Celluloid spheres highlighted his cheekbones and atop his head was a domed wig of skin sporting meagre strands of limp, lifeless hair. A further device widened his mouth at the corners, revealing hideous false teeth attached on prongs. The intention was to create a living skull and the actor created a device which, once inserted into his nose, tilted the tip, spreading open his nostrils.

Unhindered by union rule, Chaney was once again given the freedom to create his own make-up, and with his role for The Phantom of the Opera, broke new ground even by his own standards. It was the first such construction of its kind and was never dismantled, although in August 2014 the planned demolition of the stage (not the set itself) was announced as part of the expansion of the Universal Studios theme park. The structural strength required to support thousands of extras (including a 15-year-old Carla Laemmle in a minor role as a ballerina) meant that Universal’s Soundstage 28 was constructed with steel girders set in concrete. The famous two-colour Technicolor masque ball scene from The Phantom of the Opera (Universal 1925)ĭirectorial duties went to Rupert Julian, and the studio attempted to excel itself by this time building a replica of the world-famous musical institution.

Lon Chaney was brought back to star as doomed Erik, the haunting title figure who slinks around in the shadows of the Paris Opera House in black cloak and white mask.

He found inspiration in Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, first published in English in 1911.

Chaney’s grotesque make-up for deformed Notre Dame bell-ringer Quasimodo had been a revelation, almost enough to rival the studio’s lavish stone-by-stone recreation of that Parisian cathedral itself.Ĭarl Laemmle needed a follow-up and once again, looked to Paris for material. Universal’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) had proved immensely successful for both the Laemmles and its star, Lon Chaney.

Girl from phantom of the opera movie