Phantom of the Opera

Second cinematic adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel “The Phantom of the Opera”, Arthur Lubin’s film represents one of the weakest and least successful of Universal Pictures’ classic “monster movies”.

The horror component is little more than a footnote, and the so-called Phantom turns out to be a rather blah and forgettable “monster”, despite the professional performance of the great actor Claude Rains (he’ll make a comeback a few years down the road with a salvo of noir masterpieces such as “Notorious” and “Deception”, both released in 1946). Nor has time been kind to the film, which today looks both oppressive and off-putting.

The film’s themes are buried in a plodding, theatrical-style direction, smothered by Edward Ward’s unwieldy soundtrack, and overshadowed by its grandiose set design dripping with so much flamboyant opulence that it conveys a Baroque flavor that’s pedantic and overpowering in equal measure. In that context, the comic interludes between Christine’s two suitors are definitely out of place.

Not counting the unrivaled 1925 silent version directed by Rupert Julian, we’ll need to wait for Brian De Palma with his brilliant “Phantom of the Paradise” (1974) to see some new life injected into a story that, considering the long string of lackluster film adaptations it’s inspired, seems genetically ill-suited to the big screen.