Erique Claudin is a talented, but slightly crazed violinist and composer who is the victim of bad luck. After getting fired from his job, he approaches a music publisher with his amazing concerto, but is shocked to discover that the publisher has stolen his music. Left disfigured by the physical struggle, Erique is wanted for murder and flees to the Paris Opera Theatre where he devotes his time to forwarding the career of the beautiful and talented Christine, whom he has loved for years.
Based on the classic story by Gaston Leroux, this version of The Phantom of the Opera is more of a romantic and comical retelling rather than one of horror and suspense. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved this movie, I just disagree with the blurb on the back that claims that it’s a “classic retelling of the immortal horror” of the book. I am aware that this was made in the 40s and therefore, is a little dated as far as horror films are concerned in this day and age, but seriously, I found this movie much more a tragic romance rather than a horror.
Erique Claudin is a talented, but slightly crazed violinist and composer who is the victim of bad luck. After getting fired from his position at the Paris Opera Theatre, he goes to a music publisher to try and get his amazing concerto published. When the publisher refuses to see him, he forces entry and is shocked to discover that the publisher has stolen his masterpiece. After murdering the publisher and being left hideously disfigured by the struggle, Erique becomes a wanted criminal for murder and takes refuge in the undergrounds below the Opera Theatre. Whilst there, he devotes all his time to forwarding the musical career of the beautiful and talented Christine, whom he has loved for years, getting rid of everyone who stands in her way.
It has to be said that the most powerful elements in this film were the music and…. the music. I cannot stress how utterly theatrical and grandiose and atmospheric the soundtrack to this movie was! For the first half of the film where terrible things befall Erique, his performance combined with the melancholy music almost made tears spring to my eyes. Without a doubt it was the most powerful element in the movie, and I have to say that the constant presence of opera worked in this movie in almost the same way that ballet worked for An American In Paris. Fantastic.
Claude Raines stars as Erique Claudin and he was just lovely. I was all for him in the first half of the movie, but when he finally becomes the phantom and offers himself to Christine, I got the feeling that he didn’t really know how to act. He seemed to struggle with possessively crazed, and please do keep in mind that I cannot compare his performance to those of modern actors. Nevertheless, aside from the climactic scenes towards the end, Claude delivered a performance that was adorable, gentle, and very trying and eager to please. He was a very melancholy character, and my heart just went out to him.
Starring Nelson Eddy and Edgar Barrier who, together, provided the film with most of the comic relief, and Susanna Foster who was just gorgeous, The Phantom of the Opera was a lovely film that was filled with mild suspense, murder, comedy, drama, and romance. It really was a lovely demonstration of theatre, opera, and music. Just lovely.
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