:06:01
There was a great emphasis
on Westerns, on comedies,
:06:06
on things that rural audiences would like.
:06:09
Laemmle first intended to shoot
on location in France,
:06:12
but he finally brought Paris to Hollywood,
:06:15
and the Opera rose up at Universal City
in the shadow of Notre Dame.
:06:19
It was a very elaborate,
very expensive production.
:06:23
The stage was an exact replica
of the Paris Opera House.
:06:27
The set for the opera house was actually
newly constructed for the 1925 version,
:06:33
and it was one of the first, if not the first,
:06:35
steel-structure sets
built on the Universal lot.
:06:39
And it was quite a deal at that time.
:06:44
And because it was
such an incredible set,
:06:46
they were able to use it
time after time for many productions,
:06:51
including the 1943 production.
:06:54
The Phantom stage, art directed
by EE Sheeley and Sidney Ullman,
:06:58
perfectly duplicated the Paris original,
:07:01
but no one at Universal knew what
the backstage and cellars looked like.
:07:06
Ben Carré,
a French artist now in Hollywood,
:07:08
had worked at the Paris Opera,
and was called in to help.
:07:12
His English unintelligible,
Carré spoke fluently with charcoal.
:07:16
A grateful Universal thanked him, and
Carré moved on to his next assignment.
:07:21
Nearly half a century would pass
before Carré would actually see the film
:07:25
and learn how carefully
his designs had been executed.
:07:29
Such an exquisitely designed production
required a very attractive leading lady.
:07:34
The coveted role of Christine went to a
relatively unknown ingénue, Mary Philbin.
:07:40
Mary Philbin and I
were neighbours in Chicago.
:07:44
She was six years older than l,
:07:46
but a beautiful, beautiful girl.
:07:49
Just exquisitely beautiful.
:07:52
And at the time,
Universal was having a beauty contest,
:07:55
and my father urged her to send a picture.
:07:59
And she did, and she won a contract.