By 1962, Hammer had already made movies around Dracula, Frankenstein and a werewolf, so it seems logical the next step would be to make their own The Phantom of the Opera. Like their takes on those other characters, they put their own spin on it, in what is a very satisfying take on this property which had been adapted for the screen at least twice before.
This time around Herbert Lom, in an appearance that splits the difference between the deeply ghoulish incarnation played by Lon Chaney and the dapper version played by Claude Rains. His performance has remarkable range for wearing a mask which nearly obscures his entire face. I have no idea how he managed to emote so much with only one eye.
The phantom is not some murderous maniac this time around. He is still the wronged composer hiding in the sewers under the opera house, planning his revenge against the man who stole his music. But all Lom has been doing is scary patrons and performers by whispering to him from behind the walls. He steals parts of the conductor’s sheet music. He’s not committing any of the murders we see, as those were done by the mysterious dwarf (Ian Wilson) who fished him out of the Thames, which he had jumped into after the fire which nearly killed him and which horribly scarred his face. It will later be revealed Lom has no idea who the dwarf is.
It isn’t really explained why Wilson commits the murders of which we’re aware. The first of them results in a visually stunning moment on the stage during the opera, as a hand descends through a backdrop from a couple of stories up, slicing through it as the corpse descends. When it reaches the bottom, the body of that stagehand swings through the opening it had left. The second murder really confused me, as I don’t see what Wilson gained from stabbing ratcatcher Patrick Troughton through an eye. Troughton, most famous for playing the second incarnation of Dr. Who, was an amiable enough guy, offering Edward de Souza and Heather Sears some of his choicest finds of the evening: “Fat. Like young puppies they are. I could let you have them both for a tuppence. They’d make a lovely pie.” Souza has a great out for this, claiming she and he are vegetarians. I like how he came up with a way to decline the offer without humiliating the man.
Souza is a producer of hit operas and Sears is the new star of his most recent production. She replaced Liane Aukin as the lead after she was scared off from a visit to her dressing room by Lom. That might not have been as scary as the very first frame where we see Aukin, as it is a jump cut to a close-up of her mouth as she loudly hits a high note with sinus-clearing clarity. It may be the first time I have ever encountered a jump scare that is just somebody singing. Also, it is telling Souza doesn’t believe her, which seems to be just like a man.
He is kinder to Sears, an inexperienced singer whom the opera’s composer, Michael Gough, is trying to seduce. Gough is also the man who has stolen Lom’s music. It was seeing Gough’s name on the sheet music being produced at a print shop which led to Lom committing arson. Lom may be disfigured from that, but Gough is the one who will cut off his nose to spite his face, eventually firing everybody from the opera. It is like DOGE struck the opera, and I can’t wait until nobody understands this reference.
With Sears no longer in the show, Gough isn’t aware she has been abducted by Lom. Something I found interesting is his only interest is in training her to be best singer the world has ever heard. I was even more surprised by Souza, once he tracks Lom down to his sewer lair, agreeing to the plan the phantom has made with Sears. And, true to his word, she appears on the stage for the climactic production of Saint Joan.
What we see of that production is astonishing, and one of the most solid presentations of opera I have seen on the screen. I was odd to see this in a horror movie, and I wondered what audiences of the time thought about it. Unfortunately, not many people saw it at the time, as this was nowhere near as popular as the studio’s takes on Dracula and Frankenstein.
An even bigger shame is this is a comparatively lavish production by the studio. Lom’s subterranean lair is especially interesting, as this elaborate studio creation looks to be made of real stone, through we know that can’t be the case.
This is a well-cast film. Souza is quite capable as the hero, though that is rarely the most interesting role in a Hammer film. Sears is likeable and believable enough, though cast in the largely equally undesirable role of the honest and good-hearted female lead. Really, the plum role of the villain is played with perfect snobbishness by Gough, relishing the opportunity to play the kind of character the audience loves to hate.
Even many of the minor roles are occupied by actors I always like seeing in films. There’s a barely recognizable Thorley Walters as the director of the opera house, giving a great deal of side-eye as Gough considers Sonya Cordeau for the lead after he fires Sears. Cordeau’s character’s talents do not…um, involve her singing. I was pleased to see Miriam Karlin as a charwoman, but found it odd she had also played one in at least one other film, Ladies Who Do. Michael Ripper, the actor who might be in the most Hammer productions, has a curiously brief cameo where he is wearing enough makeup to be nearly unrecognizable. It is like the studio was legally obligated to find a place for him.
Though the movie largely does little original, I was surprised by some odd minor aspects of it. At one point, Wilson uses a jury-rigged snorkel to sneak up on Souza in the waters of the sewer. I can’t imagine going under the surface of that water. I also inexplicably recalled The Snorkel, which is another Hammer film. I also was intrigued by a bit where Souza visits the printer where the fire happened, and the owner of the place pours out some acid right on the surface of a work table to demonstrate the destructive power of it.
The Phantom of the Opera is one of most favorite Hammer films. It doesn’t do anything spectacularly different, it just does what it does very well. The biggest surprise is something behind-the-scenes, and that is Aukin, barely in this movie, went on to a diverse and interesting career. She make more similarly brief appearance in various movies and shows, before moving on to writing and directing for television. In the 90’s, she would become a licensed psychotherapist. Too bad she couldn’t have provided that service for Lom’s character here.
Dir: Terence Fisher
Starring: Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, Edward de Souza, Michael Gough
Watched on Powerhouse/Indicator UK (region B) blu-ray box set Hammer Volume Six: Night Shadows