I am going to teach you to sing, Christine. I am going to give you a new voice -- a voice so wonderful that theatres all over the world will be filled with your admirers. You will be the greatest star the opera has ever known. And when you sing, Christine, you will be singing only for me.

-- Professor Petrie

You little fool! You think you can become a great singer without suffering? Do you think that I have not suffered?

-- Professor Petrie

Before I go, I implore you, let me finish one thing: let me teach you to use that wonderful voice that God has given you. Then you may never see me again, but you will never forget.

-- Professor Petrie

Well, one thing that can certainly be said about Herbert Lom's Phantom -- no one could accuse him of being overly romantic!

Claude Rains' Erique Claudin is soft spoken and treats the timid Christine with the ultimate gentleness and consideration. Lon Chaney's Erik boils with an undercurrent of tragic rage and passionate jealousy at Christine's infidelity. Herbert Lom's Professor Petrie stalks around the screen and physically assaults Christine when her singing falls below par.

This movie definitely succeeds in terms of a Hammer Films' Horror Classic. We have the passive heroine, the dashing hero, the dastardly villian, the menacing monster -- and even a misshapen dwarf thrown in for good measure. In short we have an assortment of two-dimensional males scheming, plotting and/or protecting the hapless and innocent ingenue. What this movie sadly lacks is love.

While I love the style of this movie (being an avid Hammer Horror fan, I can't get enough of the scenery chewing and the "chilling" moments) I can't help but feel that an opportunity was wasted to explore the Phantom myth in a more robust and lavish way. The romance of the story seems to be essentially thrown out the window! If Professor Petrie is in love with anything, it is Christine's voice -- and until the film's final sequence he seems to treat the woman who owns that voice with callous disregard.

Professor Petrie becomes the Phantom of the Opera when he is hideously disfigured in an accident while trying to prevent his lifetime's worth of music from being published under another man's name. This poor Phantom not only has his face burned in a fire, but mistakenly attempts to douse the flames with a bucket of what appears to be water but is really etching acid! By some unexplainable twist, what is left of his skin turns a nasty grey color. He is truly not a pretty sight.

Nearly drowning in a disgusting murky river after making his escape from the police, he is rescued and presumably nursed back to health by a mysterious dwarf who becomes his faithful servant, partner in crime, and all-around lackey. The constant presence of this intimidating sidekick effectively destroys any inkling of sexual or romantic tension between Petrie and Christine, since he remains present at all times after he fetches Christine down to the cellars (might I mention, not only does Petrie not bother to bring Christine himself, but no boat of any sort is used -- Petrie's companion simply drags her senseless body through the filthy river, drenching both her dress and her hair in a careless fashion).

If this isn't enough to ruin any hope at achieving a mood, any romantics in the audience will be further distraught by the physical violence and aggression shown by Petrie towards Christine. After forcing her to sing until she begs for reprieve, he slaps her furiously across the face and breast when she can maintain her voice no longer. Consumed by exhaustion, Christine finally faints, at which point Petrie revives her by tossing a cupful of muddy water into her face.

Somehow this nasty fellow hardly seems to resemble the Erik of Leroux! Certainly Petrie displays passion -- but it is strictly passion for music, passion for control, passion for creation -- not passion for the love of a woman.

Without this passion, Petrie's final sacrifice, throwing himself under the accidentally falling chandelier in order to knock Christine to safety seems less of an act committed to save the life of a beloved woman than an act committed to prevent a precious musical instrument from being crushed.

In terms of a good sixties horror romp, Phantom of the Opera entertains. In terms of a good Hammer Film, it is certainly acceptable, but fails to live up to the standards set by the best installments in their Dracula series ("Horror of Dracula", "Brides of Dracula" etc...) In terms of a good Phantom film ... wait till it airs on a local station sometime after midnight and then just set your VCR. You probably aren't missing too terribly much unless you are a Hammer Films afficianado.

--robyn

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