This is a very good, moving Silent film. Lon Chaney and Loretta Young, each giving wonderful performances, both provide thoroughly believable heart and soul, that easily pulls you in to the unusual, credible story. Young - who was ages 14 and 15 at time of filming - portrays the sweet, lovely innocent teen, quickly budding into a beautiful young woman. Her Simonetta character is Chaney's Tito character's foster (for all intents and purposes adopted) child, who he's raised like she was his own daughter since she was an adorable foundling toddler. The two have always been deeply devoted to and thoroughly loved one another, like real parent and child.

Unfortunately, when child Simonetta eventually matures into stunning older Simonetta, Tito realizes - and is horrified by - that he's now unexpectedly in love with and desires her. Of course he's a genuinely good guy, with an active conscience, who knows he must repress his feelings and never let on, and that he'll never be able to have the love of his life. It all eats him up and crushes him inside.

This is an ideal star vehicle for always superb Lon Chaney, who was the master of portraying conflicted complex characters. Unlike in many of his films, he's not, in this, a monster, criminal, or other nefarious type, instead is a good regular person - in this case one who's a kind, sensitive, big-hearted literal clown. The profound sorrow or sickened horrification that shows, with complete believable genuineness, on Chaney's face at various times is powerful and heartbreaking.

I like, in this, that Simonetta tenderly acknowledges Tito's crisis - that he loves her romantically and that he's wretchedly hopelessly heartsick and miserable (all which she eventually comes to realize) - and that she isn't at all repelled or weirded out, instead is sincerely deeply sympathetic, even comforting, and remains every bit as much as close and caring as she ever was, eager to remain devoted, loyal, and loving to the special man, who means the world to her, she has always considered her father. She never pushes Tito to arm's length or avoids him.

It's readily easy to see why Loretta Young soon shot to stardom. This was her first major film role, though even at such a tender age she illustrated obvious natural talent and a magical special-something "It" factor that the camera loves and easily captured. As much as Young is beautiful, Nils Asther, who plays the Simonetta character's charming love interest, is strikingly handsome.

The film's wonderful musical score composed by H. Scott Salinas in 2002 suits and complements the movie perfectly.

3-1/2-minutes "Laugh Clown Laugh 1928 Lon Chaney Loretta Young" pictorial/summary video

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