Like many of you readers, I grew up on a
diet of Famous Monsters Of Filmland. In the 1960’s that periodical burned into
my brain, countless, fascinating images from the great horror films of the
past. One area that frustrated me was it's presentation of the films of the
silent era. I read of how great Lon Chaney was but viewing these classics was
impossible at the time. Sure TV brought us a wealth of the great Universal
horror run of the 30's and 40's, but no channel allotted time for silent films.
Occasionally I might see a scene or two but not an entire film. So it was with
great anticipation that I finally viewed the 1925 presentation of THE PHANTOM
OF THE OPERA.
In the great opera house of Paris as series
of deaths begin occurring. The mystery stubbornly remains unresolved and rumors
abound that a malevolent ghost haunts the great theatre. These reports are only
partially true; the house is bedeviled by an insane musical genius called Erik.
He knows the inner workings of the theatre by virtue of having been part of
it’s construction. The phantom falls in love with the voice of the fledging member
of the troupe, Christine and he abducts her to give her special training. When
she betrays his trust Erik sets out on a spree of mayhem.
I was astounded at how well done the
production was. The set direction and costume design alone made it look like a
million bucks. The lead’s Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin, live up to their lofty
reputations by giving stellar performances. Even more surprising was the
realization that I had misunderstood the films most iconic scene. I had always
thought that the famous unmasking sequence was the climax of the movie, when in
fact it appears about midway in. The story itself was vastly entertaining and
the ending could have launched a sequel, as we never do see the recovery of
Erik's corpse. Could he have escaped? This work is well deserving of it’s
status as a classic.
Pat
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