History Film / ThePhantomOfTheOpera1962

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The sewers inhabited by the Phantom beneath the opera house appear as a massive underground cavern. How he managed to furnish it with a giant organ, a bed, and a table and chairs is anyone's guess... though there's certainly enough ''room'' for it all down there.

-->"[at a snide comment from the opera conductor] ''What'' did you ''say?'' [the orchestra keeps playing] ''STOP IT!'' '''''STOP IT I SAY!!!''''' You're ''dismissed''."

-->"You little fool! You think you can become a great singer without suffering?"

* EekAMouse: Even though she isn't showing any fear, Hunter picks up Christine anticipating this reaction and places her on top of a crate when they see escaped rats from rat catcher's ba

* EekAMouse: Even though she isn't showing any fear, Hunter picks up Christine anticipating this reaction and places her on top of a crate when they see escaped rats from rat catcher's bag scurrying about.
* EyeScream: Petrie's assistant kills the rat catcher by stabbing him in the eye with a knife. There's also the fact that one of Petrie's own eyes is missing, presumably because the acid that disfigured his face melted it away.
* FacialHorror: Thanks to the acid that splashed on Petrie's face, [[TwoFaced half of it]] has died.
* {{Fainting}}: When Christine comes face to face with The Phantom the first time, she screams and faints on the spot. She also does this when the dwarf appears at her window, remaining unconscious while he abducts her and carries her down to the Phantom's lair.
* FallingChandelierOfDoom: Naturally there is one, but surprisingly it does not fall at the Phantom's hands. He saves Christine from it, [[spoiler:sacrificing his life in the process]].
* FlatCharacter: The dwarf, who exists solely to commit gratuitous murders for their shock value. He [[TheSpeechless cannot speak]] and seems not to be able to effectively communicate in ''any'' way, and no details about the character's personality are ever revealed, except for the fact that he's AxCrazy. The Phantom himself has no clue to the guy's identity or what his deal is, but feels no need to question things since the latter saved his life and befriended him.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the beginning of the film, Harry questions how Lord d'Arcy could suddenly start writing great pieces of music when he is known to lack musical taste. This hints to it having been [[PlagiarismInFiction plagiarised]], as it is eventually [[TheReveal revealed to be]].
* GrannyClassic: Mrs. Tucker, Christine's kindly landlady who acts motherly toward her.
* TheGrotesque: Professor Petrie is easily one of the scariest-''looking'' film Phantoms (even when masked), but he means no harm and his story is absolutely heartbreaking.
* HateSink: Two examples:
** Anyone who watches this movie will undoubtedly end up loathing Lord Ambrose d'Arcy, a lecher and plagiarist who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Frustratingly and inexplicably for a character set up to be the target of such audience hatred, he ends up being a KarmaHoudini.
** The mute dwarf is a bizarre character whose sole purpose for existing in the film seems to be to commit the acts of violence and murder so that the Phantom remains a blameless, sympathetic figure. The aforementioned killings are done merely for their shock value and have no real relevance to the plot. As the story mainly focuses on the investigation into the mystery of a sabotaged opera production which ultimately reveals the "monster" to be entirely benevolent and misunderstood, the need was apparently felt to remind the audience that yes, this is ''supposed'' to be a horror movie.
* HeroicSacrifice: Petrie sees that [[FallingChandelierOfDoom the chandelier is about to fall]] and pushes Christine out of its way, getting crushed by it himself.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Petrie entrusting the publication of his music to Lord d'Arcy, apparently never suspecting (in spite of how dismissive and rude d'Arcy was) that he might not be on the up and up.
* IDontPayYouToThink: d'Arcy says as much to the opera's conductor, Rossi.
-->'''d'Arcy:''' When I require any help from you, I shall ask for it.
-->'''Rossi:''' Then you had better ask for it now because you most certainly ''need'' it.
* TheIgor: The Phantom's hunchbacked dwarf assistant is essentially an {{Expy}} of the TropeNamer.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: The opera manager, Lattimer, needs a brandy after he finally musters the courage to stand up to d'Arcy.
* ImportationExpansion: For television airings in the United States, Universal added several new scenes to extend the film's runtime. These involved two Scotland Yard inspectors, played by Liam Redmond and John Maddison, doing an investigation of the strange goings-on at the opera house. Hammer had no input in the making of these scenes.
* InNameOnly: Though this film features a disfigured, masked musician living beneath an opera house and the heroine's name is Christine, that's really where the similarities to Gaston Leroux's novel end. The story takes place in London rather than Paris, the Phantom and Christine don't seem to have any sort of romantic feelings for one another, the subject of the Phantom's opera is UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc instead of Literature/DonJuan, and he started out as a normal-looking man before his face was scarred by acid. There's also the curious addition of the mute dwarf character, whose sole purpose for existence seems to be to commit the obligatory murders so this Phantom remains blameless and totally sympathetic.
* ItsAllAboutMe: This is the attitude Ambrose d'Arcy has. He cares for no one's feelings but his own, and takes credit for Petrie's music because of the adoration he receives from those who think he wrote it.
* {{Jerkass}}: Lord Ambrose d'Arcy, ''big time''. He is a nasty piece of work who can get away with his horrible behaviour due to [[AristocratsAreEvil his wealth and status]].
* KarmaHoudini: Ambrose d'Arcy never pays for his crimes. What little comeuppance (if it can be called that) he gets is a fright upon seeing Petrie's disfigured face.
* TheKindnapper: The Phantom has his dwarf assistant abduct Christine so he can give her voice lessons to improve her performance in the lead role of his opera.
* LackOfEmpathy: Lord Ambrose d'Arcy doesn't care who he hurts to achieve his own ends.
* LargeHam: Petrie has a tendency to be overly dramatic.
-->"You will be the greatest star the opera has ever known. '''[[SuddenlyShouting GREATER THAN]] [[MilkingTheGiantCow THE GREATEST!!!]]'''"
* LastNameBasis: Professor Petrie's full name is never revealed, which is odd considering he is the main character. The only hint as to his first name is given when the manuscript for a symphony he wrote is shown. On it he is credited as L. Petrie, which dispels any assumption that his name is Erik like in the book the film is based on.
* LighterAndSofter: Contrary to the other adaptations, only two people die in the movie, and neither by Phantom's hands.
* LoveTriangle: Averted. The Phantom shows no romantic interest in Christine whatsoever, which is highly unusual for an adaptation of this story. Thus there is no rivalry between he and the Raoul {{Expy}}, Harry, for her affections. His only goal is to teach her to sing so she can properly perform the lead role in his opera.
* MadArtist: Only thing that Petrie cares about now is his music getting released.
* NeverFoundTheBody: When Petrie fled the printers after his face was burned by acid, he jumped into the river. The policeman who witnessed what happened was certain Petrie then died as the current was so fast, and never bothered to have the river dragged for his body.
* NiceGuy: The Phantom. Yes, in this adaptation he is entirely a good person, a pitiful victim of someone else's cruel actions who only wants to vocally train Christine so she can reach her full potential as a singer. He's not even the one who does the killings in the film. Harry Hunter also qualifies, as he is shown to be a kind and noble man who shields Christine from d'Arcy's lecherous advances (even before being romantically involved with her) and shows sympathy for the Phantom's plight.
* NotEvilJustMisunderstood: The Phantom, who is really just a victim of [[AristocratsAreEvil Lord]] [[{{Slimeball}} Ambrose]] [[ItsAllAboutMe D'Arcy]]'s cruelty. He himself never harms anyone and has Christine's best interests at heart.
* OhCrap: In the flashback, Petrie when he realises that d'Arcy is ''intentionally'' taking credit for his music.
* PeekABooCorpse: Petrie's assistant sabotages Carlotta's performance by ripping a piece of scenery and letting a hanged corpse appear to terrify everyone.
* PlagiarismInFiction: Lord Ambrose d'Arcy steals Professor Petrie's musical compositions and claims them as his own.
* SanitySlippage: Though it's implied that he was [[AbsentMindedProfessor always a bit eccentric]], there are definitely signs that Petrie has started to lose his mind since becoming the Phantom. Notably there's the scene when he randomly walks away in the middle of teaching Christine to sing and starts speaking to someone who isn't there. What he says is later revealed to be what he once said to Lord d'Arcy while trying to convince him to help publish his music; he was reliving that moment in his mind.
* SayMyName: Harry shouts Christine's name when he sees the chandelier about to fall above her.
* SettingUpdate: This adaptation moves the setting from 1880s Paris to [[VictorianLondon London in 1900]].
* ShowWithinAShow: Petrie's opera about UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc.
* SingleTear: Petrie sheds a tear as Christine sings his work on stage.
* SleepingWithTheBoss: It is heavily implied that Lord d'Arcy is more interested in hiring women who are willing to do this than the ones with actual singing talent.
* {{Slimeball}}: This is Ambrose d'Arcy to a T. His sleaziness is especially evident during the scene where he has dinner with Christine. It's clear he won't let her sing in "his" opera (which he, in fact, plagiarized) unless she is willing to sleep with him (she isn't).
* SmugSnake: Ambrose d'Arcy, who is incredibly arrogant and disdainful of everyone around him.
* TheSpeechless: Petrie's assistant cannot speak, so even he doesn't [[NoNameGiven know his name]].
* SpotOfTea: Christine's landlady offers her tea to calm her nerves.
* StaggeredZoom: The opening credits take place as camera does this on the Phantom's one good eye.
* StandardSnippet: Petrie plays [[Music/JohannSebastianBach Bach]]'s ''Music/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor'' with [[OminousPipeOrgan his pipe organ]] as his assistant kidnaps Christine.
* StarvingArtist: Professor Petrie was one when he sold his music to Lord d'Arcy. Though it embarrassed him, he asked for a small advance so he could pay overdue rent to his landlady.
* TouchOfTheMonster: Posters and promotional artwork depict the Phantom carrying the unconscious Christine in his arms. However, he never does this in the actual film. One could easily get the (ironically, given the source material) false impression that it's a BeastAndBeauty love story. Here the Phantom's only interest in Christine is to prepare her to play the lead in his opera by teaching her how to use her voice to its full potential.
* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: During the flashback, Professor Petrie is enraged to learn that Ambrose d'Arcy is passing his music off as his own. He breaks into the publisher's building and begins throwing what has been printed so far into the furnace. That in itself is an impulsive act serving no purpose other than to help him vent his anger, as surely d'Arcy would continue to print the falsely-attributed music regardless. Then when a fire begins, he grabs the first jar of liquid he can get his hands on to try to put it out. It turns out to be nitric acid...
* TragicMonster: The Phantom, a former professor whose horrific disfigurement was caused (indirectly) by the wicked Lord d'Arcy, who took advantage of him and robbed him of credit for his music compositions.
* TrainingFromHell: Professor Petrie is relentless in his vocal instruction of Christine, forcing her to train to the point of exhaustion. When she wearily says she can't do it anymore, he slaps her, angrily telling her she won't become a great singer without suffering.
* TraumaCongaLine: Poor, poor Professor Petrie... because he is struggling financially, he decides to try getting his music published in the hopes it will bring him fame and wealth. Unfortunately he ends up [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter entrusting it to the wrong person]], who steals credit for it from him. Enraged, he breaks into the printer's one night to destroy the falsely-attributed music, only to accidentally start a fire which he tries to put out with what he thinks is water but is really acid. He suffers painful burns that [[FacialHorror disfigure his face]], even causing him to [[EyeScream lose one of his eyes]]. For years he lives as an outcast in the sewers, [[spoiler:and in the end gets impaled by a falling chandelier.]]
* TroubledBackstoryFlashback: There is one that explains how Professor Petrie became the Phantom. He was a composer who came to Lord d'Arcy for help with publishing his music, only to be betrayed when d'Arcy claimed it as his own work. The furious Petrie broke into the publisher's building to destroy the freshly printed copies of the music. A fire broke out, and his face was horribly scarred when he tried to extinguish it with nitric acid he mistook for water.
* TyopOnTheCover: InUniverse. Professor Petrie's handwritten cover page for his "Symphony No. 1" misspells it as "Symph''a''ny No. 1". It's unclear whether this was intentional on the part of the filmmakers.
* VictorianLondon: Instead of Paris, this version of the story is set in London during the late Victorian era.
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: Petrie wears one that covers his entire face except for his single eye.
* WildChild: The dwarf, whose behaviour is very feral. This is lampshaded by the Phantom when he says that his assistant acts like a wild animal at times.
* WouldHitAGirl: Petrie becomes frustrated when Christine says she is too tired to continue her singing lesson and slaps her.
* YouFool: Petrie yells this at Christine when she becomes exhausted from his non-stop vocal training.
-->"You little fool! You think you can become a great singer without suffering?"

----

-->"You will be the greatest star the opera has ever known. '''[[SuddenlyShouting GREATER THAN THE GREATEST!!!]]'''"

-->"You will be the greatest star the opera has ever known. '''GREATER THAN THE GREATEST!!!'''"

* NiceGuy: The Phantom. Yes, in this adaptation he is entirely a good person, a pitiful victim of someone else's cruel actions who only wants to vocally train Christine so she can reach her full potential as a singer. He's not even the one who does the killings in the film. Harry Hunter also qualifies, as he is shown to be a kind and noble man who shields Christine from d'Arcy's lecherous advances (even before he and she are romantically involved) and shows sympathy for the Phantom's plight.

* NiceGuy: The Phantom. Yes, in this adaptation he is entirely a good person, a pitiful victim of someone else's cruel actions who only wants to vocally train Christine so she can reach her full potential as a singer. He's not even the one who does the killings in the film. Harry Hunter also qualifies, as he is shown to be a kind and noble man who shields Christine from d'Arcy's lecherous advances and shows sympathy for the Phantom's plight.

* NiceGuy: The Phantom. Yes, in this adaptation he is entirely a good person, a pitiful victim of someone else's cruel actions who only wants to vocally train Christine so she can reach her full potential as a singer. He's not even the one who does the killings in the film. Harry Hunter also qualifies, as he is shown to be a kind and noble man who shields Christine from d'Arcy's lecherous advances and sympathizes with the Phantom's plight.

* WildChild: The dwarf, whose behaviour is very feral. This is lampshaded by the Phantom, who says that his assistant is at times uncontrollable like a wild animal.

* WildChild: It's implied that the dwarf was this as his behaviour is very feral. The Phantom even says that his assistant is, at times, uncontrollable like a wild animal.

* FlatCharacter: The dwarf, who exists solely to commit gratuitous murders for their shock value. He [[TheSpeechless cannot speak]] and seems not to be able to effectively communicate in ''any'' way. The Phantom himself has no clue to the guy's identity or what his deal is, but feels no need to question things since the latter saved his life and befriended him.

* FallingChandelierOfDoom: Naturally there is one, but surprisingly it does not fall at the Phantom's hands. He saves Christine from it, sacrificing his life in the process.

* InNameOnly: Though this film features a disfigured, masked musician living beneath an opera house and the heroine's name is Christine, that's really where the similarities to Gaston Leroux's novel end. The story takes place in London rather than Paris, the Phantom and Christine don't seem to have any sort of romantic feelings for one another, the subject of the Phantom's opera is UsefulNotes/JoanOfArc instead of Literature/DonJuan, and he started out as a normal-looking man whose face was then disfigured by acid. There's also the curious addition of the mute dwarf character, whose sole purpose for existence seems to be to commit the obligatory murders so this Phantom remains blameless and totally sympathetic.