The Man Who Laughs - Allusions and References From Other Works

Allusions and References From Other Works

(Chronological)

• In 1869, while living in Buffalo, New York, Mark Twain published a parody of L'Homme qui Rit in the Buffalo Express newspaper. The parody attempted to offer parallels between Gwynplaine and Andrew Johnson, the scandal-plagued President of the United States at that time. The parody was unsuccessful, and is of minor interest only because of its author's later prominence.
• In H.G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), Moreau refers to L'Homme qui Rit when explaining the nature of his experiments to the protagonist.
• In 1940, comic book artist Jerry Robinson used Gwynplaine's lanky physique and grotesque grin as the visual inspiration for the Joker, Batman's archenemy. There the similarity ends, however; Gwynplaine is an embittered hero, while the Joker is a psychopathic criminal.
  In the 1970s, Bob Kane acknowledged the inspiration for the Joker, and it was later explicitly referenced in the graphic novel, Batman: The Man Who Laughs. Comic book artist Brian Bolland said that watching The Man Who Laughs was one of his inspirations for drawing the graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke (1988). In the 2003 "Wild Cards" episode of the Justice League animated series, The Joker infiltrated a TV station by using the alias "Gwynplaine Entertainment".
• A short story by the name of "The Laughing Man" (first published in 1949) is featured in J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories (1953). The story appears to be influenced by The Man Who Laughs, featuring an individual facially disfigured in his childhood by criminals who have kidnapped him.
• Gwynplaine's physical appearance may have inspired "Sardonicus", a story by Ray Russell published in Playboy in 1961. This gothic horror tale describes a man who has experienced a shock so terrifying that he undergoes a medical condition called Risus sardonicus, in which his face is permanently paralyzed into an exaggerated grin. Russell's story was filmed that same year as Mr. Sardonicus, a low-budget horror film by William Castle, featuring one of the gimmicks for which that producer was famous: halting the projection of the movie a few minutes before it ended, ostensibly so that the audience could vote on whether Sardonicus would live or die. Allegedly, the projectionist had two different endings available, and would screen the one reflecting the audience's verdict. In reality, however, only one ending was ever filmed or shown, with Sardonicus starving to death, his handicap preventing him from eating.
• The novelist and essayist Ayn Rand adapted Hugo's term “comprachicos” for her own purposes in a noted essay, published in The Objectivist in 1970. Rand used the term “comprachicos” to designate various forces in society which — either through well-meaning ignorance or outright malice — distort and deform children's souls and minds in an attempt to force them into social conformity. She considered The Man Who Laughs to be Hugo's best novel.
• Pinball, a 1982 novel credited to Jerzy Kosinski, features a female character named Andrea Gwynplaine. Journalist and author F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre made an unverified claim to have ghost-written portions of Pinball and inserted the name “Gwynplaine” into the text as a clue to his participation.
• In James Ellroy's book The Black Dahlia (1987), the mutilation murder of Elizabeth Short is partially inspired by a painting of Gwynplaine. The painting ends up being one of the major clues in solving the murder.
• In the movie The Black Dahlia (2006), The Man Who Laughs is a movie co-produced by a relative of the supposed killer, who also used the movie's set to stage a pornographic movie featuring the victim, Elizabeth Short, thereby jumbling the book, the original movie, the porno, and real life in a murderous mixture.
• In the 2008 movie The Dark Knight, The Joker appears to take a more direct influence physically from Gwynplaine, as his permanent grin appears to be caused by a mutilation to his face.
• In the 2010 Rob Zombie album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2, the last song is titled "The Man Who Laughs" and is based on the story of the same name.
• In a 2011 issue of Batman and Robin, writer David Hine introduced a deformed French supervillain named the Man Who Laughs. His backstory states that his father, a fan of classic art and literature, carved a smile onto his face as an intentional homage to Hugo's novel.