The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Phantom of the Opera | |
|---|---|
 The Phantom of the Opera movie poster |
|
| Directed by | Terence Fisher |
| Produced by | Anthony Hinds Basil Keys |
| Written by | Novel: Gaston Leroux Screenplay: Anthony Hinds |
| Starring | Herbert Lom Heather Sears Edward de Souza Michael Gough |
| Music by | Edwin Astley |
| Distributed by | Hammer Film Productions |
| Release date(s) | June 25, 1962 |
| Running time | 84 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Phantom of the Opera was a lavish 1962 film produced by Hammer Film Productions and directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, Edward de Souza and Michael Gough. The screenplay was written by Anthony Hinds. The original music score was composed by Edwin Astley. The movie is marketed with the tagline "He hid behind a face that was not his - until her beauty stripped away his curtain of evil... his mask of horror!"
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
In this version of the story, set in Victorian London, Professor L. Petrie (played by Lom) is the Phantom, a penniless unpublished composer who is stolen from and wronged by the dastardly Lord Ambrose D'Arcy (Michael Gough) who claims Petrie's opera as his own work. Petrie is then disfigured by nitric acid in an attempt to destroy printing plates and disappears. Christine Charles (Heather Sears) is a young opera singer being secretly trained by Petrie and her charming and brave but ineffectual beau, Harry Hunter (Edward de Souza), is the producer of the opera. There is also an evil dwarf assistant to the Phantom who does most of the "dirty work" and hides Petrie in the sewer beneath the opera house. After avenging himself on D'Arcy, the Phantom makes Christine a star in his lavish opera based on Joan of Arc. At the film's conclusion, the Phantom is crushed to death by the falling chandelier as he attempts to save Christine.
[edit] Trivia
- The romantic lead (Harry Hunter) was written for Cary Grant, who had expressed his interest in doing a Hammer horror film. At the time it was common for American actors to be imported as guest stars in British films. He was not, as is often supposed, slated to play the Phantom himself. (This is the version reported by producer Anthony Hinds in Wayne Kinsey's Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years)
- Scotland Yard police inspectors (played by Liam Redmond and John Maddison) looking for the Phantom were part of additional footage filmed for the American TV showing. Hammer had nothing to do with it. Kiss of the Vampire (retitled Kiss of Evil) and The Evil of Frankenstein also had American-shot footage added to their television showings as well. This was a common practice when it was thought that parts of the film were too "intense". These scenes were edited out and more acceptable scenes replaced them or extended the running time.
- The cult film Phantom of the Paradise largely draws its plot from this version of the famous story.[citation needed]
[edit] Cast
- Herbert Lom (The Phantom/Professor Petrie)
- Heather Sears (Christine Charles)
- Thorley Walters (Lattimer)
- Michael Gough (Ambrose D'Arcy)
- Edward de Souza (Harry Hunter)
- Miles Malleson (2nd cabby)
- Marne Maitland (Xavier)
- Martin Miller (Rossi)
- Miriam Karlin (Charwoman)
- Harold Goodwin (Bill)
- John Harvey (Sergeant Vickers)
- Liane Aukin (Maria)
- Sonya Cordeau (Yvonne)
- Patrick Troughton (Ratcatcher)
- Renee Houston (Mrs. Tucker)
- Keith Pyott (Weaver)
- Michael Ripper (1st cabby)
- Ian Wilson (The dwarf)
[edit] Credits
- Directed by Terence Fisher
- Screenplay by John Elder (Anthony Hinds), from the composition by Gaston Leroux
- Produced by Anthony Hinds
- Associate producer: Basil Keys
- Production design by Bernard Robinson
- Director of photography: Arthur Grant, B.S.C.
- Music by Edwin Astley
- Opera scenes staged by Dennis Maunder
- Supervising editor: James Needs
- Make-up by Roy Ashton
[edit] References
Kinsey, Wayne A., Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years, (Reynolds & Hearn, 2002)
[edit] External links
- The Phantom of the Opera (1962) at the Internet Movie Database
- The Phantom of the Opera (1962) at All Movie Guide
- Phantom of the Opera Review
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) • The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) • The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) • The Phantom of the Opera (1962) • The Kiss of the Vampire (1962) • The Devil-Ship Pirates (1963) • The Gorgon (1964) • Rasputin, the Mad Monk (1966) • The Plague of the Zombies (1966) • The Reptile (1966) • The Witches (1966) • The Devil Rides Out (1967) • Hands of the Ripper (1971) • Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) • Countess Dracula (1971) • Vampire Circus (1972) • To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
