Outside the Law

Recently released Blu-Ray Kino Lorber "Outside the Law" (1920) starring Priscilla Dean, Wheeler Oakman, Lon Chaney, Sr. (in two rôles), E. Alyn Warren, Ralph Lewis, John George, Stanley Goethels, and others (including an uncredited Anna May Wong and two of her sisters), is standard fodder for early twentieth century stories about criminal activity in Chinatown, San Francisco, but this is played out in an exceptionally exciting manner. The fight at the end is one of the best fight scenes I've ever seen in any film. The 1926 re-release totally gets rid of this scene! This "restored" version of the 35mm original print is superb, though it possibly has a couple of minor little scenes missing or partly missing. Not sure about that, but it seemed so while I watched. I've watched this film three times before, first on VHS (twice), then once on DVD. Never has it looked as good to me as this version, which is very sharp and so clear until near the end where there is some serious nitrate deterioration. Of course the deterioration is disturbing, but none of the plot seems to be excised as a result, and we can follow it just fine. One thing which struck me very clearly this time was how much Priscilla Dean in this film reminded me of early Barbara Stanwyck. She even looked like her in some scenes. She really did a super job of portraying her part here. Wheeler Oakman was very good himself, as were all the others, but...Lon Chaney not only stole every scene he was in, he simply proved why many consider him the finest actor of all time on film. He's superb to the hilt. As "Black Mike", the evil gangster of the area, he's just as mean as mean can be. His face could be a monster of hatred when he so chose to make it one. But he also plays a foil in the guise of a Chinois servant named Ah Wing. Beautifully acted! This is highly recommended for any Chaney fan. Recommended otherwise, too; though, I will admit I found it disturbing three or four times when the intertitles wiggled and blurred, then wiggled back into place. Shouldn't have happened. Still, the picture itself never did, and it was exceptional in Blu-Ray.