The First Phantom in Color

The 1943 version of Phantom of the Opera was the second Technicolor film Universal made, and they did the best work they could do with a color camera... unfortunately that's one of the very few good parts in the movie.

This time it was Claude Rains' turn to be the Phantom since he had skill for monster movies (The Invisible Man from 1932). He would be directed by Arthur Lubin, a glorious director who did sixty-two movies (everything from John Wayne to Abbot and Costello) until his death in 1995 in the age of ninty-seven. Though the plot and story were the same as before the monster was appreciably different than in the 1925 Lon Chaney version (for example). It was undeniably a totally new kind of Phantom.

A violin player in the Paris Opera House named Erik Claudin (Rains) has finally completed writing his opera. There is a misconception when he tries to sell his opera and he gets the wrong idea it's being stolen from him. Now Claude Rains gives us a sparkling performance when Claudin (somewhat) loses his mind and starts to make trouble. As self-defence by a woman he gets acid thrown on his face, and disappears.

Claudin is now "a phantom" who haunts the opera, which is not very chilling to see. Even Claude Rains isn't able to save the poorly written role of the phantom which quite often can make you chuckle or even laugh out loud, the only mystique (which is very important for the character) comes from Rains and that's not enough all the time. But that's not all, there is another major inferiority in the film: the opera sequences, over-lengthed and dull.

Nelson Eddy and Edgar Barrier (a well-known radio actor) give a fine and funny performance as the men dueling for the girl of the movie (Susanna Foster) who also try to get their hands on the phantom who has also fallen in love with the girl. They're delightful to watch until the end part when the phantom steps in the spotlight and kidnaps the girl, that's where the last hint of it's mystique takes off.

My final thought is that maybe it simply works better as a silent flick to maintain the mystique (though Rains has a powerful and ravishing voice).