The new one is finally playing near me this week and I'm super excited! I figured I should watch the original first and lucky me it's on TCM. This is a bleak rise-and-fall tale of a manipulative con man set in the seedy showbiz world of carnivals. It's complex and compelling, even when the film delves into melodrama, with a load of surprises throughout. There's a fair amount of supernatural overtones that make it incredibly unique. What really sells is the unforgettable performance from leading man Tyrone Power that truly bring everything to life. Blondell and Grey are also fantastic in the supporting roles. Hoping the Del Toro adaptation is as good as this.

[Filmin] Tyrone Power's attempt to get more dramatic characters led him to produce films like this one, with an amoral character whose rise and fall (much harder than death) is told in a fatalistic story, which tells of life predestined, and that moves in a difficult balance between melodrama and noir. And it makes the fate of the protagonist disturbing, despite his immorality.

Well done, well interpreted, we liked it