This is a reasonably pleasant remake of "Phantom of the Opera", but that is all. It's not exactly a remake, but more of a re-working of the story, as it bears less semblance to Gaston Laroux's novel than the original film--especially since all the back story they give about how the phantom came to be has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the original story. It's interesting but pays little respect to the source material.
The movie is filmed in lovely 1940s Technicolor--not the most realistic, but bright and enchanting nonetheless. But color is NOT the biggest difference between this and the old Lon Chaney film. This new version has a huge emphasis on singing--with lots and lots and lots of music that will enchant opera fans and bore everyone else to death. I really hated the glossy production numbers--they were sumptuous BUT also got in the way of the story. For much of the film, the Phantom seemed ancillary at best--and was more a chance for the studio to show off Nelson Eddy and his co-star.
As for the horror, it's so muted and uninteresting that I can scarcely call this a horror film! And, most disappointingly, when the big unmasking scene occurs, you see that the Phantom's face looks pretty nice--so why is the big idiot hiding it under a mask?! I saw nothing of the scary Lon Chaney in this silly Phantom!! I am a devout classic horror fan and really could have cared less about the film--and I felt frustrated that the film just wasn't scary or suspenseful--and that the Phantom really wasn't terribly important to the producers! To me, this film is like a cake from the average grocery store these days--it looks nice but tastes fake! By the way, although the original is by far the best, the early 1960s version by Hammer Films is greatly superior to this 1943 version. It ain't great, but IS still a horror film. Instead, the 1943 version seems too much like a glossier Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy film with another woman sitting in for Jeanette!!
The movie is filmed in lovely 1940s Technicolor--not the most realistic, but bright and enchanting nonetheless. But color is NOT the biggest difference between this and the old Lon Chaney film. This new version has a huge emphasis on singing--with lots and lots and lots of music that will enchant opera fans and bore everyone else to death. I really hated the glossy production numbers--they were sumptuous BUT also got in the way of the story. For much of the film, the Phantom seemed ancillary at best--and was more a chance for the studio to show off Nelson Eddy and his co-star.
As for the horror, it's so muted and uninteresting that I can scarcely call this a horror film! And, most disappointingly, when the big unmasking scene occurs, you see that the Phantom's face looks pretty nice--so why is the big idiot hiding it under a mask?! I saw nothing of the scary Lon Chaney in this silly Phantom!! I am a devout classic horror fan and really could have cared less about the film--and I felt frustrated that the film just wasn't scary or suspenseful--and that the Phantom really wasn't terribly important to the producers! To me, this film is like a cake from the average grocery store these days--it looks nice but tastes fake! By the way, although the original is by far the best, the early 1960s version by Hammer Films is greatly superior to this 1943 version. It ain't great, but IS still a horror film. Instead, the 1943 version seems too much like a glossier Jeanette MacDonald-Nelson Eddy film with another woman sitting in for Jeanette!!