Review of The Phantom of the Opera (1925) by Sir Matthew The Faithfull — 08 Aug 2008

Despite an arduous shoot and repeated test screenings, Universal did manage to end up with 'The Phantom of the Opera', the first big film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel, though 10 months after they actually finished making it.

Taking full advantage of the novel's pulp stylings, director Rupert Julian goes straight for the entertainment package, combining the latest imports of German Expressionism with the newfangled technique of 'blockbusting', currently being shown off by Douglas Fairbank's swashbucklers such as 'The Thief of Bagdad'. You won't find deeply xplored psychoses or emotionally challenging stories: it's a simple monster movie given a Modernist romantic element. Lon Chaney is superb as the Phantom, composed of a genuinely repulsive appearance that astounds in an age where a face can be CG-d into anything. He is also a maestro of pantomime; there were several stars of the silents who had very expressive facial features that really do comfortably replace dialogue and are interesting to watch. Chaney fits with Chaplin and Germany's Emil Jannings as actors who could very capably communicate through the face and with simple, subtle body gestures. It's a performance one can compare with Heath Ledger's Joker in 'The Dark Knight' more than 80 years on, such are the mannerisms and appearance.

With Mary Philbin providing some surprisingly delectable damsel-in-distress totty and with a wonderfully melancholic new score this is high-class entertainment, full of nifty special effects, grandiose story-telling and a truly legendary legacy. The stuff of Hollywood myth.