The Phantom of the Opera 1943

views updated

The Phantom of the Opera ★★★ 1943

Second Hollywood version (following the 1925 silent) of Gaston Leroux's novel, remade by the same studio (Universal), suffers by dispersing the chills with too many opera scenes (no doubt to give Eddy something to do) and weak comedy. Enrique (a sympathetic Rains) is a disfigured musician in the Paris Opera who sacrifices himself for the love of young singer Christine (DuBois), who doesn't even know he exists. Rains is only briefly seen in his horror visage. 92m/C VHS, DVD . Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster, Claude Rains, Edgar Barrier, Leo Carrillo, Hume Cronyn, J. Edward Bromberg; D: Arthur Lubin; W: Samuel Hoffenstein, Eric Taylor; C: Hal Mohr, William Howard Greene; M: Edward Ward. Oscars ‘43: Color Cinematog.