Critical Reception
Initially, the critical assessment of The Man Who Laughs was mediocre, with some critics disliking the morbidity of the subject matter and others complaining that the Germanic looking sets did not evoke 17th century England. In recent times, the assessment has been more positive. Critic Roger Ebert declared it "One of the final treasures of German silent Expressionism".
Although actor Kirk Douglas was long interested in producing a remake, The Man Who Laughs has only been refilmed twice in the sound era, as L'Uomo che Ride by Italian director Sergio Corbucci in 1966, and a 2012 French language adaptation that was more closely based on the novel and starred Gerard Depardieu and Christa Theret.
In the 1966 version, Corbucci, however, changed the setting from Queen Anne's England to the 16th century Italian court of the Borgias.
Read more about this topic: The Man Who Laughs (1928 Film)
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