Man of a Thousand Faces

Lon Chaney (James Cagney) is a charismatic young man breaking into vaudeville as a juggler and mime. He falls in love with his new assistant, Cleva (Dorothy Malone), but when he reveals that he grew up as the son of two deaf-mute parents, she reacts with horror and disgust. The psychologically unbalanced Cleva leaves Chaney shortly after their son is born, but when he moves to Hollywood, remarries and becomes a movie star, she returns in an attempt to get back into her son's life.