History Film / TheUnholyThree

Harry Earles, the little person probably best remembered for playing the lead in ''Film/{{Freaks}}'', plays Tweedledee in both versions.

* {{Adorkable}}: How Rosie sees Hector.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In the 1930 version Hector refuses when a carnival barker tells him to stop scowling and smile for the crowd, saying "I'd like to poison them all."
* HaveAGayOldTime: In the 1930 version Echo is berating Hector for mistreating the gorilla. Rosie admonishes him, "Not in front of the boobs!" Echo shoots back "Never mind the boobs!" Later they consistently refer to poor Hector as "the boob."[[note]]"Boob" of course meaning "idiot" or "sucker", a meaning still preserved in "booby trap".[[/note]]

''The Unholy Three'' is a silent crime film directed by Tod Browning and released in 1925. It was based on a book of the same name by Tod Robbins and starred Creator/LonChaney in the leading role. It was such a hit that it was remade as a talkie in 1930, with Lon Chaney once again in the lead role. The remake was Lon Chaney's first sound film, and, unfortunately, his only, as he died from throat cancer only weeks after the movie was complete. The two versions are almost identical to each other, except for the ending.

* HaveAGayOldTime: In the 1930 version Echo is berating Hector for mistreating the gorilla. Rosie admonishes him, "Not in front of the boobs!" Echo shoots back "Never mind the boobs!"[[note]]"Boob" of course meaning "idiot" or "sucker", a meaning still preserved in "booby trap".[[/note]]

!!These Films Contain Examples Of:

* BookEnds: The silent version begins and ends with Echo doing his ventriloquism act for the crowd.

* TheCastShowOff: Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, learned basic ventriloquism for the talkie, and did five different voices: his own as Echo, Granny, a dummie, a parrot and a girl in the crowd.
* CoversAlwaysLie: One of the FilmPosters for the 1925 version makes it seem as though the titular 3 consists of Echo, Rosie, and Hector instead of Echo, Tweedledee, and Hercules.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: In the 1930 version Hector refuses when a carnival barker tells him to stop scowling and smile for the crowd, saying "I'd like to poison them all."

* HaveAGayOldTime: In the 1930 version Echo is berating Hector for mistreating the gorilla. Rosie admonishes him, "Not in front of the boobs!" Echo shoots back "Never mind the boobs!"[[note]]"Boob" of course meaning "idiot" or "sucker", a meaning still preserved in "booby trap".[[/note]]
* HollywoodLaw: In the silent version, not only is Echo's confession taken in open court after Hector's jury is filing out to deliberate, but they ''let Echo go'' after he has confessed to multiple robberies and being an accessory after the fact to murder.
* HypocriticalHumor: After Rosie has an attack of conscience and produces a second watch that she stole, Echo thanks her, saying "Money you get that way will never do you no good." She's a thief to begin with!

* IronicEcho: "Gee, but you've made this a great Christmas, Rosie" (from the silent version)
* KarmaHoudini: Echo in the silent version.

* TheNapoleon: The Midget. He's easily the most vicious and evil member of the Unholy Three.

* SpeechBubbles: The silent version has a rare use of these in a live-action film. Echo is tricking a woman at the pet store into buying parrots by throwing his voice so the parrots appear to talk. To demonstrate this to the audience, the film shows speech bubbles popping up onscreen with "Pretty Polly" and such inside, representing the (fake) parrot speech.

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The Unholy Three plan to let Hector take the fall, but Rosie, aware that Echo is in love with her, pleads with him to exonerate Hector by confirming his alibi of being with Granny the night of the robbery. In exchange, she promises herslef to him. Echo agrees to the plan.