Mary Philbin(1902-1993)
- Actress
Mary Philbin's life should be a lesson to domineering parents. Mary was
born on July 16, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois, to John Philbin and his
first wife and namesake, Mary. The child was regarded as a little
beauty from an early age and her mother was exceedingly proud of her
and loved to show her off. Howevr, unlike her gregarious mother (who
many regarded as controlling and domineering, to the point of
imprinting her strict religious beliefs on the child), Mary took after
her shy, quiet and reserved father, whom she adored. Many of her
contemporaries remarked how she didn't seem to belong to the current
age; her personality was a throwback to the 19th century with her
mannerisms and religious, quiet and very gentle nature. Being an only
child, Mary grew up quite spoiled by her mother. Her father would take
her often to see the plays at local theaters and even, on rare
occasion, to see an opera at the Chicago Opera House. She fell in love
with the stage immediately and, once home, would re-enact what she saw
to her dolls--performing the leading heroine roles. She decided at an
early age that she wanted a career in the theater. She took up
classical dancing (ballet and waltz) and was quite adept at playing the
pipe organ and piano (in her later years she kept her family's pipe
organ close at hand), although much to her chagrin, she could not sing.
However, she did not train in an acting school and this would
ultimately impact on her later career.
Mary's early life was relatively uneventful; her mother's strong nature
created friction between her parents and she became even more reserved
and quite shy in public when meeting new people. The only real friend
she had at that age (who would be her lifelong friend and even
colleague in
The Phantom of the Opera (1925))
was Carla Laemmle (aka Rebecca Laemmle),
the daughter of Joseph Laemmle, brother of Universal Studios mogul
Carl Laemmle. Through her friend's uncle
Mary became interested in films and put her stage career on hold. Upon
seeing her first "Nickelodeon", she was bitten by the film bug and
eagerly awaited any new ones that came out. She was particularly fond
of the films of Erich von Stroheim,
so much so that at the age of 16, when she heard that the director was
making his new film
Blind Husbands (1919) and a
contest was set up to search for talent for the film, Mary tried to
sign up. At first she could not find the right photograph worthy of
submission, but her mother had taken a picture and submitted it and was
allowed to join the contest. The contest was held in Chicago at the
Elks Club and was sponsored by her church, with Von Stroheim himself as
the judge. The Teutonic director was smitten with her beauty and her
eagerness to behave and speak well, and gave her the leading role in
one of his films. When finding out she was to move to Los Angeles to
make the film, Mary at first had reservations and (as always) consulted
her parents. Her parents refused until they found out their old family
friends, the Laemmles, were moving out to Los Angeles as well, and they
gave consent for Mary to go but only with her parents as her chaperones
(due to their fear that the "sheiks" of Los Angeles would corrupt
Mary's moral character).
Once in Los Angeles, Mary was under watch all the time by her parents
(in particular her mother) and, when working, by her new boss, Carl
Laemmle. When arriving at the studio, she found out that she had been
replaced in the leading role in "Blind Husbands". Mary was deeply hurt
at the time and felt cheated, and was considering going home had it not
been for her friend Rebecca (whom was now known as Carla) who
recommended her to her uncle, the owner of Universal City, Carl
Laemmle, and the man in charge of production,
Irving Thalberg. Although Carl Laemmle
had met Mary some time earlier and always regarded her as an "angelic,
sweet, quiet" young lady, he was none too impressed with her at the
time to consider her for a contract, owing mostly to her moralistic and
reserved disposition. Thalberg held the same reservations about her.
However, after being persuaded by Mary's family and Carla, Carl caved
and gave 17-year-old Mary her first big part: "Talitby Millicuddy", the
leading lady, in the melodrama
The Blazing Trail (1921),
directed by Robert Thornby. Mary caught
on in films very quickly and was considered by the public, initially at
least, in the same league as her bigger contemporaries -
Mary Pickford,
Florence Lawrence,
Mae Marsh and
Lillian Gish, one of those "child-woman"
actresses particularly noted for her subtle but extraordinary ethereal
Irish beauty.
After the moderate success of "The Blazing Trail" she was cast in
Danger Ahead! (1921) in the role of
Tressie Harlow; the one-reel comedy
Twelve Hours to Live (1921);
the western Red Courage (1921) as
Eliza Fay, and Sure Fire (1921) in an
extra part (her earliest known surviving film); and
False Kisses (1921) as Mary. In all,
she made six films in 1921. After seeing her work in "False Kisses" and
in particular "Danger Ahead"; Erich von Stroheim cast Mary for his next
film, which would become the most expensive (to that date) production
ever for Univeral City (the costs rising up to a million dollars) - the
part of the crippled girl (an extra part) in
Foolish Wives (1922). Mary can be
seen in the film as the little girl on crutches with her back turned,
and you only quickly get a darkened glimpse of her face through her
curly ringlets. Although her role in the film was just a bit part, Mary
relished being under Von Stroheim's tutelage and it was from him, as
she always said, she learned about "true" acting in comparison to stage
acting. It has always been said of Mary Philbin that when the director
was really good (such as von Stroheim,
Paul Leni,
William Beaudine), people noticed she
could be equally as good an actress as her colleagues. However, in the
hands less talented directors (such as Rupert Julian', - who would
partly direct her later in
Merry-Go-Round (1923) and "The
Phantom of the Opera"--her lack of acting training became a real
handicap for her (this is clearly evident in some of her later films).
Mary began to get more notice from Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg,
after Erich von Stroheim's high recommendation of her (and of course
the public's approval), and after a minor film,
_The
Trooper (1922)_ (v), she was given the role of "Ruth" in Human Hearts (1922).
Mary began to get even further recognition and it was around this time
that her face always was featured on movie magazines as the 'Cover'
Girl. But Mary's personal life was darkened by her father's divorce and
remarriage to Alice Mead. Mary was shattered by the event, and as a
result became even closer to her mother (her biggest mistake), but
nevertheless was very loving to her new stepmother and continued to
adore her father.
Mary made two more films before she received her first big break as the
heroine "Agnes Urban", in von Stroheim's "The Merry-Go-Round" in 1923.
The casting for this film was impeccable and many of its stars would
later repeat many films with Mary afterward - in particular her leading
man, Norman Kerry. He always had a crush on
Mary and flirted with her many times on the set, although von Stroheim,
Mary's mother and father (who always were on the set with her; her
stepmother stayed at home) and even Mary herself kept him from getting
too carried away. Mary said in her later years how deep down she always
had a great crush on Norman Kerry and considered him "a very handsome,
dashing man". Everything was going well in the production until it came
to a standstill for the most unusual and even hilarious reason. Erich
von Stroheim was known to be a perfectionist in his work, so much so
that in the plot of this film (set in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of
the time of 'Emperor Franz Josef') he insisted that some of the actors
wear underwear embroidered with the Imperial Austrian Royal Family
insignia - infuriating Carl Laemmle. After an intense argument with
Laemmle the wildly extravagant director was dropped from the picture.
The cast was stunned and the two most affected were
Wallace Beery (who was originally cast as
Agnes' father) and Mary Philbin. Wallace, infuriated with Carl
Laemmle's decision walked out, as did many others--even Mary considered
it. To clean up the mess quickly, Carl hired Universal actor Rupert
Julian to direct (who previously had directed and starred in
The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918)
with Lon Chaney). Mary, at first, refused
until Carl insisted that Julian would be just as good a director as von
Stroheim. Not having met or worked with Julian before, she decided to
stay and Cesare Gravina (a favorite actor
of von Stroheim) was re-cast in Beery's role. However, it became
clearly evident that Julian was a novice compared to von Stroheim,
although he reportedly considered himself equal to, if not better than,
von Stroheim in directorial skills. Much of the original footage was
cut or re-filmed upon its release, "The Merry-Go-Round" launched Mary
as an "official" Hollywood star.
Although not as popular as her contemporaries, Mary graced many more
magazine covers and was the feature girl for various products - even
the Victrola Recording Company. During this time, Mary met the love of
her life, Universal Studio executive/producer Paul Kohner - through the
Laemmles. Paul Kohner was only a year older than Mary and born in
Teplitz-Schoenau, Austria-Hungary (now Teplice, Czech Republic). They
were immediately smitten with each other - but due to Mary's parents'
religion (Roman Catholicism) and the fact that Paul was a Jew - they
kept their relationship, in the early years, secret as much as
possible. They exchanged love letters to each other (which both of them
kept till their deaths).
Mary's film career took off with "Where Is This West?"; "The Age of
Desire"; "The Temple of Venus"; "The Thrill Chaser"; among others with
Paul Kohner sometimes as the producer (affording her more time to be
with him, under the protection from her parents observance). But it
wasn't until 1924, after she made good in the role of Marianne in
The Rose of Paris (1924) that
Mary was to be cast in her next, most famous and best- remembered film
role of her entire career.
In 1924, Carl Laemmle was searching among the elite list of Hollywood
starlets (among those listed were
Lillian Gish,
Madge Bellamy,
Betty Bronson,
Patsy Ruth Miller,
Mildred Davis) for the role of the
young Swedish soprano Christine Daaé in the film adaption of Gaston
Leroux's novella "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra" (The Phantom of the Opera)
starring in the leading role of Erik (the Opera Ghost/Phantom of the
Opera) was one of Hollywood's best actors - Lon Chaney, fresh from his
success in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and, much to the concern of the
cast and crew, the director hired for the picture was the temper-mental
Rupert Julian. Julian remembered Mary from "The Merry-Go-Round" (he
also remembered Norman Kerry and hired him for role of Viscount Raoul
de Chagny). Mary was cast in the key role of Christine, the chance of a
lifetime. But the production was one of the most difficult for the cast
to endure. Although Mary was working alongside of many of her former
colleagues and friends (Norman Kerry,
Cesare Gravina,
John St. Polis, and
Carla Laemmle), she had never met Lon
Chaney personally before and, in keeping with her nature, was initially
very shy and nervous around him.
During the filming Chaney and Julian exchanged heated arguments.
Charles Van Enger, the main
cameraman for the film, commented on how they "just hated each other"
and how Julian was obsessed with Mary; adjusting her clothes, wigs,
even the padding on her legs and chest. Mary put up with it - because
of not only was her mother on the set most of the time, but Julian's
wife Elisie Wilson was an old friend of Mary's. Upon seeing Julian's
conduct- Elisie took over Mary's wardrobe and makeup for the film. On
the Phantom set Mary seldom worked with Chaney alone, most of the time
it was under Julian's supervision - but due to Chaney and his arguments
there was a shot of Mary on the floor (Chaney not in view) screaming
after her character "Christine" unmasks the Phantom and is supposed to
cry. Julian had gone through several takes of the scene with Mary;
although this was not to Mary's fault - as Mary could cry at will and
did not need the use of glycerin or onions (which was used for making
"cold crying" in films at that time, or causing one to cry on cue), but
all takes failed to satisfy Julian. This angered the cast and crew and
Julian called it a day and they shut down early. But Lon Chaney
remained behind and asked Mary and the crew to stay and reshoot the
scene themselves. Given Chaney's clout, they all agreed. Mary set
herself up for the scene - with Charles van Enger rolling the film
(ordered not to stop no matter what happens or get involved - by
Chaney) and Chaney just off-camera preparing for the scene. What Mary
did not expect was Lon Chaney turning on her and the barrage of insults
he launched at her. Mary was deeply hurt, but too proud to cry and was
on the verge of leaving to report him to Carl Laemmle. Then Chaney rose
his hand to strike her and Mary fell back screaming, remembering "the
wild rage in his eyes", her hand to her face and then the tears flowed.
Once it was caught on film - Chaney stopped and then began to comfort
Mary and told her what he was really up to and he really meant none of
those terrible things. It was then that Mary respected Chaney and grew
to even adore him as much as she did Erich Von Stroheim, so much so,
Chaney would always be on the set when Julian was directing Mary in
future scenes, even if he was not in it.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
was a box-office hit and the studio's biggest money maker of the
decade, launching not only Chaney to stardom but Mary as well. Mary
attended the premiere with her father and he stated he was so proud of
his daughter. After that producers/directors clamored for Mary to be in
their films. Her next big role was the dual part of Stella Marris/Unity
Blake in a remake of Mary Pickford's "Stella Marris". The film was
received with moderate success with Mary being complimented on her
ability to change from the beautiful Stella into the hideous outcast
Unity Blake so well that many didn't recognize her. During this time,
Mary and Paul were still seeing each other and their relationship
became so serious Paul proposed marriage to Mary in May, 1926.
Ecstatic, Mary accepted but they still had to keep their engagement
secret for a while - till she felt it was safe to tell her family.
During the time, Mary was filming "The Man who Laughs" in the role of
the blind girl, Dea. Behind the scenes was Paul, acting as production
supervisor/interpreter for Conrad Veidt
(who was cast in the leading role of Gwynplaine) to the crew, since at
the time he spoke no English. On opening night, the film was hailed as
a box-office success and Mary was praised for her the role as Dea. It
was then that Mary announced her engagement to Paul. But her family was
outraged at the news and called a meeting to meet Paul - foreshadowing
what was to come, and the worst personal tragedy of Mary's life. At the
meeting, Mary's parents and her step-mother asked Paul many questions
and everything was going reasonably well - until Mary's father came to
the subject of religion and Paul admitted then he was a staunch Jew.
Although Mary's step-mother approved of Paul and her father liked him
(Paul was a quiet but respectable man), Mary's mother would have none
of it and convinced her ex-husband that he would only convince Mary to
convert to Judaism and soon a heated fight started up between Mary's
parents and Paul. Mary was in tears during this and insisted that,
although she wanted to marry Paul, she would never abandon her faith
and Paul understood that and had no intention of even converting her.
But the pleas were futile; Mary was given an ultimatum: Marry Paul and
she would be disowned. Mary was always close to her family, no matter
what the trouble was, but this was one time where Mary seriously
considered defying her family. But in the end, she gave Paul back the
ring and told him she could not marry him, but that she still loved
him. Paul was devastated and Mary so much so that she would never
marry. At the dawn of talkies, Mary's film career nose-dived along with
her personal life. Because of the inadequacy of early recording
equipment - Mary's "lovely, girlie voice" recorded as high pitched and
squeaky. She did re-film her most famous role in "The Phantom of the
Opera" with Norman Kerry (intercut with footage of the 1924/5 version
with Chaney, as Chaney was working on "Thunder" at the time and was now
working for MGM). In retrospect, all of her post-Phantom films were
mediocre. She received good notices in
D.W. Griffith's otherwise pathetic
Drums of Love (1928). Her final
film (a talkie) was
After the Fog (1930) in the role of
Faith Barker. Mary decided to abandon her film career and took up a
life of self-enforced celibacy, becoming a virtual recluse in her
father's home. Mary virtually vanished off the face of the earth and
Hollywood forgot her. But it wasn't until the 1960s, that it was
discovered that Mary was still alive, living at the time in the very
same home she had in the 1920's (her parents and step-mother had
deceased). It was remarked at how youthful and beautiful she still
looked even though she was in her 60's and how her voice still had that
youthful girlish quality. She had been a faithful member of her
parents' church and only went out to visit friends and family, shop,
and go to church. During that time, she admitted that she refused
interviews and photo shoots, although she gladly replied to her fans
and even sent them autographs. But around the late 1970s - Mary began
experiencing the first symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. In 1988, Mary
made her first public appearance since 1931 at a memorial service for
Rudolph Valentino. Another huge blow
came when it was announced Paul Kohner passed away. When Mary was told
Paul had kept the letters she had sent him, tucked away in the top
drawer of his desk locked away from his family - Mary began to cry and
then revealed the letters Paul had sent to her and even a few recent
ones after the "family incident". After that Mary's memory lapses grew
worse, and her old friend Carla Laemmle came to help her. At her
insistence - Mary made two more public appearances - the first at the
opening night of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage
extravaganza "The Phantom of the Opera" in downtown Los Angeles at the
Ahamasohn Theatre, starring Michael Crawford. And the second to help
promote Philip Riley's "The Phantom of the Opera." After that - Mary
was never seen in public again. On May 7, 1993 it was announced that
Mary had died of complications from pneumonia. The original Christine
Daae was dead at age 91.
born on July 16, 1903, in Chicago, Illinois, to John Philbin and his
first wife and namesake, Mary. The child was regarded as a little
beauty from an early age and her mother was exceedingly proud of her
and loved to show her off. Howevr, unlike her gregarious mother (who
many regarded as controlling and domineering, to the point of
imprinting her strict religious beliefs on the child), Mary took after
her shy, quiet and reserved father, whom she adored. Many of her
contemporaries remarked how she didn't seem to belong to the current
age; her personality was a throwback to the 19th century with her
mannerisms and religious, quiet and very gentle nature. Being an only
child, Mary grew up quite spoiled by her mother. Her father would take
her often to see the plays at local theaters and even, on rare
occasion, to see an opera at the Chicago Opera House. She fell in love
with the stage immediately and, once home, would re-enact what she saw
to her dolls--performing the leading heroine roles. She decided at an
early age that she wanted a career in the theater. She took up
classical dancing (ballet and waltz) and was quite adept at playing the
pipe organ and piano (in her later years she kept her family's pipe
organ close at hand), although much to her chagrin, she could not sing.
However, she did not train in an acting school and this would
ultimately impact on her later career.
Mary's early life was relatively uneventful; her mother's strong nature
created friction between her parents and she became even more reserved
and quite shy in public when meeting new people. The only real friend
she had at that age (who would be her lifelong friend and even
colleague in
The Phantom of the Opera (1925))
was Carla Laemmle (aka Rebecca Laemmle),
the daughter of Joseph Laemmle, brother of Universal Studios mogul
Carl Laemmle. Through her friend's uncle
Mary became interested in films and put her stage career on hold. Upon
seeing her first "Nickelodeon", she was bitten by the film bug and
eagerly awaited any new ones that came out. She was particularly fond
of the films of Erich von Stroheim,
so much so that at the age of 16, when she heard that the director was
making his new film
Blind Husbands (1919) and a
contest was set up to search for talent for the film, Mary tried to
sign up. At first she could not find the right photograph worthy of
submission, but her mother had taken a picture and submitted it and was
allowed to join the contest. The contest was held in Chicago at the
Elks Club and was sponsored by her church, with Von Stroheim himself as
the judge. The Teutonic director was smitten with her beauty and her
eagerness to behave and speak well, and gave her the leading role in
one of his films. When finding out she was to move to Los Angeles to
make the film, Mary at first had reservations and (as always) consulted
her parents. Her parents refused until they found out their old family
friends, the Laemmles, were moving out to Los Angeles as well, and they
gave consent for Mary to go but only with her parents as her chaperones
(due to their fear that the "sheiks" of Los Angeles would corrupt
Mary's moral character).
Once in Los Angeles, Mary was under watch all the time by her parents
(in particular her mother) and, when working, by her new boss, Carl
Laemmle. When arriving at the studio, she found out that she had been
replaced in the leading role in "Blind Husbands". Mary was deeply hurt
at the time and felt cheated, and was considering going home had it not
been for her friend Rebecca (whom was now known as Carla) who
recommended her to her uncle, the owner of Universal City, Carl
Laemmle, and the man in charge of production,
Irving Thalberg. Although Carl Laemmle
had met Mary some time earlier and always regarded her as an "angelic,
sweet, quiet" young lady, he was none too impressed with her at the
time to consider her for a contract, owing mostly to her moralistic and
reserved disposition. Thalberg held the same reservations about her.
However, after being persuaded by Mary's family and Carla, Carl caved
and gave 17-year-old Mary her first big part: "Talitby Millicuddy", the
leading lady, in the melodrama
The Blazing Trail (1921),
directed by Robert Thornby. Mary caught
on in films very quickly and was considered by the public, initially at
least, in the same league as her bigger contemporaries -
Mary Pickford,
Florence Lawrence,
Mae Marsh and
Lillian Gish, one of those "child-woman"
actresses particularly noted for her subtle but extraordinary ethereal
Irish beauty.
After the moderate success of "The Blazing Trail" she was cast in
Danger Ahead! (1921) in the role of
Tressie Harlow; the one-reel comedy
Twelve Hours to Live (1921);
the western Red Courage (1921) as
Eliza Fay, and Sure Fire (1921) in an
extra part (her earliest known surviving film); and
False Kisses (1921) as Mary. In all,
she made six films in 1921. After seeing her work in "False Kisses" and
in particular "Danger Ahead"; Erich von Stroheim cast Mary for his next
film, which would become the most expensive (to that date) production
ever for Univeral City (the costs rising up to a million dollars) - the
part of the crippled girl (an extra part) in
Foolish Wives (1922). Mary can be
seen in the film as the little girl on crutches with her back turned,
and you only quickly get a darkened glimpse of her face through her
curly ringlets. Although her role in the film was just a bit part, Mary
relished being under Von Stroheim's tutelage and it was from him, as
she always said, she learned about "true" acting in comparison to stage
acting. It has always been said of Mary Philbin that when the director
was really good (such as von Stroheim,
Paul Leni,
William Beaudine), people noticed she
could be equally as good an actress as her colleagues. However, in the
hands less talented directors (such as Rupert Julian', - who would
partly direct her later in
Merry-Go-Round (1923) and "The
Phantom of the Opera"--her lack of acting training became a real
handicap for her (this is clearly evident in some of her later films).
Mary began to get more notice from Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg,
after Erich von Stroheim's high recommendation of her (and of course
the public's approval), and after a minor film,
_The
Trooper (1922)_ (v), she was given the role of "Ruth" in Human Hearts (1922).
Mary began to get even further recognition and it was around this time
that her face always was featured on movie magazines as the 'Cover'
Girl. But Mary's personal life was darkened by her father's divorce and
remarriage to Alice Mead. Mary was shattered by the event, and as a
result became even closer to her mother (her biggest mistake), but
nevertheless was very loving to her new stepmother and continued to
adore her father.
Mary made two more films before she received her first big break as the
heroine "Agnes Urban", in von Stroheim's "The Merry-Go-Round" in 1923.
The casting for this film was impeccable and many of its stars would
later repeat many films with Mary afterward - in particular her leading
man, Norman Kerry. He always had a crush on
Mary and flirted with her many times on the set, although von Stroheim,
Mary's mother and father (who always were on the set with her; her
stepmother stayed at home) and even Mary herself kept him from getting
too carried away. Mary said in her later years how deep down she always
had a great crush on Norman Kerry and considered him "a very handsome,
dashing man". Everything was going well in the production until it came
to a standstill for the most unusual and even hilarious reason. Erich
von Stroheim was known to be a perfectionist in his work, so much so
that in the plot of this film (set in the Austro-Hungarian Empire of
the time of 'Emperor Franz Josef') he insisted that some of the actors
wear underwear embroidered with the Imperial Austrian Royal Family
insignia - infuriating Carl Laemmle. After an intense argument with
Laemmle the wildly extravagant director was dropped from the picture.
The cast was stunned and the two most affected were
Wallace Beery (who was originally cast as
Agnes' father) and Mary Philbin. Wallace, infuriated with Carl
Laemmle's decision walked out, as did many others--even Mary considered
it. To clean up the mess quickly, Carl hired Universal actor Rupert
Julian to direct (who previously had directed and starred in
The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918)
with Lon Chaney). Mary, at first, refused
until Carl insisted that Julian would be just as good a director as von
Stroheim. Not having met or worked with Julian before, she decided to
stay and Cesare Gravina (a favorite actor
of von Stroheim) was re-cast in Beery's role. However, it became
clearly evident that Julian was a novice compared to von Stroheim,
although he reportedly considered himself equal to, if not better than,
von Stroheim in directorial skills. Much of the original footage was
cut or re-filmed upon its release, "The Merry-Go-Round" launched Mary
as an "official" Hollywood star.
Although not as popular as her contemporaries, Mary graced many more
magazine covers and was the feature girl for various products - even
the Victrola Recording Company. During this time, Mary met the love of
her life, Universal Studio executive/producer Paul Kohner - through the
Laemmles. Paul Kohner was only a year older than Mary and born in
Teplitz-Schoenau, Austria-Hungary (now Teplice, Czech Republic). They
were immediately smitten with each other - but due to Mary's parents'
religion (Roman Catholicism) and the fact that Paul was a Jew - they
kept their relationship, in the early years, secret as much as
possible. They exchanged love letters to each other (which both of them
kept till their deaths).
Mary's film career took off with "Where Is This West?"; "The Age of
Desire"; "The Temple of Venus"; "The Thrill Chaser"; among others with
Paul Kohner sometimes as the producer (affording her more time to be
with him, under the protection from her parents observance). But it
wasn't until 1924, after she made good in the role of Marianne in
The Rose of Paris (1924) that
Mary was to be cast in her next, most famous and best- remembered film
role of her entire career.
In 1924, Carl Laemmle was searching among the elite list of Hollywood
starlets (among those listed were
Lillian Gish,
Madge Bellamy,
Betty Bronson,
Patsy Ruth Miller,
Mildred Davis) for the role of the
young Swedish soprano Christine Daaé in the film adaption of Gaston
Leroux's novella "Le Fantôme de l'Opéra" (The Phantom of the Opera)
starring in the leading role of Erik (the Opera Ghost/Phantom of the
Opera) was one of Hollywood's best actors - Lon Chaney, fresh from his
success in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and, much to the concern of the
cast and crew, the director hired for the picture was the temper-mental
Rupert Julian. Julian remembered Mary from "The Merry-Go-Round" (he
also remembered Norman Kerry and hired him for role of Viscount Raoul
de Chagny). Mary was cast in the key role of Christine, the chance of a
lifetime. But the production was one of the most difficult for the cast
to endure. Although Mary was working alongside of many of her former
colleagues and friends (Norman Kerry,
Cesare Gravina,
John St. Polis, and
Carla Laemmle), she had never met Lon
Chaney personally before and, in keeping with her nature, was initially
very shy and nervous around him.
During the filming Chaney and Julian exchanged heated arguments.
Charles Van Enger, the main
cameraman for the film, commented on how they "just hated each other"
and how Julian was obsessed with Mary; adjusting her clothes, wigs,
even the padding on her legs and chest. Mary put up with it - because
of not only was her mother on the set most of the time, but Julian's
wife Elisie Wilson was an old friend of Mary's. Upon seeing Julian's
conduct- Elisie took over Mary's wardrobe and makeup for the film. On
the Phantom set Mary seldom worked with Chaney alone, most of the time
it was under Julian's supervision - but due to Chaney and his arguments
- Chaney would direct his own scenes including several scenes with
there was a shot of Mary on the floor (Chaney not in view) screaming
after her character "Christine" unmasks the Phantom and is supposed to
cry. Julian had gone through several takes of the scene with Mary;
although this was not to Mary's fault - as Mary could cry at will and
did not need the use of glycerin or onions (which was used for making
"cold crying" in films at that time, or causing one to cry on cue), but
all takes failed to satisfy Julian. This angered the cast and crew and
Julian called it a day and they shut down early. But Lon Chaney
remained behind and asked Mary and the crew to stay and reshoot the
scene themselves. Given Chaney's clout, they all agreed. Mary set
herself up for the scene - with Charles van Enger rolling the film
(ordered not to stop no matter what happens or get involved - by
Chaney) and Chaney just off-camera preparing for the scene. What Mary
did not expect was Lon Chaney turning on her and the barrage of insults
he launched at her. Mary was deeply hurt, but too proud to cry and was
on the verge of leaving to report him to Carl Laemmle. Then Chaney rose
his hand to strike her and Mary fell back screaming, remembering "the
wild rage in his eyes", her hand to her face and then the tears flowed.
Once it was caught on film - Chaney stopped and then began to comfort
Mary and told her what he was really up to and he really meant none of
those terrible things. It was then that Mary respected Chaney and grew
to even adore him as much as she did Erich Von Stroheim, so much so,
Chaney would always be on the set when Julian was directing Mary in
future scenes, even if he was not in it.
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
was a box-office hit and the studio's biggest money maker of the
decade, launching not only Chaney to stardom but Mary as well. Mary
attended the premiere with her father and he stated he was so proud of
his daughter. After that producers/directors clamored for Mary to be in
their films. Her next big role was the dual part of Stella Marris/Unity
Blake in a remake of Mary Pickford's "Stella Marris". The film was
received with moderate success with Mary being complimented on her
ability to change from the beautiful Stella into the hideous outcast
Unity Blake so well that many didn't recognize her. During this time,
Mary and Paul were still seeing each other and their relationship
became so serious Paul proposed marriage to Mary in May, 1926.
Ecstatic, Mary accepted but they still had to keep their engagement
secret for a while - till she felt it was safe to tell her family.
During the time, Mary was filming "The Man who Laughs" in the role of
the blind girl, Dea. Behind the scenes was Paul, acting as production
supervisor/interpreter for Conrad Veidt
(who was cast in the leading role of Gwynplaine) to the crew, since at
the time he spoke no English. On opening night, the film was hailed as
a box-office success and Mary was praised for her the role as Dea. It
was then that Mary announced her engagement to Paul. But her family was
outraged at the news and called a meeting to meet Paul - foreshadowing
what was to come, and the worst personal tragedy of Mary's life. At the
meeting, Mary's parents and her step-mother asked Paul many questions
and everything was going reasonably well - until Mary's father came to
the subject of religion and Paul admitted then he was a staunch Jew.
Although Mary's step-mother approved of Paul and her father liked him
(Paul was a quiet but respectable man), Mary's mother would have none
of it and convinced her ex-husband that he would only convince Mary to
convert to Judaism and soon a heated fight started up between Mary's
parents and Paul. Mary was in tears during this and insisted that,
although she wanted to marry Paul, she would never abandon her faith
and Paul understood that and had no intention of even converting her.
But the pleas were futile; Mary was given an ultimatum: Marry Paul and
she would be disowned. Mary was always close to her family, no matter
what the trouble was, but this was one time where Mary seriously
considered defying her family. But in the end, she gave Paul back the
ring and told him she could not marry him, but that she still loved
him. Paul was devastated and Mary so much so that she would never
marry. At the dawn of talkies, Mary's film career nose-dived along with
her personal life. Because of the inadequacy of early recording
equipment - Mary's "lovely, girlie voice" recorded as high pitched and
squeaky. She did re-film her most famous role in "The Phantom of the
Opera" with Norman Kerry (intercut with footage of the 1924/5 version
with Chaney, as Chaney was working on "Thunder" at the time and was now
working for MGM). In retrospect, all of her post-Phantom films were
mediocre. She received good notices in
D.W. Griffith's otherwise pathetic
Drums of Love (1928). Her final
film (a talkie) was
After the Fog (1930) in the role of
Faith Barker. Mary decided to abandon her film career and took up a
life of self-enforced celibacy, becoming a virtual recluse in her
father's home. Mary virtually vanished off the face of the earth and
Hollywood forgot her. But it wasn't until the 1960s, that it was
discovered that Mary was still alive, living at the time in the very
same home she had in the 1920's (her parents and step-mother had
deceased). It was remarked at how youthful and beautiful she still
looked even though she was in her 60's and how her voice still had that
youthful girlish quality. She had been a faithful member of her
parents' church and only went out to visit friends and family, shop,
and go to church. During that time, she admitted that she refused
interviews and photo shoots, although she gladly replied to her fans
and even sent them autographs. But around the late 1970s - Mary began
experiencing the first symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease. In 1988, Mary
made her first public appearance since 1931 at a memorial service for
Rudolph Valentino. Another huge blow
came when it was announced Paul Kohner passed away. When Mary was told
Paul had kept the letters she had sent him, tucked away in the top
drawer of his desk locked away from his family - Mary began to cry and
then revealed the letters Paul had sent to her and even a few recent
ones after the "family incident". After that Mary's memory lapses grew
worse, and her old friend Carla Laemmle came to help her. At her
insistence - Mary made two more public appearances - the first at the
opening night of
Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage
extravaganza "The Phantom of the Opera" in downtown Los Angeles at the
Ahamasohn Theatre, starring Michael Crawford. And the second to help
promote Philip Riley's "The Phantom of the Opera." After that - Mary
was never seen in public again. On May 7, 1993 it was announced that
Mary had died of complications from pneumonia. The original Christine
Daae was dead at age 91.