u/MrKyle98
Das Phantom der Oper(1916)
Finally the first still has been found(by me).
u/Classicsarecool — 14 days ago
▲ 11 r/box5
Nils Chrisander and the Phantom of the Opera
Alright, i know this must shock some "hardcore" Phantom fans, as much as did shocked me, but i want to note that it's not confirmed yet, just a. what we could say, a theory on some sources i manage to track down, so, try to not be too shocked like Cristina when she first unmask Eric.
-The Story so far-
For more than 100 years everyone listed and knew Nils O. Chrisander(true name Waldemar Chrisander) as the first ever Phantom on screen(and even myself i always listed him in this role as well) years before Lon Chaney, but what if this is all a huge mistake that keep going on?
If you think about it, Nils Chrisander was one we could say "beautiful hero" of that time, he always mostly starred as the beautiful hero in fact in his films, while we all known that while Eric the Phantom is a hero on his own, nobody would call him "beautiful"(sadly for him).
Anyway, according to some ad from that time, it wasn't Nils Chrisander in the role of the Phantom, but someone called "Ernst Prasch", Chrisander is list as "Graf de Chagny"(Raoul).
Niels Chrysander as Count Ghagny
This text says:
"The Phantom of the Opera is the title of the major film that will be screened starting Friday at the Passage-Theater. The well-known novel by Gaston Leroux has been adapted for the screen and directed by Ernst Matray of the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.The leading roles are performed by the already well-known Nordic artists Egede Nissen and Nils Chrisander. The Phantom is played by Dr. Prasch, while Ernst Matray, with his renowned agility, portrays the Phantom's friend, the Persian Daroga. As the title suggests, the whole production is a fantastic, supernatural, and mysterious representation, with an effect so dreadfully beautiful, gripping, and tense, that only film is capable of conjuring it."
According to these two pieces from that time, Nils Chrisander was in fact in the role of Raoul, but here comes the doubts and the mysteries, in classic Opera House style.
Many more ads and posters clearly list Nils O. Chrisander(or variant like Chrysander) as the Phantom himself.
Here is listed as \"Phantom\", while Matray is listed as \"Raoul\"
You may ask, then who is this "Dr. Prasch/Ernst?", i can't answer that yet, i can't find a single lead on this one, but the surname is the same as the more famous Alois Prasch(who died in 1907 according to most sources) and Rolf Prasch(a credited actor), what does this mean? Here's my theories:
- A mistake of the newspapers of that time(seem possible, but unlikely)
- An alias of an unknown actor(seem possible, but why would someone use an alias?)
- A true actual actor that the story forgot about.
There's also the possible lead that the Dr. Ernst Prasch was a theatrical actor more than a cinema one or that he was known at the time, the title of "Dr" as for "Doktor" could give prestige to him and the movie itself, but then again, why would ever be mentioned in so few posters.
Now, what is the truth? Well, we simply don't known, until someone(me or the many others on the hunt for this legendary masterpiece) going to find out more images or the actual full movie, the first ever Phantom of the Opera going to keep his mask on...
I want to note that this is just a "maybe", the movie is lost, nobody could see it, nobody could see Nils under the black mask with the "death-head" the ads loved to mention, take this as what it is, an unconfirmed rumor, but with an actual true facts under it.
A recap, in order to keeping the track:
- Everyone knew Nils Chrisander as the first ever Phantom on the screen.
- Some ad and posters mention Dr. Prasch as the Phantom, one directly mention Ernst Prasch
- Matray is listed either as Raoul or the Persian(as we know even today, the doubt always existed)
- Chrisander could be very well been in the role of Raoul, he was seen as a "beautiful hero" back then.
- The only one we are 100% sure on the role is Edege Nissen, every sources list her as Cristina.
At least we have an actual image of the movie and this is a huge step in order to unmask all the secrets of this lost adaptation(that might be the greatest ever made).
I truly hope this is just a mistake on someone of that time, in my heart Nils Chrisander *IS* the first ever Phantom on screen, but i could't ignore this lead just out of affection to the "legendary" status.
u/MrKyle98 — 16 days ago
▲ 48 r/box5
Finally, i don't known what to say, guys, so i'll just leave this here for all Phantom fans out here, this is how the first ever Phantom of the Opera on screen was like..
Nils Chrisander(The Phantom) with Aud Nissen(Cristina)
While far from an actual photo of Chrisander without the mask, the Phantom has been definitely unmasked, we finally have a visual proof of the vibes and even Aud Edege Nissen as Cristina, something that was never found in 100+ years, well until now.
Here's the full "article" and yes as you can see it was definitely known as "The Black Mask" or "The Man in the Black Mask" just as i mentioned in a earlier update!
Edit: Found another better view of the same still.
And we have it, Eric and Cristina as they appeared in the first ever adaptation of the Leroux novel, after 100+ years, we can finally-at least get to see what the movie was like in it's vibes.
u/MrKyle98 — 17 days ago
▲ 11 r/Lost_Films
Guys, did you remember the official still it was found? Nobody could see a thing, it was too dark, but i found incredibly the first ever clear image that show us how the Phantom mask was and even Edge-Nissen in the role of Christine!
The movie was mostly known also as "Der Mann mit der schwarzen Maske" and "Die Schwarze Maske" that's why nobody could find much before!
After more than 100 years, the Phantom has been unmasked, we finally known what this adaptation of the Leroux book, the first ever made, was like!
u/MrKyle98 — 17 days ago
▲ 37 r/box5
Alright, i spoke about lost media a lot(and also about that, thanks for the appreciation, i place great effort in my research), but today there's no "history that everyone" known, no no, this time, i found something very useful, you know the drill already...
It's a lost movie, the first ever adaptation of the Leroux novel, but what probably no one known yet, it's that we always missed an important part in this research, people.
Das Phantom der Oper it was also know as "Das Gespenst im Opernhaus" but also as another different name! And here's why probably no one found actual images yet(we all know that one single still is that what was found).
The movie was also mostly known as "Der Mann mit der schwarzen Maske"(which literally mean "The Man under the Black Mask" or "In the Black Mask") and here's the proof i found about:
The exact same figure of the more famous known poster!
The same image as the poster we have all, confirming it's a still from the movie!
In here it says
"An unfortunate soul, to whom God gave a corpse-like face (Totengesicht) alongside a heart full of burning love; one who wishes to partake in the joys of the world, even though, while still breathing, he already belongs to the dead."
But what does this mean to us? Easy! This clearly tell us that Nils Chrisander actually had a makeup as a skull-like under the mask(and judging by the title "The Man under the Black Mask" it's not the iconic white one)
-----
This open a whole new road in order to find actual stills, more posters and possible the entire movie!
The "funny" thing is, well, the images and still could actually be already in some archives but not under the title "Das Phantom der Oper" instead with the "Der Mann mit der Maske" or similar.
In the end we can say it, friends, the Phantom has been unmasked!
u/MrKyle98 — 18 days ago