![]() He posits that “except for the classic unmasking scene in which we and Philbin see Chaney’s face for the first time” (a justifiably lauded sequence which remains just as effective today, and will likely give you a start), the “first half of the film is slow” - but he argues that “from the moment Chaney overhears Philbin and Kerry plotting to run away, the picture becomes an exciting, first-rate thriller”. ![]() Though many critics have complained about the unevenness of its narrative and direction (due primarily to its notorious production troubles), I’m in agreement with Peary’s largely positive review of this “classic horror film”, starring Lon Chaney as “the victim of torture, with a crazed mind and a hideous half-skeletal face that he covers with a mask” - a “great composer” who “haunts a great opera house in 19th century Paris” and is determined to “make a star of lovely singer Mary Philbin”. He warns Christine (Philbin) not to have anything more to do with her lover (Norman Kerry), or to touch his mask - but she ignores both warnings, and soon the Phantom sets forth on a deadly rampage. “Feast your eyes - glut your soul on my accursed ugliness!”Ī masked madman (Lon Chaney) living beneath the Paris Opera House is determined to win the love of a beautiful understudy (Mary Philbin) by providing her with an opportunity to perform in place of the lead singer (Virginia Pearson).
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