#41 - Phantom of the Opera (1943)
(dir. Arthur Lubin)
After getting fired from the Paris Opera and having the manuscript for his concerto stolen from him, violinist Erique Claudin goes a little crazy and kills a man. He eludes the police and takes to living in the shadows of the sprawling operahouse, where he threatens the directors with violence if they don't allow his unrequited love, soprano Christine DuBois, to perform.
This story has been adapted to film, television, and just about every other form of media dozens of times, so I doubt there is anyone out there who isn't at least a little familiar with it. This is a pretty good version, and features a lot of really great music and lavish sets. Claude Rains is great as Erique/The Phantom, although his portrayal isn't as iconic as Lon Chaney's in the 1925 version. It isn't real heavy on the horror elements, but it definitely has its moments.
If you are looking for a Universal horror classic, you could do worse, but this isn't quite up there with Frankenstein, Dracula, etc. Still worth checking out, though.
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