Released in 1928, the tragic love story The Man Who Laughs, starring Conrad Veidt (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Casablanca), was based on a Victor Hugo novel and appears, at least nowadays, to be a somewhat forgotten film… except for one very important element: The character of Gwynplaine, the titular and tragic “man who laughs”, was the visual inspiration for Batman’s arch enemy The Joker!

Happy Halloween!