In this corner of Universal's film vault you must be very quiet. Do you hear anything? No, good, thats' because this is a silent movie. This is the 1925 classic silent film. Strange things are going on at the Paris Opera House. Deep beneath it lurks a scarred genius methodically plotting revenge. He's a creature so hideous that he strikes terror into everyone...including the prima donna his tutoring has brought sucess. This is the first filmed version of the Phantom of the Opera. I feel that this is Lon Chaney Sr.'s best film. Without being able to speak lines because of it being a silent film, his mastery of pantomime and make-up skills made this a powerful performance. He always went through a lot of pain for his art. In tis film he inserted wires around his eyes to give them a wide stare. his had to be very uncomfortable. Ironic that "The Man Of A Thousand Faces" could have become "The Man Of A Thousand Voices" with the introduction of talkies(movies with sound) but just after the first sound movie he made, a remake of one of his earlier films, The Unholy Three, he died of throat cancer. He was Universals first choice to star in Dracula.
HERE IS SOME GREAT ARTWORK BY BASIL GOGOS CLICK ON THUMBNAILS FOR LARGER IMAGE
NEXT
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
