![]() ![]() Given the name Erique Claudin, he is first seen as an aging violinist at the Paris Opera, who tries to publish his magnum opus of a concerto after losing his job. ![]() Unlike the novel and 1925 film, we meet the Phantom’s true self early in the film. Writers Eric Taylor, Samuel Hoffenstien, and Hans Jacoby (credited as John Jacoby), took creative liberties to create their own history for the Phantom. It is hinted that he learned his trade of devious deception in the heart for Persia, and little is known of his treacherous childhood apart from the torment he faced because of his natural deformity. Traditionally, the Phantom’s backstory is a source of mystery, except for his name Erik. But 1943 marks the beginning of a change for the Phantom, and several re-tellings afterwards. There have been countless adaptations of this story, and the 1925 version continues to be one of the more faithful. His rage is sparked upon learning his obsession loves another, and the remaining events are nothing short of tragic. The Phantom hides a severe deformity beneath the mask he wears, thus the reason he has abandoned the world to become a vengeful ghost. Like most adaptations of Gaston Leroux’s classic novel, The Phantom of the Opera revolves around a mysterious, caped figure that lurks in the shadows of the Paris Opera House, and fawns over a beautiful soprano named Christine. To find what inspired such changes, one must take a look at the film itself and the history surrounding it. Nevertheless, it is clear that director Arthur Lubin’s take on the tale of murder and music is a far departure from Carl Laemmle’s production of 1925. Others think the movie pales in comparison to the one who haunted Stage 28 before it. Some find the Phantom’s first venture into technicolor to be a classic, worthy of its place amongst the Universal Monsters’ Rogues Gallery. Story elements and characters were added, shifted, or removed altogether. Such excursion had been taken already by Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin however, the remake is an unconventional follow-up to what many consider to be the true beginning of horror cinema. It was not the studio’s first journey into the depths of the Paris Opera house. August 12th marks the 76th anniversary of Universal’s The Phantom of the Opera, starring the incomparable Claude Rains and Susanna Foster.
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