The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Carl Laemmle's 1925 silent horror film The Phantom of the Opera was one of the early high points for Universal Studios. As a silent film, it is still very accessible today, with a fast-paced 77 minute running time. It stars one of the best actors of silent cinema, Lon Chaney. And it benefits from a high level of production with, as the original advertising proudly boats: "a cast of 5000 others", a well as a number of memorable sequences. If I was to show a silent film to someone for the first time, I'd probably choose this as one of the most accessible introductions to the period. After the success of Laemmle's 1923 horror film The Hunchback of Notre Dame , which had gone on to become the studios' most commercially successful silent film, it was only a matter of time before a followup was produced. The Hunchback had starred Lon Chaney in the title role, and so successful was the film that he was instantly elevated from being a reliable character acto...