“The Phantom of the Opera” (1925) starring Lon Chaney

The Phantom of the Opera is a silent horror film directed by Rupert Julian and starring Lon Chaney in the title role of the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star. The film is based on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel Le Fantôme de l’Opéra. Chaney’s hideous, self-created make-up, which was kept a studio secret until the film’s debut, is the film’s most iconic feature. 

Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, John St. Polis, and Snitz Edwards all appear in the film.