The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.

Directors:

Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney (uncredited)

Writer:

Gaston Leroux (from the 1910 celebrated novel by)

Stars:

Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Lon Chaney	...	The Phantom
Mary Philbin	...	Christine Daae
Norman Kerry	...	Vicomte Raoul de Chagny
Arthur Edmund Carewe	...	Ledoux
Gibson Gowland	...	Simon Buquet
John St. Polis	...	Comte Philip de Chagny (as John Sainpolis)
Snitz Edwards	...	Florine Papillon
Mary Fabian	...	Carlotta
Virginia Pearson	...	Carlotta / Carlotta's Mother

Storyline

At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta, and forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs, where he lives. What's his goal? What's his secret?

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Plot Keywords:

opera | singer | underground | opera house | mask | 

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Taglines:

(1930 re-release) Now for the treat of your life! the greatest thrill drama ever produced brought to throbbing life on the screen through the miracle of sound! Doubly wild-weird-wonderful with its eerie sounds; its operatic instrumental music and sounds; its grand ballets in color; its drama heightened with dialogue. The world's wonder picture made more wonderful. Don't miss it. (Print Ad- Virden Recorder, ((Virden, Ills.)) 13 March 1930)

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

A sound version of the film arrived in February 1930, grossing another $1 million. It has since vanished and is considered lost.

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Goofs

When the front page of the newspaper "Le Matin" is shown, its higher part is written in French, while its bottom part is written in English. Although main titles make sense in both languages, it appears that lines hardly form a consistent text and are closer to gibberish.

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Quotes

The Phantom: [title card] Did you hear voices?
[Christine shakes her head]
The Phantom: [title card] Perhaps we have more callers.
Title Card: Heat - Intolerable heat!

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Crazy Credits

None of the technical staff of this film receives screen credit.

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Alternate Versions

The Navarre DVD release (US) runs 107 minutes.

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Connections

Featured in The Babadook (2014)

User Reviews

Chaney outshines everyone.

Chaney is best known today for two roles: Quasimodo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and Erik in "The Phantom of the Opera." The pair contrast the human response to physical deformity. While Quasimodo searches for kindness and acts to protect his home and loved ones, Erik shuns humanity and in his hatred and isolation becomes truly evil.

Christine Daae (Mary Philbin) is the understudy at the Paris Opera house, an ancient structure built over a network of torture chambers and interconnecting cellars. Rumors abound of a ghost or phantom who stalks the halls, and even rents his own box for the performances. With the help of this mysterious stranger, Daae becomes the lead diva.

Daae, apparently fine with her benefactor's use of extortion and mass murder to help her career, dumps her boyfriend Raoul (Norman Kerry) and follows the masked Phantom into the bowels of the opera house. She is, however, sensitive enough to collapse in a faint at the discovery that her benefactor is the legendary Phantom, and at his profession of love for her.

Awakening, she discovers herself in a lavish bedroom he has prepared for her, with her name engraved on a hand mirror. But upon snatching off the Phantom's mask, she realizes that he isn't Prince Charming after all, but hideously deformed, with a skull-like face.

The Phantom returns her to the opera, telling her that she must never see Raoul again. Upon reflection, however, Christine decides that looks and sanity are more important to her in a lover than she originally thought, and makes plans to meet Raoul at the annual masked ball. Raoul, neither particularly brave or smart, suggests that the two of them hightail it out of town. Christine, not one to run before her chance at the big time, suggests that they flee after the following evening's performance. Erik, of course, is listening in.

At that point Erik drops his nice-guy facade, hangs a stagehand who discovers his trap door, kidnaps Christine and flees into the cellars. He is hotly pursued by Raoul and a Secret Police inspector, who are followed by Raoul's brother, who is followed by angry mob led by the murdered stagehand's brother.

Erik, meanwhile, is trying to convince Christine of his capacity to reform ("No longer like a toad in these foul cellars will I secrete the venom of hatred -- for you shall bring me love!"). Alas, his plans to become a good husband are interrupted by the need to bump off a few of his pursuers, using elaborate boody traps and alarms throughout the dungeons.

The final minute of the movie is perhaps the best, with Erik's final gesture proving that his mental ability far outweighs that of anyone else in the film. He goes out in style, leaving the dim-witted Raoul and his amoral girlfriend to live happily ever after.

The two best things are Chaney's over-the-top performance as Erik and the spectacular sets. Chaney had a way of making any other actors in a film appear flat and lifeless, and this is no exception. The elaborate set of the opera house and the gothic appearance of the dungeons are still impressive, and the tinting and two-strip technicolor in the Bal Masque sequence look great.

"Phantom" is rousing horror/adventure, while "Hunchback" was a touching allegorical film. The latter is better and more serious, but "Phantom" is still some of the most fun it's possible to have before a movie screen.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Release Date:

15 November 1925 (USA)

Also Known As:

Phantom of the Opera

Filming Locations:

Stage 28, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,751,476

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,360,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 101 min (original) 92 min (1995) 107 min (DVD) 106 min (Ontario) 95 min (1929 re-release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (talking sequences, musical score and sound effects) (1929 re-release) Silent

Color:

Black and White Color (some sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1