A Woman's Face (1941)

Once again, George Cukor directs an MGM feature with a feminine focus in the title and a nasty role for Joan Crawford. This one has a tighter plot and is set in Sweden, thanks to the play on which it's based. (OK, I'm having trouble finding good info on the play, but there was a Swedish adaptation in 1938.)

Blackmail ringleader Anna (Crawford) has spent most of her life with burn scars on the right half of her face, aversions to fire and mirrors, and misanthropy, especially toward beautiful people, tho she makes an exception for seductive Torsten (Conrad Veidt). When she unexpectedly meets a great and charitable plastic surgeon, Gustaf (Melvyn Douglas)...well, see how Crawford usually looked on screen in those days. Anna's a lot less bitter once people admire her appearance, but wickedness doesn't dry up overnight, especially if you've been keeping wicked company. In particular, Torsten hopes she still has what it takes to serve as a governess to his four-year-old nephew, Lars-Erik (Richard Nichols), only to bump him off to secure Torsten a bigger inheritance from Uncle Magnus (Albert Bassermann).

The Beloved Rogue (1927)

It had been a while since my last viewing of a silent film, and I wanted something on the short side. Since John Barrymore seems best remembered for his voice (in addition to being part of an acting dynasty), the thought of his pre-vocal work intrigued me. OK, I had seen Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but it didn't stay with me.

TBR is set in 15th-century Paris under Louis XI, with an All Fools Day parade early on. Sound familiar? There's a reason the studio reused much of the set of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Incidentally, the cast includes three actors who would go on to feature in Freaks, but none is a hunchback.