An annotated script from The Phantom of the Opera

Universal Pictures, 1925. Typescript manuscript, adaptation and scenario by Raymond L. Schrock and Elliot Clawson, 174 pp, n.d. [1924], with "File No. 691" and "Picture No. 4159" stamped to title page, and "1 of 5" handwritten to title page and typed to first page, with intertitles typed in red and many annotations throughout, bound in a legal folio. According to author Philip J. Riley, this fifth revised shooting script was once in the possession of Lon Chaney, although it was not his working script. Based on the annotations and drawings, it was likely used by either director Rupert Julian or the cinematographer, although it is not known who made the annotations or the time period in which they were made. The title page features penciled notes such as "Chaney wants his copy as it is?deliver to his home" and designates copies for Chaney, uncredited director Edward Sedgwick, the negative cutter, and others. The title page was later signed ("Mary Philbin / Sept. 1989"). Among the penciled diagrams in the script are a drawing of the Phantom tossing skulls at Raoul, a sketch detailing how the camera would shoot into the orchestra pit, and a blocking diagram for Christine's dressing room. Throughout the manuscript, scenes are crossed out, instructions are added, typos are circled with pencil, and comments such as "NO!" and "Has Chaney seen this?" are scattered throughout. There are many references to what Chaney wants or instructs, which indicates the strong influence he had over the direction of the film.
Literature: The Making of the Phantom of the Opera by Philip J. Riley (New Jersey: MagicImage Filmbooks, 1999).
Overall: 9 x 14.5 in.; script: 9 x 13.25 in.