View Full Version : Phantom of The Opera
ClassicHorror
01-23-2005, 03:38 PM
My favorite Lon Chaney film. I have always loved the makeup for this film, its so simple but effective....the wire that made his nose go upwards to reviel a more skeletal look was great. Those rings around his eyes which gave him a more sinister look. And that huge mouth with those gaping teeth. I love this film and its one of the best in the horror genre. Long live Chaney the man with a thousand faces!!!!!
http://home.blarg.net/~dr_z/Movie_Posters/image/Phantom_Opera.jpg
I agree completely. Lon Chaney Sr. is, by far, the greatest horror film actor in history. Without him, who knows where horror would have gone. The Phantom of the Opera is his best work, followed closely by The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I wish that London After Midnight was not concidered a lost film, that would be a movie to see.
phantomstranger
02-22-2005, 01:31 PM
[i I wish that London After Midnight was not concidered a lost film, that would be a movie to see. [/B]
Last Halloween Turner Classic movies aired a version of "London After Midnight". All it consisted of was still photos from the movie set to music and dialog cards. Probably the only way were ever going to see the film until someone finds a copy.
ClassicHorror
03-18-2005, 03:56 AM
Originally posted by phantomstranger
Last Halloween Turner Classic movies aired a version of "London After Midnight". All it consisted of was still photos from the movie set to music and dialog cards. Probably the only way were ever going to see the film until someone finds a copy.
Its really too bad.
hollywoodgothiq
04-03-2005, 09:59 AM
Originally posted by Tat2
I agree completely. Lon Chaney Sr. is, by far, the greatest horror film actor in history. Without him, who knows where horror would have gone. The Phantom of the Opera is his best work, followed closely by The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I wish that London After Midnight was not concidered a lost film, that would be a movie to see.
Well, technically, Chaney Sr. wasn't any kind of horror film actor at all, because the term "horror film" wasn't invented until after his death, and even retroactively only one or two of the movies he was in can be considered horror films. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT, yes; but HUNCHBACK, no. It's a historical movie, a period piece costume drama with a disfigured bell-ringer.
filmmaker2
04-03-2005, 09:11 PM
Well, he did make a few decidedly ghoulish flicks besides those two. Don't forget "The Monster" and "The Unholy 3" and "A Blind Bargain." But yeah, he did many more dramatic roles than horrific or unnerving ones.
hollywoodgothiq
04-04-2005, 10:58 AM
I should have mentioned THE MONSTER, but I let it slide because it's a comedy.
I don't think of THE UNHOLE 3 as a horror movie. It's a crime drama; it just happens to have some bizarre criminals.
LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT would count as horror. Too bad none of us will ever get a chance to see it.
jedicow
04-04-2005, 12:03 PM
Originally posted by hollywoodgothiq
LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT would count as horror. Too bad none of us will ever get a chance to see it. [/B]
i hope that one day, a copy of this film can be found.
filmmaker2
04-04-2005, 01:11 PM
I'd love it if this film were found too. But after all these years of people searching for a print, and nothing coming up but stills, I'm pretty certain the film is truly lost.
ClassicHorror
04-06-2005, 03:48 AM
There's probably a copy laying around somewhere, its not completely lost, it just won't be found.
hollywoodgothiq
04-06-2005, 09:14 AM
Every few years someone starts the familiar rumor: A print exists in the hands of a private collector; he's just waiting for the copyright to run out, so that he can release it on DVD himself. At this point, it seems unlikely. If the film does exist, it's buried in a vault at a film archive somewhere.
iamragmar
04-11-2005, 06:29 AM
Since he was going to be in Dracula and The Man Who Laughs, I could have seen him being the star of all the classics, he loved doing them he would have been the biggest name in horror.
We can only dream what make-up he would have created for the roles that were coming to him.
Does anyone know why he didn't want his son in acting?
lilknivesguy
04-21-2005, 09:00 AM
Originally posted by iamragmar
Does anyone know why he didn't want his son in acting? [/B]
Ron Chaney, Chaney's Jr.'s grandson, believes Lon Sr. didn't want his son to have to endure the same hardships in show business. See http://www.horror-wood.com/ronchaney.htm for more.
Whether he meant the physical hardships of taking on roles like Blizzard in the Penalty, or just the ups and downs of a career in acting, it's not clear.