Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writer:

Brian De Palma (written by)

Release Date:

31 October 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Music | Thriller

Tagline:

The music made him do it!

Plot:

A disfigured musician sells his soul for the woman he loves so that she will perform his music.

Plot Keywords:

Buried Alive | Stabbing | Rolls Royce | Strangulation | Timebomb

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

William Finley	...	Winslow / The Phantom
Paul Williams	...	Swan
Jessica Harper	...	Phoenix
Gerrit Graham	...	Beef
George Memmoli	...	Philbin
Archie Hahn	...	The Juicy Fruits / The Beach Bums / The Undeads
Jeffrey Comanor	...	The Juicy Fruits / The Beach Bums / The Undeads
Peter Elbling	...	The Juicy Fruits / The Beach Bums / The Undeads (as Harold Oblong)
Colin Cameron	...	Band
David Garland	...	Band
Gary Mallaber	...	Band
Art Munson	...	Band
Mary Margaret Amato	...	Swan's Entourage
Rand Bridges	...	Swan's Entourage
James Bohan	...	Swan's Entourage
Herb Pacheco	...	Assassin
Jennifer Ashley	...	Groupie
Janit Baldwin	...	Groupie
Janus Blythe	...	Groupie (as Janis Eve Lynn)
Katherine Mastellos	...	Groupie
Robin Mattson	...	Groupie
Patrice Rohmer	...	Groupie
Ruthy Ross	...	Groupie (as Ruthey Ross)
Cheryl Smith	...	Groupie
April Troy	...	Groupie
Walter Foster	...	Cop
Peter Harrell	...	Cop
Troy Haskins	...	Judge
Gene Gross	...	Warden
Henry Calvert	...	Nightwatchman
Ken Carpenter	...	Stagehand
Sam Forney	...	Stagehand
Leslie Brewer	...	Surfgirl
Celia Derr	...	Surfgirl
Linda Larimer	...	Surfgirl
Roseanne Romine	...	Surfgirl
Nydia Amagas	...	Dancer
Sara Ballantine	...	Dancer
Kristi Bird	...	Dancer
Cathy Buttner	...	Dancer
Linda Cox	...	Dancer
Jane DeFord	...	Dancer
Bibi Hansen	...	Dancer
Robin Jeep	...	Dancer
Deen Summers	...	Dancer
Judy Washington	...	Dancer
Susan Weiser	...	Dancer
Janet Savarino	...	Singing Twin
Jean Savarino	...	Singing Twin
Keith Allison	...	Country & Western Singer
Bobby Birkenfeld	...	Guy
Sandy Catton	...	Black Singers (as Sandy Catton & friends)
William Donovan	...	Reporter
Scott Edmund Lane	...	Reporter (as Scott Lane)
Dennis Olivieri	...	Reporter
Adam Wade	...	Reporter
Nancy Moses	...	Back-Up Singer
Diana Walden	...	Back-Up Singer
Sherri Adeline	...	Girl in Ticket Line
Carol O'Leary	...	Betty Lou
Marty Bongfeldt	...	Mini-bopper (as Marty Bongfeld)
Coleen Crudden	...	Mini-bopper
Bridgett Dunn	...	Mini-bopper
William Shephard	...	Rock Freak
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Angelyne	...	Auditioning Singer (uncredited)
Shelly Desai	...	Dental Health Volunteer #1 (uncredited)
Ray Kennedy	...	Beef (singing voice) (uncredited)
Rod Serling	...	Introductory Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Brian De Palma

Writing credits
Brian De Palma		(written by)

Produced by
Michael Arciaga	....	associate producer
Gustave M. Berne	....	executive producer (as Gustave Berne)
Jeffrey L. Hayes	....	associate producer (as Jeffrey Hayes)
Paul Lewis	....	associate producer
Edward R. Pressman	....	producer
Lynn Raymond	....	assistant producer
Bill Scott	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Paul Williams

Cinematography by
Larry Pizer		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Paul Hirsch

Casting by
Sylvia Fay
Gino Havens
Peggy Taylor

Production Design by
Jack Fisk

Costume Design by
Rosanna Norton

Makeup Department
John Chambers	....	makeup designer
Rolf Miller	....	makeup artist
Anna Sugano	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Gary Kent	....	unit manager
Thomas Lightburn	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael J. Dmytryk	....	assistant director (as Michael Dmytryk)
Robert Enrietto	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Michel Levesque	....	construction coordinator (as Michael Levesque)
Erik L. Nelson	....	property master (as Erik Nelson)
Sissy Spacek	....	set dresser
Brian Swain	....	construction coordinator

Sound Department
Harriet Fidlow	....	assistant sound editor (as Harriet Glickstein)
Al Gramaglia	....	sound mixer
Dan Sable	....	sound editor
David Schneiderman	....	boom operator
James M. Tanenbaum	....	sound (as James Tanenbaum)

Special Effects by
Greg Auer	....	special effects

Stunts
Andy Epper	....	stunt double: Winslow (as Andrew Epper)
James Gambino	....	stunt double: Swan
Jim Lovelett	....	stunt double: Winslow
Steven Richmond	....	stunt double: Swan

Camera and Electrical Department
John L. Black	....	grip (as John Black)
Terry Bowen	....	second assistant camera
Richard Cronn	....	best boy
Sean Doyle	....	assistant camera
Robert Elfstrom	....	special photography for wedding
Cary Griffith	....	grip
Tim Griffith	....	gaffer
Maurice Horton	....	electrician
Bruce Kaye	....	second assistant camera
Paul Marcus	....	electrician
Jack Palinkas	....	key grip
James Signorelli	....	special photography for wedding
Darryl Smith	....	electrician
Mike Taylor	....	grip
Ronnie Taylor	....	camera operator (as Ronald Taylor)
Philip Sloan	....	electrician: Dallas (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Peter Jamison	....	associate costume designer

Editorial Department
Paul Hirsch	....	montage

Music Department
Michael Arciaga	....	music supervisor
Jules Chaikin	....	music supervisor
John Fox	....	assistant music editor
Ed Norton	....	music editor
George Aliceson Tipton	....	composer: additional score
George Aliceson Tipton	....	conductor: additional scoring
Paul Williams	....	music producer

Other crew
Alexa Bodrero	....	assistant to director
Ken Carpenter	....	production assistant
Judith Cohen	....	production secretary
Adrian Cumming	....	production assistant
J. Daniel Dusek	....	production assistant (as Dan Dusek)
Peter Elbling	....	choreographer (as Harold Oblong)
Karen Gilbert	....	production assistant
Deborah Howe	....	assistant to producer
Cassandra Kaye	....	script supervisor
William Shephard	....	choreographer for wedding
Stanley Weiser	....	production assistant
Edward Summer	....	marketing consultant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Harbor Productions

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Fox-MGM Film (1975) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (199?) (Japan) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Abril Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (laserdisc)
• Capelight Pictures (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Key Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Oregon Filmes (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• A&M Records  original soundtrack available on
• Centaur Music Productions  electronic music synthesizer furnished by (as Centaur Music Productions Inc. at The Record Plant)
• Filmusic  music supervision
• Magno Sound  sound mixing
• Optical House, The  opticals
• Soundlabs  music recorded at (as Soundlabs, Hollywood)

Also Known As:

Phantom (USA) (working title)
Phantom of the Fillmore (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Movielab)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Iceland:14 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1996) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Harbor Productions

Trivia:

At the airport when Beef is introduced, the "Death Records" logo on the podium was superimposed over the original logo for "Swan Song" records to avoid conflict with Led Zeppelin's record label, which had sued. Although the film's producers were certain they would win due to the fact that the phrase was common long before, they decided to make the change in order to get the film finished quickly rather than go through a prolonged court fight.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): In the bathtub, Swan mentions that Saturday, November 19, 1953, was the day he wanted to commit suicide. 19 November 1953 was on a Thursday.

Quotes:

Winslow Leach: Dream it never ends.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Watching the Detectives (2007)

Soundtrack:

The Phantom's Theme

Salutations from the other side!

I am bewildered that viewers today think this film is a rip off or they don't see that it is a comedy....in fact I think it is easily as much a cult comedy as ROCKY HORROR, albeit unappreciated and undiscovered. Dismissed in its day it ended up as a double feature with Rocky Horror and then played endlessly across Australia in the 1970s. It is a very funny film and anyone with a sense of humor can see that it is as silly as it is scary. The cinema in Sydney where it opened in 1974 was the 2200 seat Regent and looked just like the theater in the film. The film was forgotten the theater demolished and now everyone moans. .....yeesh.PHANTOM is great fun and has hilarious songs and satire. Just enjoy it. PHANTOM was filmed in the Majestic Theater in San Antonio Texas, and is famed Architect John Eberson's first 'atmospheric' theater with stars and sky as a ceiling.