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How others will see it. This film is of interest to fans of Lon Chaney, or silent movies in general. Man of a Thousand Faces also provides a challenging role for James Cagney, not a young man by 1957, who has mime, comedy, and dancing bits in addition to playing Chaney in his classic film roles.
He's also effective in the dramatic performance that dominates the film. He's surprisingly unsympathetic, though. One feels more sorry for those around him, who have to put up with his inflexible decisions. He has no problems saying "No" to people.
How I felt about it. One of the film's ironies is that Hollywood's boy movie mogul, Irving Thalberg, is a significant supporting character. Thalberg died even younger than Chaney, although he is in perfect health throughout this particular movie.
The relationship between Chaney and Cleva occupies the first half of the movie. His film career doesn't even begin until the major subplot is resolved. Can this marriage be saved? Chaney's love is focused on the boy, and he holds grudges forever. Cleva's fragile emotional state, and her need for attention and activity, aren't compatible with Chaney's strict notions of child rearing.
Chaney's stubbornness and determination are his major character traits, and these suit Cagney's screen persona. No doubt, Cagney saw in Man of a Thousand Faces the potential for another Yankee Doodle Dandy. The latter bio was a major career boost for Cagney in 1942, not only because of its commercial and critical success, but because it showed his versatility as an actor. He could play more than tough guys and gangsters.
Man of a Thousand Faces was well received, but didn't pay off as well for Cagney. Part of the problem was the nostalgia factor was smaller. Cohan represented Broadway in full glory. Chaney was a silent actor adept at playing creeps. The earlier bio provides spectacle. The latter can either reprise in lesser form the greatness of Chaney's old films, or (the wiser course, which the film actually takes) concentrate on his troubled family life. What could have been a dull rehash of Chaney's film library, in the persona of Cagney, instead becomes an interesting study in how conflicting interests and strong emotions can tear a family apart.