The Phantom of the
Opera (1943), dir. Arthur Lubin, Universal Pictures
And tonight we present the only Universal Horror film to
shot in color and the second version of their first monster. As far as remakes
go, this one isn’t quite as held in the same regard as the first for various
reasons. Honestly, as far as remakes go, this is almost a primer on how not to
remake a story.
This version of Gaston Leroux’s tale focuses on opera
violinist Enrique Claudin (Claude Rains). Enrique is in serious trouble. For
the past decade or so he has earned his living playing violin at the Paris
Opera House, but he is now so aged that he can no longer play anything but the
simplest melodies. The manager is kind
about it, and even gives Enrique a permanent pass to the opera, but Enrique is
in deeper trouble than he lets on. His reason: He is totally broke.
How, you may ask? When he wasn’t buying the basic
necessities of life, Enrique was spending every bit of coinage he made on
signing lessons for an up and coming singer named Christine Dubois (Susanna
Foster). The payments were so secret that no one, not even Enrique’s closest
friends, knew about it. His exact reasons are a bit muddled, but we’ll get to
those later.
Enrique has an ace in his sleeve though, as he has just
finished writing a concerto that he is sure will be a smash hit. Submitting it
to the publishing house run by Maurice Pleyel (Miles Mander), Enrique has been
waiting for some time for a response, but Pleyel brushes him off. When Enrique
overhears none other than his music being played in the next room and being
praised by famed critic Franz Liszt (Fritz Leiber), Enrique jumps to the idea
that Pleyel is trying to steal his work. Straggling the older man when his
assistant enters with a tray of engraving acid, Enrique is left disfigured and
a murder.
Christine, meanwhile, is still unaware of his patron’s
identity and is torn between two suitors. Inspector Raoul D’Aubert (Edgar
Barrier) wishes her to quit this singing nonsense and become a policeman’s
wife. Singer Anatole Garron (Nelson Eddy) wishes to her stay in the opera. This
drama takes up much of the screen time.
As in other version of the tale, Christine is also having
problems proving herself to the audience or management, as reigning diva
Biancarolli (Jane Foster) is the headliner at the Opera House and she isn’t
inclined to let anyone take her spotlight.
Enrique, now dubbed the Phantom, plans to change all of that.
Using a glass of drugged wine, he manages to get Christine to take over the
leading part of the next performance. Both Raoul and Anatole are interested in
protecting Christine, however, and they both try a plan to catch the Phantom.
They succeed in getting her kidnapped and the chandelier dropped on a packed
house.
The Phantom takes her to his underground lair, although here
it seems smaller and less grandiose than the silent version. Raoul and Anatole
rush to Christine and confront the Phantom. Which man does she end up with?
Does it matter? In the deleted scenes, we learn why the
Phantom is so obsessed with an opera singer, namely she’s his daughter that he
gave up years ago. The singing lessons were an attempt to improve her life. Why
they felt the need to cut that, I’ve no idea. Also, Lon Chaney’s Phantom was a
ghoulish sort, who had lived inside the Opera House for years, to the point
where the singers and stagehands had built him up into a mythical boogeyman.
Here? Enrique has barely been the Phantom for a few days, possibly weeks. There
is no sense of time passing.
The added love triangle also adds nothing to the drama. The
music, which is expected since it is taking place in an opera house, also drags
the film to a total stop so everyone can listen to the music. Remakes should
keep what works and disregard what doesn’t; this removes the menace of Chaney’s
Erik and replaces it with a Phantom is more of a low rent Batman villain.
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