How does the Joker differ from previous on-screen portrayals?
In Tim Burton’s Batman (1989), Jack Nicholson gave the public a grimmer, scarier Joker than what it had known before. Their idea of the Joker had been Cesar Romero, one of the guest villains in the campy 1960s TV series, “Batman.” Christopher Nolan continues the trend by making the Joker more sinister and less pranksterish than ever. Heath Ledger based his Joker on Alex DeLarge from A Clockwork Orange (1971), which wipes away any thought of Romero. Publicity photos show him with the sides of his mouth cut, giving him an unnaturally wide grin. The mutilated mouth links him to Conrad Veidt who played Gwynplaine, the clown with the carved smile, in The Man Who Laughs (1928). Bob Kane and Bill Finger had thought of the grinning Veidt when they created the Joker. But don’t expect to see Gwynplaine’s sweet nature or gentle humor in Heath Ledger. The new Joker is a brutal killer with a macabre and malicious sense of humor.
