
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House,[1] causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star. The film remains most famous for Chaney's ghastly, self-devised make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film's premiere. The film was released on November 15, 1925.[2]
The picture also features Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, John St. Polis and Snitz Edwards. The last surviving cast member was Carla Laemmle, niece of producer Carl Laemmle, who played a small role as a "prima ballerina" in the film when she was about 15 years old.
In 1953, the film entered the public domain in the United States because the claimants did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication.
Plot :
Based on the general release version of 1925, which has additional scenes and sequences in different order than the existing reissue print.
The film opens with the debut of the new season at the Paris Opera House, with a production of Gounod's Faust. Comte Philippe de Chagny and his brother, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny are in attendance. Raoul is there only in the hope of hearing his sweetheart Christine Daaé sing. Christine has made a sudden rise from the chorus to understudy of Mme. Carlotta, the prima donna. Raoul visits her in her dressing room during an interval in the performance, and makes his intentions known that he wishes for Christine to resign and marry him. Christine refuses to let their relationship get in the way of her career.
At the height of the most prosperous season in the Opera's history, the management suddenly resign. As they leave, they tell the new managers of the Opera Ghost, a phantom who is "the occupant of box No. 5," among other things. The new managers laugh it off as a joke, but the old management leaves, troubled.
After the performance, the ballerinas are disturbed by the sight of a mysterious man in a fez prowling down in the cellars, and they wonder if he is the Phantom. Meanwhile, Mme. Carlotta, the prima donna, has received a letter from "The Phantom," demanding that Christine sing the role of Marguerite the following night, threatening dire consequences if his demands are not met. In Christine's dressing room, an unseen voice warns Christine that she must take Carlotta's place on Wednesday and that she is to think only of her career and her master.
The following day, in a garden near the Opera House, Raoul meets Christine and asks her to reconsider his offer. Christine admits that she has been tutored by a divine voice, the "Spirit of Music," and that it is now impossible to stop her career. Raoul tells her that he thinks someone is playing a joke on her, and she storms off in anger.
The Phantom of the Opera, with coloring
Wednesday evening, Christine takes Carlotta's place in the opera. During the performance, the managers enter Box 5 and are startled to see a shadowy figure seated there, who soon disappears when they are not looking. Later, Simon Buquet finds the body of his brother, stagehand Joseph Buquet, hanging by a noose and vows vengeance. Carlotta receives another peremptory note from the Phantom. Once again, he demands that she say she is ill and let Christine take on her role. The managers get a similar note, reiterating that if Christine does not sing, they will present Faust in a house with a curse on it.
The Phantom (Lon Chaney), and Christine Daaé (Mary Philbin)
The following evening, despite the Phantom's warnings, a defiant Carlotta appears as Marguerite. During the performance, the large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling is dropped onto the audience. Christine enters a secret door behind the mirror in her dressing room, descending into the lower depths of the Opera. She meets the Phantom, who introduces himself as Erik and declares his love; Christine faints, and Erik carries her to a suite fabricated for her comfort. The next day, she finds a note from Erik telling her that she is free to come and go as she pleases, but that she must never look behind his mask. Christine sneaks up behind the Phantom and tears off his mask, revealing his deformed skull-like face. Enraged, the Phantom declares that she is now his prisoner. She pleads with him to sing again, and he relents, allowing her to visit the surface one last time.