:07:01
but no one at Universal knew what
the backstage and cellars looked like.
:07:06
Ben Carré,
a French artist now in Hollywood,
:07:08
had worked at the Paris Opera,
and was called in to help.
:07:12
His English unintelligible,
Carré spoke fluently with charcoal.
:07:16
A grateful Universal thanked him, and
Carré moved on to his next assignment.
:07:21
Nearly half a century would pass
before Carré would actually see the film
:07:25
and learn how carefully
his designs had been executed.
:07:29
Such an exquisitely designed production
required a very attractive leading lady.
:07:34
The coveted role of Christine went to a
relatively unknown ingénue, Mary Philbin.
:07:40
Mary Philbin and I
were neighbours in Chicago.
:07:44
She was six years older than l,
:07:46
but a beautiful, beautiful girl.
:07:49
Just exquisitely beautiful.
:07:52
And at the time,
Universal was having a beauty contest,
:07:55
and my father urged her to send a picture.
:07:59
And she did, and she won a contract.
:08:03
Mary was not of this world, really,
not of this age.
:08:08
She was extremely shy.
:08:11
She was a lovely, sweet,
gentle human being.
:08:16
Lon Chaney's screen persona
was the complete antithesis of Mary's,
:08:20
the Beast to her Beauty.
:08:22
And although Chaney was unparalleled
as a master of grotesque make-up,
:08:26
Phantom would put
even his talent to the test.
:08:29
The concept of the death mask
comes from the book.
:08:34
So this is Christine describing to Raoul:
:08:38
"Suddenly I felt a need
to see beneath the mask."
:08:42
"I wanted to know the face of the voice."
:08:45
"And with a movement which
I was utterly unable to control,
:08:49
swiftly my fingers tore away the mask."
:08:52
"If I live to be a hundred,
:08:54
I should always hear
the superhuman cry of grief and rage