For Halloween, I am celebrating with “The Phantom of the Opera,” the silent film classic horror film from Universal Studios starring Lon Chaney. One of its most famous scenes is when the heroine, played by Mary Philbin, fails to heed the Phantom’s warning and unwisely removes his mask. Oops.
The Bal Masque sequence of the movie was filmed in two strip Technicolor and still survives today. While the process didn’t record the full spectrum of colors, it was a wise choice for this particular sequence.
Recently I had the pleasure of seeing this movie on the big screen at the Balboa Theatre in downtown San Diego.
Cameras were not allowed inside, so my cellphone had to do.
Organist Russ Peck was on hand with a period appropriate musical accompaniment. It was like being transported back to 1925!
Although the film is almost one hundred years old, it is still being celebrated for Chaney’s incredible makeup and performance as well as its spectacular sets and special effects. The Sideshow Toy company released a Premium Format Phantom figure in 1:4 scale:
They also released a smaller version in 1:4 scale; not quite as detailed but still packs a punch!
A separate figure represents Chaney in the Bal Masque sequence:
While some of the acting appears a bit dated and overly dramatic, the movie is definitely worth watching.
See more Phantom of the Opera action figure photos at my main website.
In the first few decades of Disneyland, the Main Street Marquee was changed as much as (if not more than) the Main Street Train Station population numbers. Before the Park opened, the marquee simply said, “Moving Pictures.” By Summer 1955, it heralded a Wm. S. Hart Western and the Keystone Kops:
Actress Gloria Swanson’s name on the left let guests know there was more than just one movie playing inside:
and Mabel Normand on the right:
1956, Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Banky:
The A-Frame at left shows an ad for “The Eagle,” which starred Banky and Valentino.
1957/58, with Mable (sp!) Normand and Fatty Arbuckle. On the right it advertises “The Heart of a Waif,” a 1915 silent film with Edith Peters and John Sturgeon.
From the same time period, Clare Booth’s name is on the left side of the marquee:
June 1958, we can just barely see Ronald Coleman in “Lady Windermere’s Fan,” a 1925 Ernst Lubitsch comedy/drama:
You can watch it here:
December 1959, D.W. Griffith’s “A Girl and her Trust” from 1912:
September 1960 had Lon Chaney in “Phantom of the Opera,” just in time for Halloween:
July 1961 had comedian Buster Keaton in “Allez Oop,” which was actually a talking picture from 1934:
October 1962 has “The Pride of Pikesville” (1927), starring Ben Turpin:
May 31, 1963 it’s back to Lon in “Phantom”:
From May 1964 you can just barely see that the Cinema is still showing a Lon Chaney thriller, “Phantom of the Opera” and a Will Rogers Western:
September 1964 proclaims “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” from MGM, which was not a silent film, but rather from 1941 with Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, and Ingrid Bergman. The silent version from 1920 was released by Paramount and starred John Barrymore. Could be a marquee screwup. Another possibility is that back in the day, Blackhawk Films released 8mm and Super8mm BW silent versions of both silent AND talkie films; if they were the source company for prints for Disneyland this could account for why some of these “talkies” were being marketed as silent films.
March 1965, “Pathways of Life” with Lillian Gish, from 1916:
September 1965, “The Great Train Robbery” from 1903:
June 26, 1966, “Phantom of the Opera”:
1968, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” with no credit to Louis B. Mayer!
February 1971, “The Great Train Robbery” returns:
May 1974, “The Rounders,” a 1914 comedy with Fatty Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin:
And then my collection goes dark until February 2006, when I captured “Steamboat Willie” on the marquee with “Traffic Trouble” on the right. The film’s actual title was “Traffic Troubles.” Somebody was too lazy to add the “s” on the end to this 1931 sound short. The worst part of this photo is that bleeping stroller blocking the entrance to the theater.
July 2006 we see “Mickey’s Polo Team” on the right. Not only was this movie originally a sound cartoon, it was also shot in Technicolor. By this time, the “movies” were being shown on TV screens and typically featured black and white versions of Mickey Mouse cartoons that were not necessarily silent.
No changes in my collection from 2006 to March 2010:
In August 2010, the cinema was featuring “Opening Day at Disneyland,” with footage from July 17, 1955:
By October though, “Steamboat Willie” was back:
The last marquee shot I took was in June 2013:
I hope you enjoyed this chronological documentation of the diverse offerings that once made the Main Street Cinema a very lively place to visit!
See more Disneyland Main Street Cinema photos at my main website.
Before the silver screen spoke, it flickered, in glorious black and white. Douglas Fairbanks was one of the movie's most famous swashbucklers, raking in the dinero as "Robin Hood" and "The Thief of Bagdad." He and wife Mary Pickford ruled over Hollywood during their 16 year marriage.
Rudolph Valentino died before he got a chance to talk on screen; we'll never know whether his smoldering eyes could have carried him into the talkies successfully or not.
Comparing the 1972 shot with this 1960's image, it would appear that the statue for Rudolph might have been changed…for the better!
Lon Chaney as "Phantom of the Opera" scared the crap out of audiences back in 1925.
This screaming female statue was also part of the "Phantom of the Opera" diorama.
Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy were funny with or without dialogue, sustaining a very long film career that spanned from 1926-1951.
See more vintage Movieland Wax Museum photos at my main website.
This scary looking feller, whose outfit is based on Lon Chaney's title character from "Phantom of the Opera" (1925) turns out to be not so scary. On the back of the photo is the story of what occurred that day; I love the description!
We need more characters at Disneyland, and I'm not talking about the cartoon ones. Here's a shot of the real Lon Chaney on the Universal lot inbetween takes of "Phantom":
An undated shot of the Phantom. Keep laughing lady...the Phantom is about to rock your world!
With the marquee in the background, this one is a favorite shot:
Poor little supermodel Twiggy looks apprehensive as she encounters the Phantom over at Universal Studios. This was part of the “Twiggy in Hollywood” 1967 TV show which showed her visiting both Disneyland and Universal.
I hope I didn't give you TOO much of a scare today!
See more vintage & current Disneyland Main Street Cinema photos on my main website.
