The Phantom 85 Years Later

Today marks 85 years since the premiere of the original silent film adaption of Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera. One of the original horror films, audiences were especially frightened at the time by the color sequences included in the film when the Phantom appears in a bright red cloak. Lon Chaney, Sr. portrayed the Phantom, and did his own gruesome makeup.

I have seen the film twice with live accompaniment—once at the Kennedy Center with an organ, and once in Baltimore, I think with the BSO.

Here is a post on the original release from the Hero Complex blog at the LA Times.

Lon Chaney's 'The Phantom of the Opera' plays on after 85 years