<Li> It is a negative made for Universal Studios' reference . </Li> <P> "International sound versions" were sometimes made of films which the producing companies judged not to be worth the expense of reshooting in a foreign language . These versions were meant to cash in on the talkie craze; by 1930 anything with sound did well at the box office, while silent films were largely ignored by the public . International sound versions were basically part - talkies, and were largely silent except for musical sequences . Since the films included synchronized music and sound effect tracks, they could be advertised as sound pictures, and therefore capitalize on the talkie craze in foreign markets without the expense of reshooting scenes with dialogue in foreign languages . </P> <P> To make an international version, the studio would simply replace any spoken dialogue in the film with music, and splice in some title cards in the appropriate language . Singing sequences were left intact, as well as any sound sequences without dialogue . </P> <P> The surviving sound discs of The Phantom of the Opera belong to the domestic release, but do not synchronize with the dialogue portions of the film, which have been abbreviated on the Eastman House print . However, there is no record of the content of the international version of The Phantom, nor even of the existence of such a version . Furthermore, for international sound versions, one negative was generally made for all of Europe, sent overseas, and not returned . Additionally, the Eastman House print shows no signs of negative wear that would be consistent with that of a negative printed for multiple countries . </P>

Phantom of the opera movie black and white