[J. Tithonus Pednaud]

I am, of course, a big fan of Tod Browning. His film Freaks stands as iconic in the Carnival and sideshow community and was really cutting edge for the time. Casting human oddities as the heroes really alienated the public. It really didn't garner much praise until the 60's, when audiences could connect to the idea of going against the grain. Previous to that, it was cut into segments, spliced into film of atrocities and toured as an early grindhouse film. Freaks did not exist in its complete form for almost 30 years.

Interesting note about Browning, he was a sideshow performer and talker in his youth. For his act, he was 'The Living Corpse'. He would pack himself into a coffin and be buried, only to be dug up later with no ill effects. This from the man who would go on to direct a film about the undead Dracula.

Another strange thing about Freaks, before I go. The film owes it's survival to the church of Satan. Founder Anton LaVey was a former carnival worker and he adored the film. He collected numerous copies of the film, which were in very poor shape due to age, and compiled the complete version you see today.