The Penalty

(From TCM ) Set in the underworld of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast, The Penalty follows the criminal reign of Blizzard (Lon Chaney), an urban warlord who is engineering nothing less than a complete takeover of the city. His megalomania seems to stem from his physical malformation. As a child, Blizzard was the victim of an auto accident, and subsequently of an irresponsible doctor (Charles Clary), who amputated both of the boy’s legs in an unnecessary operation. Nurturing an anti-social grudge through adulthood, Blizzard’s plans for world domination include a particular vengeance upon the reckless surgeon: forcing him to perform a leg-grafting operation, using the fiancé of the doctor’s naive daughter (Claire Adams) as an involuntary leg donor. Added to the mix is a daring woman detective (Ethel Grey Terry) who infiltrates Blizzard’s evil empire, and glancing references to prostitution, drug abuse and the threat of anarchy.