Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Okay Version of a CLassic Story

I love the story of the Phantom of the Opera. This version was just okay however. It's not a bad story, but if you are a true lover of the play or classic film, this won't do it for you. May 21, 2008

A good POTO movie to have

I am one of many thousands of avid POTO fans and I found this movie to be a nice, original adaption of Gaston Leroux's novel. The music is good, the acting well done, and the cast was great. I also appreciate the occasional humor that was thrown in--it provided some much needed comic relief! :)If you at all a phan of Phantom of the Opera, I would recommend adding this little gem to your collection. :)

May 12, 2008

phanton of the opera 1943 now dvd

DVD REALLY EXCELLENT. SOUNG WAS GREAT AND VIDEO SUPER. NEED MORE OF NELSON EDDY AND DO EDDY AND JEANNETTE MACDONALD ON DVD/ April 25, 2008

Too little phantom ,too much opera

If you set aside the movie of the Lloyd Webber musical this is probably the most lavish version of the Gaston Leroux warhorse ever made.It is visually sumptuous with superb sets which saw the team working on them garner a much deserved Oscar .The costumes are splendid and the colour photography luminous and eye catching .All this unfortunately is at the expense of the horror element and the scenes of drama and tension are subservient to depictions of operatic performance and ones of broad comedy .The suspense and fear of both the original book and the much lauded Lon Chaney Junior movie version are missing amid the welter of staged opera and bufoonery backstage

The Phantom is Enrique (Claude Rains)a former violinist at the Paris Opera who has lost his job due to his diminishing physical powers .A frail and middle aged man ,he loves from afar the young aspiring singer Christine DuBois (Susanna Foster) ,a talented artist but one languishing in the Chorus of the Opera House .Enrique is secretly paying for her singing lessons while seeking to make a new living as a composer.When a music puplisher cheats him over a piano concerto he has written Enrique attacks him and is disfigured by acid in the fight that results.He haunts the catacombs under the Opera House and threatens all those who stand in the way of Christine's advancement including her boyfriend and the other performers

Rains makeup is restrained and there is no attempt to replicate the grotesquerie of Chaney's make up or performance .It is a touching and beautifully judged performance by a great screen actor .The horror scenes when they arrive are effective -the chandelier scene in particular-but they are too few and far between and the plot gets sidelined by too many stodgily staged opera scenes and these ,too be absolutely blunt , are not at all well sung .Eddy and Foster are more Operetta than Opera .

The movie falls between two stools and eventually becomes more a mundane musical than a tale of terror and the performances Rains aoart are woeful.It looks good though and can be enjoyed for its decor but not for its intensity February 28, 2008

The myth; the legend!

Classic portrait of a violinist, whose face has been totally disfigured and who scares to spectators and workers of Paris Opera. One of the most eminent movies of the forties, with a spectacular photography of a team directed by Alexander Golitzen, 14 times nominated and triple winner of the Academy Award.

It's useless to remark the memorable performance of Claude Rains (Mr. Smith goes to Washington, Notorious, Casablanca), one of the most extraordinary French actors ever born.
December 18, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...