History Trivia / Freaks

* {{Trope Namer|s}}: For JustForFun/OneOfUs.

* NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity: Although the film was to have 30 minutes cut from it after the test screening, there was no way to do so before its premiere in Fox Theatre in San Diego. This version was a Box Office smash, as crowds lined up down the street to see it, and it broke the theatre's house record. When word spread that the film was going to be edited, the theatre advertised "Your last opportunity to see ''Freaks'' in its uncensored form."

* OldShame:
** Before his death, Angelo Rossitto was asked about the film and this is what he said: "I don't want any publicity. When you look like me, walking down the street's enough publicity."
** Almost all of the "freaks" bar Johnny Eck were eventually embarrassed by the film. Olga Roderick, who played the bearded lady, was the most vocal about it.

* NamesTheSame: Daisy Earles, who plays Frieda, also had had a sister called Frieda who was a dwarf performer (though she used the stage name 'Gracie Doll').

** The chase scene for Cleo ran much longer; a tree would fall on her after getting struck by lightning, allowing the freaks to surround her. The others putting out the fire in Venus's caravan would hear Cleo's screaming and find her alone, horrified by what has happened. Then the freaks chase the injured Hercules and corner him. Fade to black.
** Hercules's final fate was to be shown singing soprano in Madame Tetrallini's sideshow - as the freaks had castrated him.

** The role of Cleopatra is also ironic compared to Baclanova's other best-known role, Duchess Josiana in ''Film/TheManWhoLaughs''. While Josiana is herself a scheming vamp, she has a deeply sexually fetishistic crush on the disfigured Gwynplaine and wants him all to herself ''because'' he's a sideshow freak. One gets the impression that if you swapped their places, Cleo would have simply ignored Gwynplaine in disgust while Josiana would have latched herself onto a far "freakier" freak than the adorable Hans and been all the happier for it, probably shuddering with pleasure at being accepted as "one of them".

* SocietyMarchesOn: The text crawl at the beginning of the movie talks about how throughout history, people with deformities were seen as omens of bad luck or representatives of evil. To spare their families the "curse" of raising them, malformed children were often left out to die of exposure to the elements. It also says that such a story will never be filmed again, as modern science and teratology is rapidly eliminating such people from the world. Considering the movie was made in 1932, a time when eugenics was popular and [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Hitler]] was rising to power, it's not hard to see why the future seemed bleak for these people. Today, disabled people have more rights than at any other time in history, amusingly making it more likely that such a story will indeed not be created again -- just not for the intended reason. Furthermore, present-day airings of the movie omit the text crawl, and it's not present on the Creator/HBOMax version of it.

** The role of Cleopatra is also ironic compared to Baclanova's other best-known role, Duchess Josiana in ''[[Film/TheManWhoLaughs]]''. While Josiana is herself a scheming vamp, she has a deeply sexually fetishistic crush on the disfigured Gwynplaine and wants him all to herself ''because'' he's a sideshow freak. One gets the impression that if you swapped their places, Cleo would have simply ignored Gwynplaine in disgust while Josiana would have latched herself onto a far "freakier" freak than the adorable Hans and been all the happier for it.

* CrossCastRole: Schlitze the microcephalic member of the cast who wears a dress and appears to be female was actually a male. He had to wear a dress for health reasons.

* ReferencedBy:
** ''Film/ThePlayer'': a couple of the characters talk about the movie, and Lyle Lovett's character does the "one of us" chant.
** Music/TheRamones' [[Music/LeaveHome "Pinhead"]] was based on the film, with the chant "Gabba Gabba Hey" being a variation on "Gooble gooble! Gooble gobble!"
** Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Wrestling/TheOddities were inspired by the movie. As part of their debut on the May 25, 1998 ''Wrestling/{{WWERAW}}'', the manager [[Wrestling/DonCallis The Jackyl]] lampshaded the film's message, though not by name, telling commentator Wrestling/MichaelCole, "These people are normal compared to people like you and Wrestling/JimRoss." Their entrance video featured clips from the movie.

** Creator/MyrnaLoy turned down the part of Cleopatra, finding the script offensive. Creator/JeanHarlow was also approached to play Venus, but declined. Victor [=McLaglen=] was considered for the role of Hercules.

** The scene in which a landowner comes across the performers with Madame Tetrallini ran much longer, with dialogue from the latter humanizing them even more - the landowner clearly meant to be an AudienceSurrogate.

---> '''Madame:''' I know, Monsieur. You will remember seeing them playing - playing like children. Among the thousands who have come to stare, to laugh, to shudder...you will be one who understands."

* TheDanza: Many of the titular 'freaks' were playing characters with the same names as them - notably Daisy and Violet Hilton.

* DisabledCharacterDisabledActor: Notably, "Prince Randian" (who was born with tetra-amelia syndrome, or the absence of all four limbs), Simon Metz (born with microcephaly, a smaller skull and brain), Minnie Woolsey (who suffered from Virchow Sekel Syndrome, a combination of skeletal malformation and dwarfism), Daisy and Violet Hilton (pyopagus conjoined twins), and Johnny Eck (who had underdeveloped legs due to sacral agenesis- he could hide them under his clothing, making it appear he had no body below the waist), and Harry and Daisy Earles (dwarfism).