This 51-minute retrospective documentary covers a lot of interesting and informative ground on several film adaptations of Gaston Leroux's classic novel "The Phantom of the Opera." Scott McQueen makes for an extremely erudite and enthusiastic host. Susanna Foster relates a few engaging anecdotes about playing the female lead at age 17 in the 1943 musical version. Carla Laemmle likewise shares several charming stories about playing a ballerina in the 1925 Lon Chaney silent version. Claude Rains's daughter Jessica is also on hand to talk about her dad. Among the things covered in this documentary are that the book was first published in 1910, the 1925 version had to be reshot and recut, some especially intriguing stuff about the 1930 sound take on the popular story, Broderick Crawford was considered to play the phantom in the '43 version, and Cary Grant expressed interest in portraying the phantom in the Hammer version. Well worth a watch.
The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
(2000 Video)
A nifty and illuminating documentary
21 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers