The Mystic

A troupe of Hungarian confidence tricksters moves from tent to tent staging seances for money. An American swindler takes them to New York and builds something much larger there, aimed at a wealthy family and its inheritance. Tod Browning made it in the vein that occupied him for years: fairgrounds, fakery and the appetite of crowds to believe. The design of the seance scenes is the best thing in it, showing the audience exactly how the trick is done without weakening its effect. This is one of his silent works and now among his least known. The conscience arc of the woman deceiving the family is the weak part of the story. Who it is for: viewers who like silent cinema and Tod Browning's carnival world. Who it is not for: anyone wanting suspense, since this is more a story about a con.