Many people have bad days. Erique Claudin, (Claude Rains) is having what can be described as the worst day. He is trying to profess his love for Christine Dubois, (Susannah Foster). She is the backup singer of the Paris Opera. He has secretly been paying for singing lessons for her. He has great faith in her and an undying love. Unfortunately he cant find the words to come from his mouth. Later he loses his job as a violinist in the opera. This is because he has lost the finite use of his hand. He goes home and his landlady says she will evict him, because he hasn’t paid his rent. He ponders his situation, and calls on a music publisher, to whom he gave a concert. He hopes that this can give him income and pay for Christine’s lessons. His day then goes from bad to terrible.
Erique asks about his concerto. His secretary looks for it, but it isn’t found. He hears it being played in the next room. Erique goes into a fit of rage, and kills the publisher. Acid is thrown in his face and he flees in pain. This miserable day has transformed Erique into the phantom.
Claude Rains is good as the physically and mentally scarred Erique. His character is prominent in the film. The story itself revolves around a love triangle involving Anatole Garon, (Nelson Eddy) Raoul Daubert and Christine. Anatole is the star of the opera and Raoul is the police inspector. Their rivalry for Christine’s love is comical. They put aside their rivalry, when the phantom begins disrupting the operations of the opera house. It comes to a head when Erique murders Biancarolli, (Jane Farrar), the lead soprano. The show must go on and a replacement is found. Erique is enraged and cuts the chandelier during the performance. It is a highlight of the movie. During the chaos, he takes Christine under false pretenses. He then tells her that she can sing for him. Anatole and Raoul follow in hot pursuit.
The Phantom of the Opera is the flashy updated technicolor version of the Lon Chaney film. The opera house set is beautiful and the interior decorating crew won an Oscar. The cinematographer’s Hal Mohr and W. Howard Greene also won an academy award for their efforts. The story is set in the Paris opera house, however there isn’t any major opera performed. There are classical pieces, that are sung, mainly because Nelson Eddy was a baritone. Most opera’s used tenor’s. This movie has the look and feel of any of the early MGM musical’s that made him famous. The film itself doesn’t really deliver on the scary aspects of the original. Claude Rains’ despite making his debut in The Invisible Man, and playing many film heavies, doesn’t instill fear in the audience. He is good at playing the emotionally stinted Erique in the beginning.
The Phantom of the Opera succeeds in its display of Hollywood grandeur. This is achieved through the direction of Arthur Lubin. He does well with the comedy throughout the movie. He directed a few Abbott and Costello movies before this. He was able to keep his hand in comedy throughout his career. Lubin ended up like many moving on to television. He was able to bring to American viewer’s the misadventures of the talking horse, Mr. Ed.
This version of the french novel by Gaston Leroux was adapted by Hans Jacoby and scripted by Eric Taylor and Samuel Hoffenstein. The screenplay has more in common with the broadway musical, than the original Universal film. Despite its updating, it is an enjoyable movie with some good suspenseful and comic moments.