THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925): Lon Chaney's magisterial performance as Erik, the disfigured "phantom" who lives in the catacombs and dungeons beneath the Paris Opera, has become an icon of modern culture. Twice remade and subsequently adapted into one of the most successful musicals in theatrical history, this 1925 super-production is a landmark of the silent era, often regarded as the first great horror film.