The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Director: Rupert Julian                                 Writers: Elliot J. Clawson & Raymond L. Schrock
Film Score: Sam Perry                                Cinematography: Charles Van Enger
Starring: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry and Arthur Edmund Carewe

Lon Chaney’s iconic portrayal of the ghost of the Paris Opera is often considered the peak of the silent horror film. The irony is that there really were no silent horror films, at least they weren’t called that at the time. The first horror films began in the sound era with Universal’s Dracula and Frankenstein. And at first even those were still considered adaptations of classic gothic novels. Nevertheless, The Phantom of the Opera contains one of the most memorable scenes in all of silent cinema, if not the history of cinema, as Mary Philbin unmasks Lon Chaney and the audience sees that horrible skull-like visage of the monster, then the camera moves behind him to get a second reveal from Philbin’s point of view as he points an accusatory finger at her in a reenactment of the Bluebeard story.

Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, Chaney plays the mysterious masked man who lives under the Paris Opera House. He has been training a young singer, Mary Philbin, and forces the opera managers to feature her. When they refuse, he cuts down the chandelier killing dozens of patrons, after which they relent. At the same time, Philbin is dating Norman Kerry, a wealthy soldier who is more than a little jealous at the attention she is giving this mystery man. But the phantom beats him to the punch and abducts her from the stage, taking her below the theater to his hidden chambers, only accessible across and underground lake. Though Philbin is allowed above for the masked ball, this is clearly only so that Chaney may eavesdrop and assess her true feelings for Kerry. What he finds out, sends him into a rage.

In addition to the unmasking scene, the other great set piece is the masked ball, filmed in two-strip Technicolor. Though notable more for its novelty than any intrinsic artistic value, it is still a remarkable scene and adds to the cache of the picture as a whole. And it’s a picture that needs it. Other than Chaney’s performance, the story is a rather banal romance that suffers from the intrusion of attempted comedy, melodrama, and inferior acting by Philbin. Further, the actual film itself has suffered from editing and reissue. There are at least five separate versions of the film, the last from 1930 a version that uses inferior second takes and was intended more as a safety print but is the most visually appealing. The original 1925 print is closer to the original intent, and while it has suffered from age it is the most narratively coherent and still the definitive version.

Philbin would act for only a few more years, as would Kerry, whose career ended with the coming of sound. Chaney, of course, would make only one sound film, a remake of The Unholy Three. Despite its success and promise, Chaney died from throat cancer that year ending a brilliant cinematic career. Arthur Edmund Carewe, however, who played the police inspector, continued to act into the sound era in two other memorable horror films, Doctor X and Mystery of the Wax Museum. The film has gone on to achieve classic status, due largely to Chaney’s performance, not only his expert pantomime but his makeup and the masks he created to convey emotion. The Phantom of the Opera has spawned numerous remakes, none of which come close to capturing Chaney’s original magic and terrifying persona and so, despite its flaws, it remains one of the all time great silent films.