The Climax

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The Climax ★★½ 1944

Technicolor highlights this horror saga of obsession. House physician for Vienna's Royal Theatre, Dr. Hohner (Karloff) kills opera singer Marcellina (Vincent) when she rejects him. Twenty years later, Hohner hears the beautiful voice of Angela (Foster), a near duplicate of Marcellina's, and hypnotizes her to prevent her singing. Now, it's up to Angela's composer friend Franz (Bey) to overcome the doctor's evil influence. Adapted from a play by Edward Locke. Waggner directed this “The Phantom of the Opera” clone using the same sets as the 1943 “Phantom” remake. 86m/ C VHS, DVD . Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey, Gale Sondergaard, Thomas Gomez, June Vincent, Jane Farrar, Scotty Beckett; D: George Waggner; W: Curt Siodmak, Lynn Starling; C: Hal Mohr, William Howard Greene; M: Edward Ward.