THE FACE OF THE PHANTOM: COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN (DAY 4)

When we first see the Phantom of the Paris Opera House, we see his shadow in brief glimpses. He dashes just out of eyesight of the dancers and musicians and box office workers. Always there, always lurking, always enigmatic. Is he a true phantom--a ghost haunting the backstage and trapdoors of the playhouse?





Upon kidnapping Christine, he reveals himself in part to the object of his affection, lust and obsession. His mask is as creepy in it's own way as the face that lies beneath. With cartoon eyes and a veil for the mouth, it is a disturbing vision for at once it is a mockery of a normal human face and it also hints at the tragic true visage below.



This mask allows Lon Chaney to show the sincerity of the love his character, Erik, feels for Christine. It is still disturbing in it's blankness, it's static artificiality.





After Christine discovers his true face and is horrified, the Phantom is truly revealed to her. In a world where ugly equals evil, a world where it is easy to accept this simple equation, the formula holds true here. The Phantom's selfish fixation on Christine goes beyond mere admirer to his compulsion to POSESS her and hide her away for his own.





He reveals himself, dramatically to the company and audience of the Opera as The Red Death, appropriately, in a stunning restored scene in color. The contrast of that color after all those shadows really leaves an impression.





But back to our focus here: the face of the Phantom. As you probably know, Lon Chaney isn't known as "the man of a thousand faces" for nothing. He developed the skill to create unique and powerful looks for his characters on the vaudeville stage and put it to stunning use throughout his career in film.



The man's genius make-up often overshadows his performances, which are intense if one considers how hard it must be to push one's emotions through all that grease paint and spirit gum and beyond the ability to use one's voice to lend, well, voice to a character.







Sure, the Phantom had a face only a mother could love, but it was a face that we could all relate to and that is a great credit to Chaney Sr.

MONSTER MASH MONDAYS on TCM: Countdown to Halloween (Day 3)

Monday, October 3rd begins TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES’ month long parade of horror films building up to that finale of finales, Halloween. As usual, TCM does not disappoint, starting off with a focus on the work of Stephen King, a quick jaunt into the realm of Frankensten, Freaks, Jekyll & Hyde. And then taking things past the witching hour with would-be vampires, Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and even that romantic fellow, the Phantom.

Here’s the line-up:

OCTOBER 3
8:00 pm – A Night At The Movies: The Horrors Of Stephen King
9:00 pm – Frankenstein (1931)
10:15 pm – Freaks
11:30 pm – A Night At The Movies: The Horrors Of Stephen King
12:30 am – Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1932)
2:15 am – Mark Of The Vampire
3:30 am – The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari
4:45 am – Nosferatu
6:15 am – The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)

Of these films, it is FRANKENSTEIN that resonates best with your humble blogger. It is the story, a much deformed and mutated take on the source novel of Mary Shelly, but it is mostly the moving performance by Boris Karloff as the abandoned newborn monstrosity that makes the film stand out. He is innocent as the newborn babe he is and in his powerful body as dangerous as any wild animal. It is no wonder this version of the monster is the definitive one. It haunts us to this very day.


Fredric March shows great range as Jekyll/Hyde (and boy must Hyde have been a charming bastard to have even a lady of the night join him for cash).


Freaks is as compelling a revenge picture as you can find, with a more colorful cast than you'll usually see.


Mark of the Vampire is as close as we’ll come to a fully realized version of London After Midnight as that film was destroyed years ago


The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is probably the most innovative film of the silent era.


Say what you will about Lugosi’s Dracula, but Nosferatu is probably the vampire I’d least like to run into in a dark alley.


Lon Chaney was so far ahead of his time when it came to creating a look for his characters, that, in and of itself, is scary! The Phantom’s reveal is probably one of the most memorable creepy of all time.


So you really can’t go wrong tonight on TCM, unless you stay up all night and have to miss work tomorrow...