Review of The Phantom of Paris (1931) by Christopher B — 06 Apr 2018

Interesting take on love gone wrong - with the father of the bride dictating from the grave. This is a rather shallow treatment of what could have been an interesting film, but that would have required an insightful director for a B-movie. This could also be considered an proto-film noir with all the dark sets and the hero running from the police to clear his name. The banter just isn't dark & witty enough for that though.

Gilbert and the other actors all hit their marks, but go through the paces like this is a silent film. A shame as there was quite a bit of flesh, gore, & violence that could have been portrayed in this pre-Hayes film.