loving ( and fictional ) tribute to lon chaney actor and makeup artist who be in such classic a phantom of the opera and the hunchback of notre dame . there be plenty of thing wrong with this movie jam cagney look nothing like lon chaney chaney be tall and kind of mean look with a thin face while cagney be short and pleasant look with a round face while great liberty be take with chaney real life story ( he be not the saint this movie paint him to be ) while the recreation of phantom and notre dame just look silly while every show business cliché imaginable be shoe horn into this and they totally ignore the fact that chaney be actually pretty abusive to his son . that aside . this be a good movie . it well do and beautifully shoot in wide screen and black and white while dorothy malone do wonder with an underwritten role while ditto for jane greer while the movie move fairly quickly and be always absorb ( i be never bore ) and cagney be just great . his performance be flawless very well act and convince and sympathetic . he do try to recreate chaney role he good but the guy be bury under ton of makeup and be very uncomfortable ( it show ) . still for a hollywood biography this be pretty damn good . just do not accept it for a minute a the gospel truth . i would love to know what lon chaney jr. thought of this or if he ever saw it .