HORROR - SCI FI: Lon Chaney

Lon Chaney . . . Father and son.

Which one you remember depends on your age and your Hollywood History IQ!

Maven - in an earlier incarnation! - remembers seeing Chaney, Jr. at the movies.

Her mother was old enough to remember Chaney, Sr., in silent movies as well . . . except Mother hated silents because the titles broke up the flow of the movies to show dialogue and who was doing what and why!

LON CHANEY, SR.’S MINIATURE

DIARAMA DRESSING ROOM

I want to apologize to Brooklyn Jay from Rush’s Chat Room[1] for my taking so long to post this to my website. If what is in the accompanying pictures are any indidaction, Brooklyn Jay is truly talented!

Be sure to take time to enjoy his note and pictures of the diaroma. That’s the only way to appreciate them.

[1] http://charliechanfamily.tripod.com/id17.html

Lon Chaney, Sr.'s Miniature Dressing Room

Lon Chaney, Sr.'s Dressing Room in Pictures

Lot 689 - Lon Chaney Sr Miniature Diarama Dressing Room

Lon Chaney, Sr., and His Makeup Kit

IS THIS A CLIP FROM LON CHANEY, Jr.'S LONDON AFTER MIDIGHT (1927)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFk36pizlcM

Lon Chaney, Sr.,

A Still from "London after Midnight" (1927)

Lon Chaney, Sr., is perhaps best-know for two movies made from literary sources, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera.

If you have ever been interested in the original stores, here’s your chance!

NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS[1] by Victor Hugo (1831) can be found at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2610/2610-h/2610-h.html. The movie is available free to watch at http://www.archive.org/details/The_Hunchback_of_Notre_Dame.

The Phantom of the Opera[2] by Gaston Leroux (1909 and made into Chaney’s groundbreaking version in 1925 free at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgiPXFVY0T8) is at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/175/175-h/175-h.htm.

[1] also known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame

[2] original title: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra

Spider Baby; or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1964/1968) - This interesting little film had Lon Chaney (The Wolf Man), Mantan Moreland (the Monogram Charlie Chans), and Carol Ohmart (The House on Haunted Hill -1959) and Maven frankly didn't hear about it until lately!:

http://www.archive.org/details/SPIDERBABY1964_0

The house itself is still around and you can check it (as well as a trailer with Moreland) out at http://bigorangelandmarks.blogspot.com/2008/05/no-142-smith-estate.html.

Lon Chaney, Jr., talks about his father on a (fall) 1951 episode of You Asked for It at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZDscvYrBgE

Another clip of Jack Hill

discussing Chaney, Jr., and Mantan Moreland is at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywXU1sGGjS8&feature=related

Maven has come across some clips featuring Carla Laemmle, from Debbie Reynolds singing to her (on the occasion of Carla's 100th birthday) to her thoughts on the Universal fire (that also burned Carla's former home) to being featured in Phantom of the Opera (Lon Chaney's 1925 version):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TPPZhfe6Y8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFnBDSNTmyg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDFCjQrQM_Y

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"London After Midnight" (1927)

A Lon Chaney, Sr., Lost Film

"London After Midnight" (1927)

With Lon Chaney, Sr., and Polly Moran

Maven has just found a 46 minute version of the still restoration of London After Midnight. . . . It's not the "motion" picture but the incredible work that must have gone into it is even more impressive watching this way.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1667392134797038328

More information about the movie can be found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018097/fullcredits#cast.

There is a website devoted to the Chaneys and an online interview with Ron Chaney, the grandson of Chaney, Jr.:

http://www.lonchaney.com/

Part One: http://www.horror-wood.com/ronchaney.htm

Part Two: http://www.horror-wood.com/ronchaney2.htm

There is an e-nterview with Janet Ann Gallow about The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) in which she starred with Chaney, Jr., as the Monster:

http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterkid5/gallow1.html

http://gammillustrations.bizland.com/monsterkid5/gallow2.html

Lon Chaney, Jr.

As Himself

Lon Chaney, Jr. and Jack Pierce

Gettting "Wolfie" Ready

Here is a wee bit about the makeup - and makeup master - who brought Lon Chaney to the level of Hollywood Legend along with Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi:

Lon Chaney, Jr. and Jack Pierce

And a brief clip of Chaney as the Wolf Man in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstien (1948):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baZa1kTAUhM