PHOTOPLAY'S MEMORY ALBUM: LON CHANEY

For a time, PHOTOPLAY, the most popular of the Hollywood fan magazines, ran a regular feature, "Photoplay's Memory Album" that was a kind of scrapbook of sorts comprised of photos from the silent era.

In their February 1936 issue, they included a page showcasing Lon Chaney's work.

THE MAN IN THE BEAVER HAT

A relative of the Laemmles, Antonia Carlotta has a splendid channel over on YouTube. She posts regularly about all things Universal, especially their monster movies. Miss Carlotta always provides insight on whatever topic she covers, including Lon Chaney's long-lost film, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Highly recommended!

Antonia Carlotta on YouTube:

THE ORIGINAL BAT GIRL

Before Bill Finger and Shelly Moldoff created Batman sidekick, Bat-Girl (aka Batgirl) for DC Comics, another character named Bat Girl appeared as far back as 1927 as a vampire's sidekick in MGM's long-lost 1927 Lon Chaney film, LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT. The gossamer-gowned, shadow-eyed figure was played by Edna Tichenor.

Edna Tichenor in 1925.

Edna Frances Tichenor was born on April 1, 1901 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Her father was a newspaperman and his work brought them to Los Angeles in 1904. It is not known if she took any acting or drama lessons as a young woman, but an article in MOTION PICTURE NEWS mentions her as a "new face in Hollywood", which would have made her 21-years-old at the time.

While she may have initially played in bit parts, Tichenor's first-known credited film role was in Tod Browning's DRIFTING with Anna May Wong in 1923. Because of her dark, alluring beauty, she began to be cast in "vamp" roles, and was credited just so, as "The Vamp" in at least two shorts. This is likely the reason why Browning cast her as Luna/Bat Girl in LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT.

As Arachnida, The Human Spider in Browning's The Show (1927).

Tichenor played in only about a dozen films in her career, but she made her mark in horror cinema history when she played Luna/Bat Girl opposite Lon Chaney. Chaney made her up with a ghostly pallor and deep-set, dark eyes that gave her an unmistakably macabre allure. Her last known picture was in Tod Browning's WEST OF ZANZIBAR in 1928.

It appears she retired from acting after that and lived the rest of her life outside of Hollywood with her husband, Harry West. She died in Los Angeles on November 19, 1965 at the age of 64 after a botched surgery that caused an abdominal obstruction which led to blood poisoning.

On this page from MOTION PICTURE NEWS (June 1922), Edna is pictured in the feature, "Facing Facts: Concerning the New Faces in Hollywood":

Tichenor appears in this article on Hollywood extra from the November 1922 issue of PHOTOPLAY:

MOTION PICTURE NEWS October, 1927:

Edna Tichenor as Luna/Bat Girl:

UNMASKING THE PHANTOM!

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Universal's THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. I'll be posting material about it here and there throughout the rest of the year to celebrate the occasion.

Today I'm posting a feature from FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #28 (May 1964) that shows the unmasking sequence, largely regarded as the most frightening scene in horror film history.

Lon Chaney shall not die!

A CLOWN ISN'T FUNNY IN THE MOONLIGHT

"A clown is funny in the circus ring, but what would be the normal reaction to opening a door at midnight and finding the same clown standing there in the moonlight?"

- Attributed to Lon Chaney

And there you have it. This saying -- supposedly by Chaney himself -- has numerous variations, all without solid citations. One thing is for certain: the sentiment surely invokes an unsettling image.

In his 1968 book, “An Illustrated History of the Horror Film”, critic Carlos Clarens writes similarly:

As a boy, Lon Chaney used to watch the clowns on the stage of a theater in Colorado Springs and years later, at the peak of his career, he gave them credit not only for teaching him the basic rules of makeup but also for the inspiration of his more sinister roles.

Chaney contended that clowns are only funny when seen in context and that their painted faces and perennial smiles could project the same eerie quality of such characters as the Phantom of the Opera, for instance. There is nothing laughable about a clown in the moonlight, he used to say.

Chaney played a clown more than once in his film roles. The rare photographs below depict him "showing off" his makeup for HE WHO GETS SLAPPED (MGM, 1924). Also starring was Norma Shearer, one of the film's producers. Once Carl Laemmle's personal secretary, Thalberg became Universal's general manager, then jumped to MGM.

INSIDE THE PHANTOM'S LAIR!

This year marks the 100th anniversary of Universal's immortal classic, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. Adapted by famous French author, Gaston Leroux, the picture was a smash hit, thanks to the marvelous acting and makeup genius, Lon Chaney, who frightened the pants off audiences in the scene where he was unmasked by his unrequited love, Christine (Mary Philbin).

Another marvel that was presented onscreen was a faithful recreation of the Paris Opera House, built on the grounds of Universal City.

Presented here are pages from the film's program that describe the making of the set, as well as a cut-away view of the building showing the places where the Phantom prowled.