Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Director:

Arthur Lubin

Writers:

Samuel Hoffenstein (writer)
John Jacoby (adaptation)
(more)

Release Date:

27 August 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Music | Thriller

Tagline:

In flaming Technicolor!

Plot:

This is the story of a disfigured violinist who haunts the Paris Opera House

Plot Keywords:

Melodrama | Chase | Music Publisher | Obsessive Love | 19th Century

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Nelson Eddy	...	Anatole Garron
Susanna Foster	...	Christine Dubois
Claude Rains	...	Erique Claudin
Edgar Barrier	...	Raoul D'Aubert
Leo Carrillo	...	Signor Ferretti
Jane Farrar	...	Biancarolli
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Amiot
Fritz Feld	...	Lecours
Frank Puglia	...	Villeneuve
Steven Geray	...	Vereheres
Barbara Everest	...	The Aunt
Hume Cronyn	...	Gerard
Fritz Leiber	...	Franz Liszt
Nicki Andre	...	Lorenzi
Gladys Blake	...	Jeanne
Elvira Curci	...	Biancarolli's maid
Hans Herbert	...	Marcel
Kate Drain Lawson	...	Landlady (as Kate Lawson)
Miles Mander	...	Pleyel
Rosina Galli	...	Christine's maid
Walter O. Stahl	...	Doctor (as Walter Stahl)
Paul Marion	...	Desjardins
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Bartell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone	...	Officer (uncredited)
Renee Carson	...	Georgette (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lane Chandler	...	Officer (uncredited)
Edward Clark	...	Usher (uncredited)
Cyril Delevanti	...	Bookkeeper (uncredited)
William Desmond	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Ernest Golm	...	Office manager (uncredited)
Hank Mann	...	Stagehand (uncredited)
Anthony Marlowe	...	'Marta' singer (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Belle Mitchell	...	Feretti's maid (uncredited)
James Mitchell	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Beatrice Roberts	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Muni Seroff	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Johnny Walsh	...	Office boy (uncredited)
Tudor Williams	...	'Marta' singer (uncredited)
Marek Windheim	...	Renfrit (uncredited)

Directed by
Arthur Lubin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Samuel Hoffenstein		writer
Hans Jacoby		uncredited
John Jacoby		adaptation
Gaston Leroux		novel
Eric Taylor		writer

Produced by
George Waggner	....	producer

Original Music by
Edward Ward

Cinematography by
W. Howard Greene
Hal Mohr

Film Editing by
Russell F. Schoengarth		(as Russell Schoengarth)

Art Direction by
Alexander Golitzen
John B. Goodman

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman		(as R.A. Gausman)
Ira Webb		(as Ira S. Webb)

Costume Design by
Vera West

Makeup Department
Jack P. Pierce	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles S. Gould	....	assistant director (as Charles Gould)

Art Department
Nelson Eddy	....	sculptor: bronze statue of Christine DuBois

Sound Department
Bernard B. Brown	....	sound

Special Effects by
Tim Baar	....	special effects (as Tim Barr)

Music Department
Arthur Schutt	....	orchestrator
William Tyroler	....	choral direction
Edward Ward	....	musical director
Harold Zweifel	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Joan Hathaway	....	dialogue director
Lester Horton	....	opera sequences
Natalie Kalmus	....	color advisor: Technicolor
William von Wymetal	....	opera sequences

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1943) (USA) (theatrical)
• Realart Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Argentina Video Home (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Spain:13 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:G (cable rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #9388) | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Universal Studio originally planned to rewrite Phantom of the Opera as a comedy for the team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They also considered casting Lon Chaney Jr. as "The Phantom," a role made famous by his father, and actor Jon Hall as the romantic lead.

Goofs:

The climatic scene (Christina unmasking the "Phantom" as he is playing the piano) takes place in Claudin's underground lair in the sewers beneath the Paris Opera House. To get there they pass through tunnels, descend several stone staircases, and navigate a narrow ledge beside an underground "lake." So how the heck did Claudin manage to get a grand piano down there?

Quotes:

[Claudin is talking to Christine as they descend into the catacombs beneath the Opera]
Enrique Claudin: See? Didn't I tell you it was beautiful? You didn't know we had a lake all to ourselves, did you?
[Christine covers her face and sobs]
Enrique Claudin: They've poisoned your mind against me. That's why you're afraid. Look at your lake, Christine. You'll love it here when you get used to the dark. And you'll love the dark, too. It's friendly and peaceful. It brings rest and relief from pain. It's right under the Opera. The music comes down and the darkness distills it, cleanses it of the suffering that made it. Then it's all beauty. And life here is like a resurrection.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

MARTA

Horror may be muted...but the music is glorious...

Before writing a film article on Claude Rains for CLASSIC IMAGES (December 2000), I took another look at 'Phantom' to appraise his performance. He's one of those rare actors who can make you feel sympathy when he plays the ill-treated violinist so that you understand why he turns into 'The Phantom'. His performance is just one asset of this handsome technicolor adaptation of the famous story. Why carp about the changes made for this version? It stands on its own as an entertaining melodrama studded with operatic sequences that give it added dimension. Nelson Eddy has never been in better voice and Susanna Foster is certainly up to the demands of her singing role. The comic aspects of the story are a bit overdone and the only weakness of the film is giving Eddy and Edgar Barrier silly routines as they compete for the hand of Foster. Aside from that, this can still be enjoyed as a horror story set against the Paris Opera background. The sets are rich and detailed. Understandably, the film won Academy Awards for color cinematography and color art direction. Edward Ward's haunting score was also nominated and contributes greatly to the overall enjoyment of the film. The horror is muted in this version--but the rich musical highlights are a compensation. Absorbing entertainment.