Joseph Musso

Universal Studios' Stage 28, the Lon Chaney 1925 B&W feature film "Phantom of the Opera" interior European three tiered box seat horseshoe theatre and stage proscenium existed as a permanent studio stage standing set. In 2014, this is the oldest existing standing set in Hollywood. The Universal Studios' stage 28 "Phantom of the Opera" theatre interior set was also used in Alfred Hitchcock's 1966 feature film "The Torn Curtain." In 1965, the Paris Opera theatre interior set had fallen into disrepair, but Universal gave permission for Hitch to use it in the climax of his film. Hitch had his crew (including Joe Musso, a young budding illustrator) restore the theatre set back to the way the stage set was originally built for the 1925 Lon Chaney film. The original blueprints for the 1925 Chaney film no longer existed in 1964, but Joe Musso had a great 8"x10" photo collection from the Chaney film that showed the Paris Opera theater interior in great detail. Based on these archived B&W photos, the production designer, Hein Heckroth, art director, Frank Arrigo, and assistant art director, Joe Alves, had the set designers recreate new blueprints for the construction crew to restore the stage theatre set properly. Hitchcock had the original seats reupholstered and put back into the audience floor space, filling the theater floor and the European style horseshoe three tiered box gallery with 500 extras, along with Paul Newman and Julie Andrews. The set designers who worked on the film included John Corso, Burwell Hamrick, William "Bill" O'Brien, Tom Cranham. Mort Rabinowitz also worked on the film as an illustrator. Mort Rabinowitz became a production designer shortly after working on the Hitchcock feature film. Joe Musso did the set illustrations on the opera house in color and painted Hitchcock's film crew in the audience besides Newman, Julie and Hitch. Hitchcock kept Joe Musso's illustration as his private and personal souvenir.