Phantom of the Opera (1943) on Netflix
Approved19431h 32mDramaHorrorMusic
Erique Claudin plays violin at the Paris Opera and has spent his savings on lessons for Christine Dubois. When his left hand fails, he takes a concerto he wrote to a publisher.
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Trailer
Plot summary
Christine Dubois sings at the Paris Opera House, where Inspector Raoul Dubert and the baritone Anatole Garron both court her. The conductor Villeneuve tells her that her voice has promise, but that she must decide between the stage and a normal life. Behind her career stands a secret patron: the violinist Erique Claudin, who has quietly paid for her lessons for years. When the fingers of his left hand fail him, the orchestra dismisses him after two decades, and, short of money, he carries a piano concerto he has written to the publisher Maurice Pleyel. Pleyel orders him out, and Claudin hears his concerto played in the office.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Under Henry Koster, the Phantom was to be Boris Karloff, with Allan Jones as Raoul and Deanna Durbin as Christine. Durbin refused the part, not wanting to be compared to Eddy's frequent partner Jeanette MacDonald; Gloria Jean was then rejected as too young at 16.
- When Arthur Lubin took over as director, he dropped Koster's plan to make the Phantom Christine's father, because it gave the romantic elements of their relationship incestuous overtones.
- Lon Chaney Jr., under contract to Universal, was reportedly unhappy that the studio never seriously considered him to play the role his father made famous, and he resented Claude Rains for his portrayal.
- Before producer George Waggner fired director Henry Koster, Koster had considered Cesar Romero, Feodor Chaliapin, Charles Laughton and Broderick Crawford for the Phantom, after Boris Karloff became unavailable.
- Phantom of the Opera was the first adaptation of the source material to be filmed entirely in Technicolor, and it was adapted even more freely than Universal's silent picture.
- Phantom of the Opera is the only classic Universal horror film to win an Oscar, taking the prizes for Art Direction and Cinematography.
- The film reused Universal's elaborate replica of the Opéra Garnier interior, which had originally been created for the 1925 film.
