The Phantom of the Opera (1962)

An acid-scarred composer has his dwarf helper bring an opera singer to his London sewer hide-out.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay) (as John Elder), Gaston Leroux (based on the composition by)

Stars:

Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, Edward de Souza

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Herbert Lom	...	The Phantom / Professor L. Petrie
Heather Sears	...	Christine Charles
Edward de Souza	...	Harry Hunter
Thorley Walters	...	Lattimer
Michael Gough	...	Lord Ambrose D'Arcy
Harold Goodwin	...	Bill
Martin Miller	...	Rossi
Liane Aukin	...	Maria
Sonya Cordeau	...	Yvonne
Marne Maitland	...	Xavier
Miriam Karlin	...	Charwoman (as Miriam Carlin)
Patrick Troughton	...	The Rat Catcher
Renee Houston	...	Mrs. Tucker
Keith Pyott	...	Weaver
John Harvey	...	Sgt. Vickers

Storyline

The corrupt Lord Ambrose D'Arcy (Michael Gough) steals the life's work of the poor composer Professor L. Petrie. (Herbert Lom). In an attempt to stop the printing of music with D'Arcy's name on it, Petrie breaks into the printing office and accidentally starts a fire, leaving him severely disfigured. Years later, Petrie returns to terrorize a London opera house that is about to perform one of his stolen operas.

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Plot Keywords:

casting couch | psychotronic film | cleavage | rat catcher | composer | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest THRILL CLASSIC of All Time!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Music | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point, Christopher Lee was seriously considered for the Phantom part.

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Goofs

In the opening shot a poster announces the premier of "The Tragedy of St. Joan" as Monday, November 27, 1900. November 27, 1900 fell on a Tuesday.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Lattimer: The house is sold out, my lord.
Lord Ambrose d'Arcy: No further incidents, I trust?
Lattimer: No, nothing. Everything seems quite normal.

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Alternate Versions

A subplot involving a pair of Scotland Yard police inspectors on the trail of the Phantom was shot especially for the American TV version (by the TV companies, not by Hammer). This was a regular occurrence in this era, most notably with Hammer's films The Kiss of the Vampire and The Evil of Frankenstein.

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Connections

Version of The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

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Soundtracks

Auf Flügeln des Gesanges opus 34 nº2 (On Wings of Song)
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss
Sung in english

User Reviews

Off with the mask again

In this version of The Phantom Of The Opera, the hideous phantom lurks in the sewers and catacombs of London instead of Paris. And in this third version bits of a real opera by British composer Edwin Astley highlight the musical portion of the film. That's important because in this telling of the tale, the phantom has a singular interest in this particular work.

Stepping into the shoes of Lon Chaney and Claude Rains is Herbert Lom. Because this film is done in flashback Lom is given less of a chance to create his character in the way his predecessors did. Still Lom as he did in Night And The City manages to get across both the poignancy and the evil that he's sunk to. I would also compare his characterization of Professor Petri here with what he did in Flame Over India where he got across sympathy for a character who was a terrorist.

The truly evil one here is Michael Gough who is a classic Victorian rakehell whom if he were slightly of better character and given to a bit of introspection, we could hear some Oscar Wilde aphorisms coming out of his mouth. But his Lord D'Arcy hasn't got any redeeming features whatsover. Kind of like Liberty Valance which also came out in 1962.

The young lovers here are producer Edward DeSouza and Heather Sears the singer that Lom takes an interest in. I looked to see who might have dubbed Sears for the opera sequences and found no credit. If she did it herself, truly remarkable and why didn't that part of her talent be better known.

I saw an edited version of this on YouTube and I'm convinced they involved the end of some characters in a ghastly fashion. I'd like to see a director's cut if possible.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Phantom of the Opera

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

GBP180,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 97 min (Extended Version)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1