But even with this talent involved, The Phantom of the Opera was poorly received in 1962 when it was released on a double bill with Captain Clegg, a period adventure picture about smugglers. Universal mounted a lavish color remake in 1943 with Claude Rains as the phantom, but the musical production numbers were pushed to the front, making for incredibly anemic horror.Īlmost twenty years later, the time was right for a new version, and Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera was perfect material for Hammer’s luxurious Gothic style, its seasoned horror director Terence Fisher, and an ideally cast Herbert Lom as the Phantom. Its unmasking scene is one of the first iconic horror movie images.
The first is the most famous version, the 1925 silent classic starring Lon Chaney Sr. Universal had twice adapted the 1910 Gaston Leroux novel. Once Britain’s Hammer Film Productions received full permission from Universal Pictures to raid their box of monster goodies, a Phantom of the Opera movie was a certainty. All Hammer Horror, All the Time! So let’s start off with one that’s … not so great.
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