“I will not be cheated of my happiness!”
While modern audiences tend to shrug off silent and/or black and white films, they deny themselves the opportunity to see some of the greatest films ever made. One of those films, today’s Thirty-One Days O’Horror entry, is a veritable masterpiece. That film is 1925’s The Phantom Of The Opera. Although it was preceded by two other films, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), it is considered by many to be the film that started the Universal Monsters legacy. The movie starred the legendary Lon Chaney as Erik, better known as The Phantom, and Mary Philbin as Christine, the woman that he falls madly in love with and secretly works with in order to make her a great performer. In addition, the cast includes John St. Polis, Gibson Gowland, Norman Kerry, Virginia Pearson, and Snitz Edwards.
Erik believes that Christine can become an amazing performer with his guidance, and when he takes her with him to his home beneath the opera house, he tells her that he will teach her to be a star…..but never touch his mask. Erik is also deeply in love with Christine and when she takes his mask off, exposing his disfigured face, he declares her his prisoner and begins terrorizing actors and workers at the opera house and battles with Raoul, Christine’s boyfriend, and Inspector Ledouz, an officer who has been tracking Erik for some time. The film’s ending is quite brutal, and if you’d like more information on the film and a deeper look at the opera house stage, check out my post here.
This is one of the best movies that you’ll ever lay your eyes upon. Whether it’s the wonderful story based upon the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux, the lavish sets, or the amazing practical makeup effects by Lon Chaney, this film has something for everyone. I hope that you check it out for yourself.
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