The Unholy Three is a 1925 American silent crime melodrama film involving a trio of circus conmen, directed by Tod Browning and starring Lon Chaney.

Professor Echo, the ventriloquist, assumes the role of Mrs. O'Grady, a kindly old grandmother, who runs a pet shop, while Tweedledee plays her grandchild.

On Christmas Eve, John Arlington (an uncredited Charles Wellesley) telephones to complain that the "talking" parrot (aided by Echo's ventriloquism) he bought will not speak.

When "Granny" O'Grady visits Mr. Arlington to coax the bird into performing, "she" takes along grandson "Little Willie" in a baby carriage (to case the place).

When a police investigator shows up at the shop, the trio become fearful and decide to frame Hector, hiding the stolen jewelry in his room.

When the police arrest him, Rosie tells the trio that she will testify in his defense, forcing them to abduct her and they all flee to a mountain cabin.

Echo returns to the sideshow, and the last scene shows him on stage, giving his spiel to the customers: "That's all there is to life, friends, ... a little laughter ... a little tear."

[15] The "ape" that dispatches the strongman Hector (Victor McLaglen) was actually a three-foot-tall chimpanzee who was made to appear gigantic with camera trickery and perspective shots.

[16] The Unholy Three enjoyed tremendous success, adding luster to Chaney's reputation as "The Man of a Thousand Faces" and revealing Browning as a remarkable film stylist.

[19] The movie was such a success upon its debut that at its release at the New York Capitol Theater, it maintained a strong audience attendance for at least two weeks.

Noted by Sherwood is how the film was shot, with great attention given to scenes as individual pieces rather than as parts of one greater project, causing continuity errors.

The company would later re-release the film as a part of its 6-disc Lon Chaney: The Warner Archive Classics Collection on November 22, 2011, and on June 23, 2015.

[24] As is common in a Tod Browning film, circus life and unusual bodies play a central role in this movie along with great use of trompe-l'œil optical illusion.

Contrary to the usual use of this effect, Browning makes it a point to disillusion the audience and display the workings of the illusion to create a different sort of viewing stimulation.

The Unholy Three's plot plays directly with another of Browning's favorite topics, dealing with identity, doubles, dual roles, and deformity.