''The Phantom Melody'' is a 1920 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Douglas Gerrard Douglas Gerrard (12 August 1891 – 5 June 1950) was an Irish-American actor and film director of the silent and early sound era. He appeared in more than 110 films between 1913 and 1949. He also directed 23 films between 1916 and 1920. He ...

, and starring

Monroe Salisbury Monroe Salisbury (May 8, 1876 – August 7, 1935) was an American actor. He appeared on the stage for several years and then became an early film star. Salisbury was a matinee idol. He began his acting career on the stage in 1898, appearin ...

, Henry A. Barrows,

Ray Gallagher Ray Gallagher (April 17, 1885 – March 6, 1953) was an American actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1912 and 1936. He appeared in many productions at Universal.''Pictorial History of the Silent Screen'' p.91 c. ...

, Charles West and

Jean Calhoun Jean Calhoun (April 1, 1891 – August 25, 1958) was an American film actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era. She was a descendant of Martin Jenkins Crawford (March 17, 1820 – July 23, 1883), an antebellum U.S. Repres ...

. The film was released by

Universal Film Manufacturing Company Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

on January 27, 1920. The film's "premature burial" plotline tilts it in the direction of being a horror film as well as a melodrama. Director Gerrard emigrated to Hollywood from Ireland in 1913 to become an actor, but quickly gravitated to film directing in 1916 with his ''The Price of Victory'', but gave up directing soon after filming ''The Phantom Melody''.

Plot

A wealthy count named Camello is in love with Mary Drake, but his cousin Gregory Baldi is also pursuing her. World War 2 breaks out, and Gregory is thought to have been killed in action. The Count succeeds in getting Mary to marry him, but on the eve of their wedding, Gregory returns home alive. Seeking to rid himself of his rival, Gregory buries Camello alive in an underground vault. Camello manages to get free and engages Gregory in a deadly duel.

Cast

as Count Camello *

as Mary Drake * Charles West as Gregory Baldi * Henry A. Barrows as Sir James Drake *

as His Son Oliver *Joe Ray as Gustave Tornelli *Milton Markwell as Baron Ferrera *Lois Lee as Paulette

Preservation

The film is now considered

lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

.American Silent Feature Film Survival Database: ''The Phantom Melody''
/ref>

References

External links

* 1920 drama films Silent American drama films 1920 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Lost American films Universal Pictures films 1920s American films {{silent-drama-film-stub