Philip J. Riley

* I received this as a free ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. *

The popularity of the stage production of “The Phantom of the Opera” has definitely introduced the classic story to many people who may otherwise not have bothered with Gaston Leroux and his “little book”. I know I would not have picked it up years ago had I not gone to a production of “The Phantom” at the theater. Probably even lesser known is the 1925 film version starring Lon Chaney.

This book is the history of that film and it does not miss a step. If you are left with a question after reading through this I cannot imagine what it might be.

This book gives the reader detailed notes on the reconstruction of the film, a preface by Ray Bradbury, a forward by Mary Philbin (who played the part of Christine Daae) and an introduction by Ron Chaney (Lon Chaney’s great-grandson). Then Mr. Philips goes on with a written description of how the film came into production including some of the trial and tribulations of bringing it to the screen in the 1920’s – before CGI and today’s special effects masters. This section of the book contains photographs and sketches as well as tidbits about the behind the scenes production of silent movies in general. For instance, did you know that “Silent films were often tinted various colors to represent moods: red = fire, desert blue = night and mystery, green = underwater, dark emotions and yellow = happy scenes”? There is even a reproduced page including the signatures (autographs?) of all the principals involved in the film.

There are so many gems in this book that if I continued on in this vein this review would be as long as the book itself. Suffice it to say that it also contains:
- Step by step pictures of the construction of the elaborate film set
- Secrets behind Mr. Chaney’s make-up complete with transformation photos
- The shooting script complete with annotations
- Stills from the film
- A complete publicity section with reviews, newspaper articles and promotional materials and,
- A “Liberty” article about Mr. Chaney (A Portrait of the Man Behind a Thousand Faces) written by Adela Martin St. Johns

Although I do not suggest it – even if you were to skim over every typed word in this book it would be worth picking it up just to flip through pages and enjoy the marvelous vintage pictures and artwork.

This book will definitely be on the gift list for two people in my life. My BFF who covets all things “Phantom” and my daughter who, by hobby as well as profession, is enamored of all things “film”. Of course I received the ebook version and have seen it listed as a paperback on Amazon.com. I think it would be a brilliant “coffee table” book.
… (mehr)

This is a phenomenal book about not just the making of the silent film The Phantom of the Opera but about the background of the book and the machinations of the silent film industry of the time.

The information within the text of the book would alone warrant recommendation, for there is a wealth of information within that narrative. The wealth of photographs, drawings, news clippings as well as a copy of the 1925 shooting script makes this as valuable as it is entertaining.

This is obviously a must read for fans of the film, horror films in general and film history (especially the silent era). Due to the rich resources included it is also valuable for Chaney fans and readers who love the original novel. I also think that even though the making of the film was almost a century ago current filmmakers could gain some insight to aspects of filmmaking that perhaps get overlooked with today's technical advances but are still essential to good storytelling in a visual form.

Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (mehr)

The content of this book was fantastic. Miller’s writing style was very engaging and descriptive, making you feel that you were right there with her. Her stories of swimming with Valentino, working with Lon Chaney on the silent version of Hunchback of Notre Dame, reminiscences of Nazimova, Clark Gable, Robert Taylor, Gloria Swanon, Mischa Auer, and descriptions of her visits to San Simeon and Tahiti were great. Best of her were her descriptions of what it was like to “grow up” in Hollywood. Quite frankly, I found the book very hard to put down. However, the presentation was poorly done. One page would have darker print than the other. While there were numerous photographs, many were very small (about the size of a 35 mm negative) and many were not labeled. Those that were labeled were too small to really see the people in the photographs. There was also a binding mistake as the sentence on one page did not match the continuing sentence on the next. However, the original page that should have followed appeared 3 pages later. So I give the content of this book a 5 and the presentation a 1 which averages out to a 3.… (mehr)

“This book came into being because of the urging, pleading insistence and nagging of a young newspaper man from Tennessee named Jeffrey Carrier.” And so begins Patsy Ruth Miller’s delightful, witty, and down-to-earth Hollywood memoir.

Written in a chatty conversational tone, Patsy gives us a firsthand account of the people and places she has come across over the years. A good deal of her recollections includes well known friends, acquaintances and co-stars such as: Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, literary giant F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks Jr.(whose introduction opens the book), Mary Pickford, Tom Mix, Ronald Colman, William Powel, Clark Gable, Howard Hughes and many, many others. For example, the weekend parties she spent at the famed Hearst Castle as a guest of Marion Davis and publishing mogul William Randolph Hearst during the 1920s. Other guests at these festivities included Charlie Chaplin, Norma Talmadge, and Mayor Jimmy Walker among others.

Equally important are Patsy’s highpoint of her film career and the actors she worked with. For instance, Patsy describes the rapport she develops with her co-stars, Rudolph Valentino and (to a greater degree) Alla Nazimova while filming “Camille” (1921) – Patsy’s first movie. Likewise, there is a chapter on Lon Chaney, who she co-starred with in the classic silent film, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1923) as Esmeralda - the role Ms. Miller is best remembered.

In addition, Ms. Miller describes her many travels abroad. Once, while visiting Tahiti in 1931 with former silent screen actress Lila Lee, Patsy had a terrifying experience which involved Lila’s jealous lover Australian film director John Farrow (father of Mia Farrow). Frankly, she had me scared stiff. Then, there was the time she visited an opium den in Paris and hobnobbed with Parisian criminals. She also speaks of a funny occurrence she experienced in a bar during the sexually notorious Weimar era in the 1920s Berlin and later her impressions of a Berlin under Nazi's rule. These are only samplings of the extraordinary stories you will read about Hollywood, New York, London, and Budapest to Berlin.

Unfortunately, there are few memoirs by silent screen stars; for that reason, this book is enormously valuable. In fact, according to biographer Michael G. Ankerich (who interviewed Miller in “Broken Silence” and claims Pasty’s memoir is his favorite),says film museums around the world requested copies of her book for their libraries after it was first published in 1988 and that Pasty proudly autographed a copy for former president and Mrs. Ronald Reagan.

For those who are looking for a full filmography of her movies you will be pleased to find them at the end of her book by way of title, year, synopses, casts, credits, notes and even vintage reviews. Oh, and I don’t want to forget to mention that there are photos too; plenty of photographs from Ms. Miller’s own splendid collection.

My only criticism (and it’s a minor one) is that Patsy jumps around a tab too much in a few places and that made it a bit vexing to read at times. I presume she wanted to record her thoughts as fast as they came to her, seeing that she was already in her 80s when she reluctantly started her memoirs. Still, that didn’t take any of the enjoyment I had in reading it.… (mehr)