The Phantom of the Opera (1925)

The greatest horror film of modern cinema!

Directors: Rupert Julian, Lon Chaney, rated Passed

Film ClipStarring: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, John St. Polis, Virginia Pearson

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ - great

"Beneath your dancing feet are the tombs of tortured men! Thus does The Red Death rebuke your merriment!" - The Phantom, dressed as The Red Death

Why watch this? This is the original Phantom film starring the amazing Lon Chaney Sr.

Plot Summary: A shadowy figure, known as the Phantom, haunts the Paris Opera House, manipulating events from behind the scenes to promote the career of the young singer, Christine Daaé. The Phantom, secretly a disfigured musical genius named Erik, lures Christine to his subterranean lair and reveals his obsession with her. When Christine's fiancé, Raoul, attempts to rescue her, he and a detective are drawn into the Phantom's elaborate traps within the opera house's depths.

  Dad's Preview: This silent film's success was the catalyst that convinced Universal studios to make more gothic horror films. It rewards the viewer with spectacle and adventure, but also suspense. The famous scene where Christine unmasks the phantom terrified audiences so much that it was reported some filmgoers became ill. Chaney's make-up and facial transformations, in 1925 mind you, were too incredible to believe. Within the movie circles, he was called "The Man of a Thousand Faces".  


Carl Laemmle; Universal Pictures
 
  Genres: Drama-Melodrama, Historical Drama, Horror-Gothic, Romance-Tragic  

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