But in terms of actual story interest, the film is only so-so. Directed by Universal workhorse Arthur Lubin, this version is truly eye-popping as only a 1940s Technicolor spectacular could be: the color is intensely brilliant, and Lubin makes the most of it by focusing most of his camera-time on the stage of the Paris Opera itself and splashing one operatic performance after another throughout the film. In this version Christine is not only adored by the Phantom she is also romantically pursued by two suitors who put aside their differences to protect her. The focus is on Paris Opera star Christine Dae, played by Susanna Foster. But it also shifts the focus of the story away from the title character, who is here really more of a supporting character than anything else. In many respects this version of PHANTOM anticipates the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical, for whereas the Chaney version presented the Phantom as a truly sinister entity, this adaptation presents the character as one more sinned against than sinning-an idea that would color almost every later adaptation, and Webber's most particularly so. And when it did, it was an eye-popping Technicolor extravaganza, all talking, all singing, and dancing. Although several proposals were considered (including one intended to feature Deanna Durbin, who despised the idea and derailed the project with a flat refusal), it wasn't until 1943 that a remake reached the screen. Lon Chaney's silent classic kept the basic elements of the novel intact-and proved one of the great box office hits of its day, a fact that prompted Universal Studios to contemplate a remake throughout most of the 1930s. Gaston Leroux's penny-dreadful novel was hardly the stuff of great literature, but it did manage to tap into the public consciousness with its gas-light-Gothic tale of a beautiful singer menaced by a horrific yet seductive serial killer lurking in the forgotten basement labyrinths of the Paris Opera.
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