Review of The Phantom of the Opera (1962) by Carlos I — 06 Feb 2015

From Hammer Films, and directed by Hammer veteran Terence Fisher, (The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958)), this one came about after Hammer joined forces with Universal Pictures, who owned the screen rights to Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera.

With Hammer's reputation as a successful horror studio on the rise, this was a great project for them, and it shows. Set in Victorian London in 1900 at the London Opera House, a new opera by the pompous Lord Ambrose D'Arcy (Michael Gough) is plagued by incidents at the hands of an alleged Phantom.

This puts D'Arcy at loggerheads with opera house manager Lattimer (Thorley Walters). Meanwhile, chorus girl Christine Charles (Heather Sears) hears voices, something opera producer Harry Hunter (Edward de Souza) reassures her over.

When more accidents occur, D'Arcy resigns as does the shows star Maria (Liane Aukin). Then, Christine comes into contact with the Phantom (Herbert Lom), who explains why he sabotages the opera, and the vendetta he has against D'Arcy.

This is a very lavish film, and the production, including the opera scenes are very well staged. However, it was a troubled production, which went over budget and even Fisher fell out of favour with Hammer for a few years, which is a shame, as it's actually a good one.