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Lon Chaney arguably gave his greatest performance in PHANTOM, and although the film is hopelessly static (and dated) it showcases this masterpiece of acting that achieves in its ‘silent’ transcription what few talking performances can achieve.

Hitchcock’s PSYCHO as you no doubt observed is a staggering work of cinema, and one of the truly great horror pieces in movie history for a variety of reasons.

Todd Browning’s DRACULA is a stagy slow-moving affair, but the opening twenty minutes in the Carpathian mountains and at the castle are extraordinary. (again as you now doubt saw for yourself).

Look forward to your reactions to these and the upcoming titles on your schedule.

Psycho is one of those films that I watched too late. I would love to be able to watch it without knowing anything about it.

And for Dracula, and several other films for that matter, Dwight Frye is quickly becoming a favorite actor of mine. I’ll definitely be writing more about him later.

The most impressive Lon Chaney film I’ve ever watched is The Unknown. Chaney plays an armless circus performer who falls in love with a woman who has a fear of arms. Really great movie.

Yeah, it’s nice to come to movies unknowing, but there’s another pleasure in watching films like “Psycho” that are so well known: you can look for the moments that everybody else has written about, compare what they find in them with what you see. You can have a “conversation” with folks long gone, and it’s rare that I don’t read an essay on a well-known film where I don’t learn something new.

Glad you saw “Psycho.” It’s truly great, and one of the most influential flicks in history.