:05:00
It told the story of Svengali,
a maestro of mesmerism,
:05:05
who possesses the soul and voice
of a beautiful young singer.
:05:09
Carl Laemmle,
president of Universal Pictures,
:05:13
bought the film rights
to Phantom for actor Lon Chaney,
:05:16
to follow Chaney's phenomenal success
in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
:05:20
It had all of the elements and the
ingredients for a rip-roaring melodrama.
:05:26
And, of course, the main thing is,
it was a perfect vehicle for Lon Chaney
:05:31
as a follow-up to The Hunchback.
:05:33
Lon Chaney was one
of the finest character actors,
:05:38
and he was notable mainly because
he was such a great artist at make-up.
:05:43
They called him
"The Man of a Thousand Faces".
:05:46
His range was incredible, and, of course,
he was perfect for silent movies,
:05:50
because he could express, in pantomime,
so much without having to speak.
:05:56
Like Hunchback, Phantom
would be a tremendous undertaking
:05:59
for a small company like Universal.
:06:01
There was a great emphasis
on Westerns, on comedies,
:06:06
on things that rural audiences would like.
:06:09
Laemmle first intended to shoot
on location in France,
:06:12
but he finally brought Paris to Hollywood,
:06:15
and the Opera rose up at Universal City
in the shadow of Notre Dame.
:06:19
It was a very elaborate,
very expensive production.
:06:23
The stage was an exact replica
of the Paris Opera House.
:06:27
The set for the opera house was actually
newly constructed for the 1925 version,
:06:33
and it was one of the first, if not the first,
:06:35
steel-structure sets
built on the Universal lot.
:06:39
And it was quite a deal at that time.
:06:44
And because it was
such an incredible set,
:06:46
they were able to use it
time after time for many productions,
:06:51
including the 1943 production.
:06:54
The Phantom stage, art directed
by EE Sheeley and Sidney Ullman,
:06:58
perfectly duplicated the Paris original,