The Phantom of the Opera

Lon Chaney Director: Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, Ernst Laemmle, Edward Sedgwick Rupert Julian

Overview

The first of many filmed adaptations of the Gaston Leroux novel stars Lon Chaney as the disfigured composer Erik, who lives in the bowels of the Paris Opera House and becomes obsessed with a young soprano.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/09/2015
UPC:	0644827221325
Original Release:	1925
Source:	Reel Vault
Language:	English
Sales rank:	38,403

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Lon Chaney	Erik, The Phantom
Norman Kerry	Vicomte Raoul de Chagny
Mary Philbin	Christine Daaé
Arthur Edmund Carew	Ledoux
Gibson Gowland	Simon Buquet
Snitz Edwards	Florine Papillon
John Sainpolis	Comte Philip de Chagny
Virginia Pearson	Carlotta
Olive Ann Alcorn	La Sorelli
Betty Van Allen	Ballerina
Joseph Belmont	Stage Manager
Alexander Bevani	Mephistopheles
Edward Cecil	Faust
Ruth Clifford	Ballerina
Chester Conklin	Orderly
Roy Coulson	The Jester
Bruce Covington	M. Moncharmin
Ward Crane	Count Ruboff
Cesare Gravina	Manager
George B. William	M. Richard, manager
William Humphrey	M. Debienne
Carla Laemmle	Prima Ballerina
Grace Marvin	Martha
Arthur Edmund Carewe	Actor
John Miljan	Valentin
Templar Saxe	Bit Role in Faust
Bernard Siegel	Joseph Buquet
Vola Vale	Ballerina
Ellinor Vanderveer	Operagoer
Anton Vaverka	Prompter
George B. Williams	M. Ricard
Ed Wolff	Mob Leader at Finale
Philip Springer	Composer
Rick Wakeman	Composer

Technical Credits

Tom Reed

Frank M. McCormack

Tom Reed	Screenwriter
Carl Laemmle Jr.	Producer
Frank M. McCormack	Screenwriter
Rupert Julian	Director
Lon Chaney	Director
Ernst Laemmle	Director,Producer
Edward Sedgwick	Director

Editorial Reviews

Heavily influenced by German Expressionism, with its moody sets and murky patterns of shadows and light, The Phantom of the Opera set the style for such subsequent films as Dracula, Frankenstein and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The melodramatic tale of a deformed man, an abused outsider all his life, searching for love in a world of socialites repulsed by his presence, obviously derives from Victor Hugo's classic Hunchback novel. The film's visual emphasis on subterranean settings and impressive sets, such as the Paris Opera House, also clearly informed these later films. As the Phantom, Lon Chaney created such an empathetic villain that it was nearly impossible not to root for him. The groundbreaking use of the costly two-strip Technicolor process in some key scenes is tremendously effective in conveying the film's tone. On-set battles led to a series of directors, including Chaney himself, taking the helm for different scenes, but the final vision was that of New Zealander Rupert Julian. Even as the story deteriorates into hokey melodrama, Chaney's riveting performance holds the film together to the end. The moment when the Phantom's mask is ripped away remains one of the most chilling moments in movie history.