Inspired by the films, no doubt, but as the years wore on the tale of the Phantom started to move away from the Paris Opera house. This was one of the first American takes on the story that changed the setting, but the overall theme is similar.
It's 1974 and Worldwide Studios (MGM with a different name) has seen better days. Once, they were the crown jewel that was Hollywood, shooting some of the biggest films in the world with the biggest stars in the world.
Today? Oh, they're still around, but the massive backlot has been left to rot. Everything's done on location nowadays, don't you know. So the studio heads have decided to bulldoze the whole Backlot#2 and sell the land off to real estate developers for a fast buck.
In the meantime, the backlot has been slowly falling apart on its own. Two thugs break in and start breaking stuff. Their actions aren't going unnoticed, however, and a fellow dressed as a medieval executioner expresses his displeasure with their actions via a mace to their skulls.
Randy (Skye Aubrey) works for her father Roger (Peter Lawford), one of the bigwigs behind the deal. They've been getting threating letters about the upcoming sale, but they brush them off. Randy's more concerned with her boyfriend Ray (Peter Haskell) and his goings on.
With the two thugs dead, the police start looking into the backlot. Otto (Jack Cassidy) is one of the studio employees. He's been there since the studio was built. He's also wearing the exact same ring as the Phantom. Is he connected?
The sale is going through despite the body count rising. The studio heads decide to hold a costume ball to celebrate the studio's history. Otto is there too, and he chats up the masked fellow we saw earlier. He threatens to report him to the police before wandering off. The Phantom doesn't take that very well. He waits until Otto is under a giant float before cutting the wires, sending the float crashing to the ground, crushing Otto. Fleeing the police, the Phantom runs into Randy in one of the sound stages. She passes out and wakes up in the Phantom's lair.
The Phantom plans to ransom her back to the studio in exchange for the backlot being left alone, and it's here we learn the story of this Phantom. He used to be Karl Vonner (Jack Kassidy), one of the up and coming stars at the studio back in it's heyday. During a production of a Three Musketeers epic, Karl rushed up the castle wall too quickly and got a flashpod going off in his face for his troubles. He's stayed at the studio ever since.
Ray rescues Randy and we have a showdown between the police and the Phantom.
Not terrible, although the ending does ask us to believe a sixty plus year old man can either sprint across a backlot or teleport. The leads are bland, but the setting and costumes make it work.
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