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Starring Lon Chaney Sr Universal Studios, 1925, black and white, silent |
One such example is the graveyard scene. Christine's father had recently died, and while she is visiting his grave, the Phantom is hiding nearby playing "The Resurrection of Lazarus" on his violin. This is one of a series of tricks Erik uses on the emotionally vulnerable Christine to make her believe she has, indeed, been paid a visit by the Angel of Music. Raoul is nearby and follows the sound of the violin into a crypt, where the Phantom throws a bunch of skulls at the young Viscount. Even if the graveyard scene had been kept in the film, the footage of the skulls would have been cut on the grounds that it was too frightening, even for this macabre horror film. During the scenes in which Raoul and the daroga are in the torture chamber, Erik's behavior grows increasingly disoriented... no, bizarre. As he waits for Christine to make a choice, he is so overcome by anger and hatred that he progresses further into his madness. It is said that Chaney had adjusted his make-up accordingly, to further exaggerate Erik's deformities and enhance the surrealistic qualities of Erik's character. Christine finally decides, and turns the scorpion. When Raoul is taken out of the torture chamber, she holds him tenderly in her arms one last time and tells him that she is to become Erik's bride. Erik breaks down in tears of happiness but then agrees to let them go. The angry mob finds his home, only to find him dying at his pipe organ. His last words are to the daroga when he tells him that all he ever wanted was to be loved just like everyone else. Because of so many deleted scenes, other major changes had to be made for consistency. One major change is rewriting Erik's longtime friend, the Persian chief of police (aka the Daroga), as Inspector Ledoux of the French secret police. Sometimes I wonder if Universal inadvertantly provided a clue as to the identity of a mystery figure known simply as "a shade" in Leroux's novel. While traveling down the catacombs, the daroga pulls Raoul back into hiding when "a shade" approaches, "drawing its feet against the walls and sometimes giving a kick into a corner." This shade is described as "carrying no light, just a shade in the shade," shrouded in a cloak from head to foot and wearing a soft felt hat. Raoul asks if this shade is with the theater police and the daroga replies, "It's someone much worse than that!" Apparently, this mystery figure has enough authority to strike a bit of fear in the daroga, who had run into him a few times already and had been taken to the managers' office because of it. Pardon the digression. I am just curious about the shade and wonder if it is someone with the French secret police. There is also not necessarily a deleted scene, but more like a deleted concept. It seems Andrew Lloyd Webber is not the first to consider a Phantom sequel. At the end of the movie, when Erik is clubbed by the mob and tossed into the river, the bubbles we see coming up to the surface are intended to show that Erik is not dead. He survives this and is to return. Chaney passed away just five years after the first release of this film, and nothing came of the sequel even as a recasting. There are more and they are accompanied by photos from these deleted scenes and alternative endings. I would highly suggest this book if you are interested in learning more about this movie. |
