OCTOBER 31 SCHEDULE: CHANEY PART TWO 8:00 p.m.(ET)/5:00 p.m.(PT) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) If you asked movie buffs to select the most memorable scene from the entire Lon Chaney filmography, most of them would probably pick the famous unmasking sequence from The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Despite the effectiveness of this scene, the movie was the most problematic of all the films Chaney made and the most uneven in terms of quality, despite its reputation as Chaney's most famous role. It is not hard to see why Chaney was attracted to the title character of Gaston Leroux's novel. The dramatic demands of the role and the makeup required for the Phantom presented a physical challenge Chaney couldn't pass up. It also marked a turning point in his career. It would be his final film with Universal Studios. Chaney had just signed a new contract with MGM and already completed the studio's first feature, He Who Gets Slapped, which was an unqualified success. Universal spared no expense in producing The Phantom of the Opera. They built the first steel and concrete stage in Hollywood which housed the entire interior set of the Opera House, the backstage area, and the grand staircase. (This stage, which still stands today on the Universal lot, is the only surviving set from any Chaney film.) The studio also hired over 250 dancers for elaborate dance numbers supervised by renown dance producer Ernest Belcher and shot the masked ball sequence, among other scenes, in the early two-color Technicolor process. But the film was plagued by numerous difficulties from the beginning. Chaney clashed frequently with his director, Rupert Julien, whose claim to fame was finishing the directorial chores on Merry-Go-Round after Erich von Stroheim had been fired. The relationship between Chaney and Julien deteriorated to the point where the actor refused to talk to or take direction from Julien. Various scenes, including the sequence with the falling chandelier, had to be re-shot due to inadequate lighting. And after production was completed, a sneak preview for audiences convinced the studio to go back and add scenes with Chester Conklin for comic relief as well as a romantic subplot. Edward Sedgwick, who had directed several Buster Keaton comedies for MGM, was brought in to complete these additional scenes but, after another unsuccessful public preview, the studio decided to discard the comedy bits, the romantic subplot, and some ballet sequences. A new set of title cards was created for continuity purposes since so many gaps existed in the film's storyline and the film was finally released theatrically. Chaney's performance in The Phantom of the Opera was universally praised and so were the elaborate sets and costumes but many critics couldn't help noticing the uneven structure of the film. Nevertheless, the film has achieved cinematic immortality due to Chaney's innovative makeup which has influenced numerous makeup artists like Bob Kane (He designed the makeup for Tim Burton's Batman). Some of Chaney's gruesome effects in The Phantom of the Opera were created by using a combination of cotton and collodion for the raised and extended cheekbones, a strip of fishskin attached to the nose with spirit gum for the up-tilted nose effect, and dark eyeliner shading to give him that hollow-eyed look. Our print of The Phantom of the Opera is the U.S. world premiere of the Photoplay Production restoration with a new score by Carl Davis. It also features several color sequences, both tinted and in Technicolor, and for the rooftop sequence, the very rare Handschiegl color is used which is a unique and rare process. Director: Rupert Julian Producer: Carl Laemmle Screenplay: Elliott J. Clawson (Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux) Cinematography: Milton Bridenbecker, Virgil Miller, Charles Van Enger Art Direction: Ben Carre, Charles D. Hall Cast: Lon Chaney (Erik/The Phantom), Mary Philbin (Christine Daae), Norman Kerry (Vicomte Raoul de Chagny), Arthur Edmund Carewe (Ledoux), Gibson Gowland (Simon Buquet). BW & C-92m. 10:00 p.m.(ET)/7:00 p.m.(PT) LON CHANEY, A THOUSAND FACES (2000) An original TCM documentary that looks at the remarkable career of an actor who became a superstar by transforming himself for every role. BW&C-85m. 11:30 p.m.(ET)/8:30 p.m.(PT) MR. WU (1927) Following their success with Tell It to the Marines (1927), MGM wanted Lon Chaney's next film to showcase his versatility as an actor and to demonstrate why he was truly "the Man of a Thousand Faces." Mr. Wu, based on a popular New York stage play, was certainly a challenge. It not only required Chaney to play the dual roles of Mandarin Wu and his grandfather but to appear as these characters at different stages in their life. As Mandarin Wu, Chaney had to play him as a young man and at middle age. For Grandfather Wu, he had to age from his eighties to the ripe old age of one hundred. Structured like a tragic opera, Mr. Wu is a grand, theatrical melodrama. It tells the story of Mandarin Wu, a wealthy mandarin who is educated in the ways of Western civilization and culture by his wise grandfather. The grandson eventually marries a woman who dies giving birth to their only child, a daughter named Nang Ping. As the years pass, the father develops an incredibly close bond with his daughter which is severely tested by the arrival of a young Englishman, Basil Gregory, who falls in love with her. Since this is a Lon Chaney film, the outcome of this relationship is less than idyllic. The most striking aspect of Mr. Wu is the makeup, particularly in the case of the one-hundred-year-old grandfather. Cheekbones and lips were build up with cotton and collodion, the ends of cigar holders were inserted into his nostrils, and the long fingernails were constructed from stripes of painted film stock. Chaney used fishskin to fashion an Oriental cast to his eyes and grey crepe hair was used to create the distinctive Fu-Manchu moustache and goatee. And these were only a few of the makeup procedures that took anywhere from four to six hours to apply! Director: William Nigh Producer: Harry Rapf Screenplay: Lorna Moon (based on the play by Maurice Vernon & Harold Owen) Cinematography: John Arnold Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and Richard Day Cast: Lon Chaney (Mr. Wu/Wu's Grandfather), Renee Adoree (Nang Ping), Louise Dresser (Mrs. Gregory), Holmes Herbert (Mr. Gregory), Ralph Forbes (Basil Gregory). BW-80m. 1:00 a.m.(ET)/10:00 a.m.(PT) THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923) There have been a lot of misconceptions about The Hunchback of Notre Dame over the years but one thing is certain, it made a bona fide star out of Lon Chaney. What isn't so clear is how Irving Thalberg came to be credited as the mastermind behind the project. Lon Chaney had been lobbying for a film version since 1920 but it wasn't until he shared his ideas with Thalberg that the project got greenlighted by Universal studio head Carl Laemmle. The result was a phenomenally successful film that set the standard for all future historical epics. It also confirmed Thalberg's reputation as a creative producer and helped pave the way for his illustrous career at the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios the same year. And yet, Chaney was really the driving force who originated the project. Victor Hugo's tragic tale of the deformed bellringer and his love for Esmeralda, a doomed gypsy girl, has been filmed so many times that an accurate count of all the versions would probably be difficult to pinpoint but it's not hard to see the film's ageless appeal. While you may find movie lovers who cite the 1939 Charles Laughton version or even the 1996 Disney animated version as favorite interpretations, the general consensus among actors (Burt Lancaster and Orson Welles to name a few) is that Chaney remains the definitive Quasimodo. The 1923 version is remarkable for other reasons as well. The set alone spanned 19 acres and the actual production required the services of 750 crew members. One of the biggest challenges was finding enough costumes to clothe the more than two thousand extras. The night sequences, which took two months to film, were also a major headache and still hold the record for the largest number of electricians ever employed on one film. No less troublesome to create was Chaney's grotesque makeup which took three hours to apply and included the innovative use of cotton and flexible collodion, adhesive tape, nose putty (for warts), and plaster for a twenty pound hump on his back. Although audiences at the time assumed Chaney did all his own stunt work in the film, he did, in fact, use a stunt double - Joe Bonomo - who was used in the scene where Quasimodo slides down a rope in front of the church and rescues Esmeralda from the King's guards. Director: Wallace Worsley Producer: Carl Laemmle Screenplay: Edward T. Lowe, Jr. Cinematography: Robert Newhard, Tony Kornman Art Direction: Elmer E. Sheeley, Sidney Ullman Cast: Lon Chaney (Quasimodo), Ernest Torrance (Clopin), Patsy Ruth Miller (Esmeralda), Norman Kerry (Phoebus), Kate Lester (Madame de Gondelaurier). BW-99m. 3:00 a.m.(ET)/12:00 a.m.(PT) THE UNKNOWN (1927) Alonzo The Armless Wonder (Lon Chaney) is a circus sideshow attraction whose specialty is a knife-throwing act. With his well-trained feet, he tosses the flashing blades at his lovely assistant, Nanon (Joan Crawford), who has a deep seated fear of being touched by men. Offstage, Alonzo is not who he appears to be. Not only does he have two perfectly functioning arms (he conceals them for his act with a tightly laced straitjacket) but he is also a wanted criminal who uses the sideshow as his cover. His only weakness is an all-consuming love for Nanon which requires a major sacrifice on his part and leads to the Grand Guignol finale. In the course of his career, Chaney actually made very few horror films but due to his preference for bizarre and often grotesque characters he has always been linked to this particular genre. Certainly, the character of Alonzo in The Unknown is one of his most disturbing creations and the most twisted film in his ten-year association with director Tod Browning. Chaney's performance certainly inspired co-star Joan Crawford who wrote "Lon Chaney was my introduction to acting. The concentration, the complete absorption he gave to his characterization filled me with such awe I could scarcely speak to him...watching him have me the desire to be a real actress." It was widely believed at the time that Chaney really had learned to throw knives with his feet and light cigarettes with his toes for The Unknown. In some wide-angle scenes he does use his own feet but for medium and close-up shots Browning used a double named Dismuki who was born without arms. Later, Dismuki went on to tour with the Al G. Barnes Circus and Sideshow where he was billed as "The Man Who Doubled for Lon Chaney's Legs in The Unknown." Director: Tod Browning Producer: Irving G. Thalberg Screenplay: Waldemar Young (based on a story by Tod Browning) Cinematography: Merritt Gerstad Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Richard Day Cast: Lon Chaney (Alonzo), Joan Crawford (Nanon), Norman Kerry (Malabar), John George (Cojo), Nick de Ruiz (Zanzi). BW-50m. 4:15 a.m.(ET)/1:15 a.m.(PT) UNIVERSAL HORROR (1998) A look back at the movies and monsters that turned Universal into Hollywood's house of horror. Guest interviews include Forrest J. Ackerman, Turban Bey, Fay Wray, Curtis Harrington and Ray Bradbury. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh. Directed by Kevin Brownlow. BW & C-96m. - written by Jeff Stafford