Even if you haven’t seen Lon Chaney as The Phantom of the Opera there’s a good chance you’ve seen his face. It’s a Horror image as iconic as Marion taking a shower at the Bates Motel. I’ve seen most versions of the story and the Silent original doesn’t just set the template, it remains the classic cinematic version of the story. (I’m personally partial to Phantom of the Paradise, but that’s a loose and very 70s telling of the same basic ingredients.) A disfigured madman stalks the dungeons of the Paris Opera House, living in service to an ideal of beauty matched only by his capacity to destroy. A romantic hero gone all wrong, he’s the most human of monsters, responding to the glorious music above while understanding that he’ll know it only from the muck below.
The drama plays out on exaggerated sets inspired by German Expressionism, but seemingly projected from the Phantom’s twisted psyche. Ther are secret doors and chambers that fill with water. The atmosphere matches Chaney’s grotesque appearance, achieved with wires, cotton balls, and eye-dilating chemicals. Phantom belongs to Chaney for the same reason Frankenstein belongs to Boris Karloff and Dracula to Bela Lugosi. His monster’s rage and desire make the world above him seem tiny by comparison.
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