni Ojutkangas, Veera W. Vilo
Horror | Thriller
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6/10 X  

A pair of teenage girls are headed to a rock concert for one's birthday. While trying to score marijuana in the city, the girls are kidnapped by a gang of psychotic convicts.

Director: Wes Craven
Stars: Sandra Peabody, Lucy Grantham, David Hess
Edit

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Venus
...
Roscoe Ates ...
Roscoe (as Rosco Ates)
...
Hercules
Harry Earles ...
Daisy Earles ...
Rose Dione ...
Madame Tetrallini
Daisy Hilton ...
Violet Hilton ...
Schlitze ...
Himself
Josephine Joseph ...
Half Woman-Half Man
Johnny Eck ...
Half Boy
Frances O'Connor ...
Armless Girl
Peter Robinson ...
Human Skeleton
Edit

Storyline

A circus trapeze artist, Cleopatra, takes an interest in Hans, a midget who works in the circus sideshow. Her interest however is in the money Hans will be inheriting and she is actually carrying on an affair with another circus performer, Hercules. Hans's fiancée does her best to convince him that he is being used but to no avail. At their wedding party, a drunken Cleopatra tells the sideshow freaks just what she thinks of them. Together, the freaks decide to make her one of their own. Written by garykmcd

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Taglines:

Can a full grown woman truly love a MIDGET ? See more »

Genres:

Drama | Horror

Certificate:

Unrated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
Edit

Details

Country:

Language:

| |

Release Date:

20 February 1932 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Forbidden Love  »

Box Office

Budget:

$310,607 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

(Western Electric Sound System)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See  »
Edit

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cast member Olga Roderick, the bearded lady, later denounced the film and regretted her involvement in it. Although Roderick was the most vocal in her dislike of the movie, many of the "freaks" expressed their disdain. Only Johnny Eck seems to have praised the film throughout his life. See more »

Goofs

The shadow of the boom fall on Phroso's back when he and Venus are talking in the trailer, after her angry outburst at him. See more »

Quotes

[referring to a "half-man/half-woman" who has given Hercules an alluring look]
Roscoe: I think she likes you - but he don't.
See more »

Connections

Featured in TCM Underground: Freaks/Mark of the Vampire (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

Memphis the Majestic
(uncredited)
Music by Russell Alexander
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
Great horror classic from early 30's.
7 June 2001 | by (Chyby, Poland) – See all my reviews

"Freaks" is one of the most controversial horror films from the 30's,mainly because director Tod Browning hired as the actors real sideshow freaks.It does have a rather unsettling effect,but I think that really does work for the film.Browning builds up a great amount of suspense with the good use of locations,story and lots of atmosphere.The ending,where we see freaks crawling in the mud,is pretty creepy.Anyway check this one out-it's worth watching.


42 of 57 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?

Message Boards

Recent Posts
Really a HORROR movie? gemininyc
The Ending was a step backwards Udo666
NOT a cult movie! vanessa_woolf
About the torso man Movie_Guy_87
Your favorite freak? SlipGun
Carnival Horror Movies rduke72
Discuss Freaks (1932) on the IMDb message boards »

Contribute to This Page

Create a character page for:
?