Phantom of the Opera

Phantom of the Opera

1943. USA. Directed by Arthur Lubin. Screenplay by Samuel Hoffenstein, Eric Taylor and Hans Jacoby (uncredited). With Claude Rains, Susanna Foster, Nelson Eddy. Gaston Leroux’s horror-driven romantic fantasy has been adapted to film in various guises a dozen times since it first appeared in 1909. Universal’s lavish Technicolor remake, with its largely rewritten plot and super-villain Phantom, aimed to dazzle war-weary audiences in 1943. The French three-sheet poster, with its high-flying madman and the deliriously high-angled image of a massive falling chandelier, is as stirring today as the film itself. 92 min.