Tyrone Power cast against type at his own insistence gives the performance of a lifetime as handsome scumbag/carnival barker/con-man Stanton Carlisle. He seduces fellow sideshow performer Mademoiselle Zeena (Joan Blondell) to learn the secret of her once lucrative mind-reading act with her alcoholic husband (Ian Keith). Carlisle a ""born mentalist"" secures the secret method and sets off with his new carnie wife Molly (Coleen Gray) to milk the bigtime as a spiritualist in Chicago. A
Apparently a geek used to be someone that was kept in a circus, addicted to drugs - most commonly alcohol - and would be, in their desperate state, fed live chickens, rats and so-on for the entertainment of the circus guests. And Nightmare Alley, often called the darkest of all film noir, has two of them.
Unusual yes, but what do you expect from director Edmund Goulding, fan of drugs, alcohol, bi-sexual orgies and "screaming colour combinations" himself.
Once again Eureka!MoC have given us a great DVD of a great film.
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