The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film) like a grasshopper. One of them will save Raoul's life, but at the cost of Christine marrying Erik, while the other will blow up the barrels in the chamber Raoul and Ledoux are trapped in, in effect destroying the Opera House and killing them all. Christine picks the scorpion, but it is a trick by the Phantom to "save" Raoul and Ledoux from being killed by drowning them. Christine begs the Phantom to save Raoul, promising him anything in return, even becoming his wife. At the last second, the Phantom opens a trapdoor in his floor through which Raoul and
The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film) to loop Chaney's dialogue, but voiceovers by the Phantom were looped over shots of his shadow. (The voiceovers are uncredited, but were probably done by Phillips Smalley.) Because Chaney's talkie debut was eagerly anticipated by filmgoers, advertisements emphasized, "Lon Chaney's portrayal is a silent one!" The sound version of "Phantom" opened on February 16, 1930, and grossed another million dollars. This version of the film is lost, although the soundtrack discs survive. The success of "The Phantom of the Opera" inspired Universal to finance the production of a long string of horror films such as "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "The Wolf Man",