On this day in movie history - The Unholy Three (1925 movie & novel):

The Unholy Three

directed by Tod Browning,

written by Tod Robbins, Waldemar Young,

based on the novel by Tod Robbins,

released in the United States on July 4, 1925.

Cast: Lon Chaney, Mae Busch, Matt Moore, Victor McLaglen, Harry Earles, Matthew Betz, Edward Connelly, William Humphrey, E. Alyn Warren, Margie Angus, Mary Angus, Violet N. Cane, Walter P. Cole, D'Arcy Corrigan, Carrie Daumery, Delno Fritz, Alice Julian, Peter Kortes, Mickey McBan, John Merkyl, John Millerta, Louis Morrison, Marjorie Morton, Walter Perry, Louis Shank, Vera Vance, Carrie Clark Ward, Charles Wellesley, Percy Williams.

Recommended reading:

The Unholy Three

By Tod Robbins.

Published by A.L. Burt Company,

First published 1917.

ASIN: B0DM4DFX7Y

Description:

Step right up, folks, and prepare to have your blood run cold as you meet the strangest, most bizarre trio of misfits ever spawned by a carnival of TWEEDLEDEE, an adult man trapped in the body of a three-year-old toddler, whose mask of childlike innocence hides a seething brain plotting hideous revenge against all that is sane and normal! HERCULES, the circus strongman, brutal, bestial, reveling in carnage and murder – yet the submissive slave of a deadly dwarf! ECHO, the expert ventriloquist with the uncanny ability to throw his voice so that lifeless wooden dummies seem to speak even as you or I! Together, they are THE UNHOLY THREE, star attractions of Tod Robbins’ classic novel of hate, murder and madness on and off the midway. Best known as author of the story which inspired the still-controversial fear-film FREAKS, Robbins first stunned the public with this intense account of a ruthless war on society waged by a triad of carny castaways.

Born on this day – Bruce French:

Bruce French

Actor

July 4, 1945 – February 7, 2025

Credits:

21 Jump Street (1988); A Case for Murder (1993); ABC Afterschool Specials (1983); ABC Weekend Specials (1988); Airplane II: The Sequel (1982); All-American Girl (1994); Ally McBeal (2001); Ants! (1977); Baby Talk (1992); Barbarians at the Gate (1993); Beautiful Boy (2010); Beginners (2010); Benson (1983); Beverly Hills, 90210 (1997); Biography (1987); Black Eagle (1988); Bloodbrothers (1978); Bones (2006); Boston Legal (2008); Boston Public (2003); Caroline in the City (1999); CBS Summer Playhouse (1987); Cheers (1989); Christine (1983); City of Angels (2000); Coach (1996); Coming Home (1978); Crash (2009); Criminal Minds (2008); Crossing Jordan (2003); Curse of the Black Widow (1977); Dallas (1981–1982); Dark and Stormy Night (2009); Deadly Intentions (1985); Designing Women (1989); Dharma & Greg (1999); Dirty Sexy Money (2008); Eli Stone (2008); Enough (2002); Falcon Crest (1986–1988); Fame (1983); Family Ties (1982); First Family (1980); Fletch (1985); Gilmore Girls (2003); Grey's Anatomy (2009); Grounded for Life (2001); GUNS (1976); Hardball (1989); Hardcastle and McCormick (1983–1985); Hawthorne (2009); Head Cases (2005); Helter Skelter (1976); Herman's Head (1993); Highway to Heaven (1987); Hill Street Blues (1984); House (2006); Hudson Street (1996); In the Line of Duty: A Cop for the Killing (1990); It's a Horrible Life (2010); Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993); JAG (2002); Jagged Edge (1985); Jake and the Fatman (1991); Jane Doe: Ties That Bind (2007); Jurassic Park III (2001); Justify the Means (2009); Kaz (1979); Knots Landing (1984); L.A. Law (1986); Leave 'em Laughing (1981); Leaving L.A. (1997); Legal Eagles (1986); Lottery! (1983); Love, Sidney (1982); Mad Men (2007); Magnum, P.I. (1983); Man on a Swing (1974); Martians Go Home (1989); Matlock (1987); Men Behaving Badly (1996); Mission: Impossible III (2006); Moonlighting (1988); Mr. Deeds (2002); Mr. Mom (1983); Mr. Smith (1983); Murder Ordained (1987); Murphy's Romance (1985); Mysterious Two (1982); NCIS (2006); Newhart (1986); Night Court (1989); Pacific Palisades (1997); Party of Five (1996); Passions (1999–2008); Picket Fences (1994); Pipe Dreams (1976); Providence (2000); Raising the Bar (2008); Rendezvous Hotel (1979); Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985); Rollercoaster (1977); Roots: The Next Generations (1979); Ruby and Oswald (1978); Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1987); Sexual Life (2004); Silver Spoons (1985); Simon & Simon (1988); Snoops (1989); Soap (1979); Sorority Boys (2002); Special Bulletin (1983); Special Thanks to Roy London (2005); Star Trek: Enterprise (2001); Star Trek: Insurrection (1998); Star Trek: The Next Generation (1991); Star Trek: Voyager (1995); Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama (1981); Strong Medicine (2000); Surrender (1987); Sweetwater (1983); Team Knight Rider (1997); Terror Out of the Sky (1978); Thank You for Smoking (2005); The A-Team (1984); The Boys Are Back (1995); The Bronx Zoo (1988); The Chisholms (1980); The French Atlantic Affair (1979); The Guardian (2004); The Lyon's Den (2003–2004); The New WKRP in Cincinnati (1993); The Outer Limits (1995); The Pentagon Wars (1998); The Popcorn Kid (1987); The Powers of Matthew Star (1983); The Practice (1997–2003); The Riches (2007–2008); The Savage Bees (1976); The Visitor (1997); The Waltons (1978); The Wayans Bros. (1997); The West Wing (2002); The Wishing Well (2009); Thieves (2001); Up All Night (2012); Valerie (1990); Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story (1993); Waiting for Godot (1977); Walkout (2006); War and Remembrance (1989); When Every Day Was the Fourth of July (1978); Where Pigeons Go to Die (1990); Who Is Julia? (1986); Who's the Boss? (1991–1992); Wildcats (1986).

Born on this day – Ed Bernard:

Ed Bernard

Actor

July 4, 1939 – January 23, 2025

Credits:

Across 110th Street (1972); Act of Violence (1979); Amen (1987); Bare Witness (2002); Becker (2003); Beyond Westworld (1980); Blue Thunder (1983); Cold Case (2005); Cool Million (1972); D.A. Pursuit of Justice / Video Game (1997); Doogie Howser, M.D. (1991); ER (2005); Girl in the Cadillac (1995); Girlfriends (2002); Hardcastle and McCormick (1984–1985); Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993); In the House (1997); Intimate Stranger (1991); JAG (2002); Kojak (1974); Life with Lucy (1986); Love Story (1973); Mannix (1974); Mork & Mindy (1978); Murdock's Gang (1973); Nickels (1995); NYPD Blue (1999); Pinocchio's Revenge (1996); Police Story (1973–1974); Police Woman (1974–1978); Reflections of Murder (1974); Shaft (1971); Suddenly Susan (1998); Survival Game (1987); T.J. Hooker (1982–1984); That's My Mama (1974); The Hot Rock (1972); The Last Song (1980); The White Shadow (1978–1980); Together Brothers (1974); Trader Horn (1973); Two Marriages (1983); Under Cover (1987); Unwed Father (1974); What's Happening Now! (1987); What's Happening!! (1978); Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom (1995).

Born on this day – Neil Simon:

Neil Simon

Writer

July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018

Born on this day – Gina Lollobrigida:

Gina Lollobrigida

Actress

Photographer

Artist

July 4, 1927 – January 16, 2023

Born on this day – Mary Stuart:

Mary Stuart

Actress

Guitarist

Singer

Songwriter

July 4, 1926 – February 28, 2002

Credits:

Album:

Joanne Sings (1956), with Stuart and Percy Faith, music inspired by the TV show Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986).

Movies and television:

50 Years of Soaps: An All-Star Celebration (1994); 9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2003); Adventures of Don Juan (1948); After Hours: From Janice, John, Mary and Michael, with Love (1976); April Showers (1948); Bicentennial Minutes (1976); California Casanova (1991); Colt .45 (1950); Dark Delusion (1947); Dinah! (1975); Donahue (1985); Embraceable You (1948); Face of a Stranger (1991); Father Makes Good (1950); Good News (1947); Guiding Light (1996–2002); Help Wanted (1983); Henry, the Rainmaker (1949); Here We Go Again (1942); Highways by Night (1942); Hollywood Opening Night (1951); Hour Magazine (1981–1987); June Bride (1948); Ladies' Day (1943); Leave It to Henry (1949); Lights Out (1950); Living in a Big Way (1947); Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost (1942); Mexican Spitfire's Elephant (1942); Mr. Lucky (1943); Musical Chairs (1975); NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration (1986); NY TV: By the People Who Made It - Part I & II (1998); Omnibus / Segment: The Bad Men (1952); One Life to Live (1968–2013); Search for Tomorrow (1951–1986); Seven Days' Leave (1942); Song of the Islands (1942); Springtime in the Rockies (1942); Stars Over Hollywood (1950); The 12th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1985); The 1st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (1974); The 28th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2001); The 30th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards (2003); The Big Punch (1948); The Big Street (1942); The Bob Braun Show (1976–1982); The Canterbury Tales (1972); The Cariboo Trail (1950); The David Frost Show (1972); The David Letterman Show (1980); The Dick Cavett Show (1968); The Falcon Strikes Back (1943); The Girl from Jones Beach (1949); The Hollywood Squares (Daytime);  (1978); The Hucksters (1947); The Mike Douglas Show (1965–1979); The Regis Philbin Show (1982); The Unfinished Dance (1947); The Web (1950); This Land Is Mine (1943); This Time for Keeps (1947); Thunderhoof (1948); Today (1980); Tomorrow Coast to Coast (1976); Triple Threat (1948); Week-End in Havana (1941); When Angels Fly (1983).

Born on this day – Carol Andrews:

Carol Andrews

Actress

July 4, 1921 – February 27, 1956

Credits:

Blue Skies (1946); Colonel Effingham's Raid (1946); Ladies' Man (1947); Murder Is My Business (1946); Nob Hill (1945); Slightly Scandalous (1946); Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947); Sweetheart of Sigma Chi (1946); The Best Years of Our Lives (1946); The Bullfighters (1945); The Guilty (1947); The Lady Confesses (1945).