Phantom of the Opera (1943)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Samuel Hoffenstein (writer)
John Jacoby (adaptation)

Release Date:

27 August 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Music | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

In flaming Technicolor!

Plot:

This is the story of a disfigured violinist who haunts the Paris Opera House

Plot Keywords:

Opera | Paris | Music Publisher | Soprano | Murder

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Nelson Eddy	...	Anatole Garron
Susanna Foster	...	Christine Dubois
Claude Rains	...	Erique Claudin
Edgar Barrier	...	Raoul D'Aubert
Leo Carrillo	...	Signor Ferretti
Jane Farrar	...	Biancarolli
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Amiot
Fritz Feld	...	Lecours
Frank Puglia	...	Villeneuve
Steven Geray	...	Vereheres
Barbara Everest	...	The Aunt
Hume Cronyn	...	Gerard
Fritz Leiber	...	Franz Liszt
Nicki Andre	...	Lorenzi
Gladys Blake	...	Jeanne

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:G (cable rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #9388) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The role of Christine Dubois was originally intended for Deanna Durbin, who turned it down.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Anatole is pursuing the Phantom over the catwalk, the ladder wobbles in long shots but is very stable when the actors are in close-up.

Quotes:

[Claudin is talking to Christine as they descend into the catacombs beneath the Opera]
Enrique Claudin: See? Didn't I tell you it was beautiful? You didn't know we had a lake all to ourselves, did you?
[Christine covers her face and sobs]
Enrique Claudin: They've poisoned your mind against me. That's why you're afraid. Look at your lake, Christine. You'll love it here when you get used to the dark. And you'll love the dark, too. It's friendly and peaceful. It brings rest and relief from pain. It's right under the Opera. The music comes down and the darkness distills it, cleanses it of the suffering that made it. Then it's all beauty. And life here is like a resurrection.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Psych: Spellingg Bee (#1.2)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

MARTHA (Act III, opera excerpt)

The Mad Scourge of the Paris Opera

When Universal decided to remake Lon Chaney's classic silent version of the opera, sound opened up a rather obvious vista for the film. We can make it as much about opera as the phantom haunting the Paris Opera.

A task rendered considerably easier by the presence of Nelson Eddy and Susanne Foster. Unlike his screen partner at MGM, Jeanette MacDonald, Nelson Eddy came from the opera to the cinema. He always viewed himself as a singer first, films were something he did to get publicity for his concert tours. But Eddy always loved the grand opera, it could easily been his career path. Consequently The Phantom of the Opera and the arias he sings here always had a special place in his affections. We see a lot of the real Nelson here.

Another one of his interests was sculpture. The bust of Susanna Foster that Claude Rains stole from Eddy's dressing room is something that Nelson Eddy actually did. Sculpting was a hobby of his and as you can see he was quite good at it. Might have made a living doing that as well.

Susanna Foster who had a lovely soprano voice gave up her career soon after this most acclaimed of her films. A pity too, it was a real loss to the screen.

This Phantom of the Opera has a bit of comedy in it as well. Baritone Nelson Eddy and Inspector of the Surete Edgar Barrier have an uneasy rivalry going for the affections of Foster. The scenes involving this are nicely staged by director Arthur Lubin, more known for doing Abbott and Costello comedies.

This may have been Edgar Barrier's best film role. He was a more than competent player, his career probably suffering because he was a bit too much like Warren William who was himself a poor man's John Barrymore. Barrier played equally well as villains or as a good guy as he is here. Another fine role for him even though he only has one scene is in Cyrano de Bergerac where he plays the very sly and all knowing and discerning Cardinal Richelieu.

Of course Phantom of the Opera is really made by the performance of Claude Rains as the mild mannered, inoffensive Eric Claudin, a violinist in the Paris Opera who is crushing out big time on Susanna Foster. We see him first being told after 20 years he's being given the sack by the company. What they describe sounds an awful lot like Carpel Tunnel Syndrome that he's developed which is affecting his playing the violin. Bad news for Susanna Foster also because he's been her secret benefactor in paying for voice lessons.

There isn't any middle aged man who doesn't identify with Rains. Tossed out of his job, the rent due, crushing out big time on a young girl, a lot of us have been there. Then when he thinks an unscrupulous music publisher is stealing a concerto he's written, he loses it completely and kills him. And when acid is thrown in his face disfiguring him, it's a short journey to madness.

Rains really makes us feel for Claudin. In that sense the film is not a horror picture in that we're dealing with monsters or unworldly creatures that Universal so specialized in. The man who becomes the Phantom is all too real, too human, and if we're pushed right, could be any one of us.

Can you do better than opera arias by Nelson Eddy and a classic performance by Claude Rains? I think not.