In Brief: Yes, it has its problems — an uninspired director, the look of a typically static Hollywood silent, a botched big scene, a bewildering array of different versions — but The Phantom of the Opera (1925) is still the first large-scale American horror film and retains the power to fascinate. Much of this is due to the makeup and performance of Lon Chaney as Erik, the Phantom of the Opera, but don't sell short the sheer size of the production. For anything it doesn't get quite right…