Line #26 Film/PhantomOfTheOpera1943


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/phantom_of_the_opera_1943_887.jpg]]
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3	The fourth film adaptation of ''Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera'' (and the second one by Creator/{{Universal}}), released in the year 1943.
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5	Paris Opera House violinist Erique Claudin (Creator/ClaudeRains) finds himself out of a job due to his deteriorating playing skills, which proves to be a problem as he needs the money to pay for the singing lessons for Christine Dubois (Susanna Foster), a rising young talent in the opera, whom he is obsessed over. He tries to have his concerto published in order to fix his money problems, but due to [[DramaticIrony a tragic mistake]], he ends up disfigured and on the run from the law. He then takes refuge in the underground tunnels of the Opera House, and sets out to help Christine in her career, no matter how many corpses he must leave behind.
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7	While this film is considered a core part of the [[Franchise/UniversalHorror Universal Monster]] franchise [[FirstInstallmentWins it is usually overshadowed by the]] [[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 1925 silent film]], even during its time of release. However, it is this 1943 version that is included in Universal Monsters DVD sets due to the fact that it is still owned by Universal whereas the 1925 film fell into public domain. Though the 1925 film is still the one used on all of Universal's other merchandise (besides DVD and Blu Rays).
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9	Aside from being a massive financial success of the time, this is the only Universal Horror film to win an Oscar, winning the awards for Art Direction and Cinematography.
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13	!!This film has the examples of:
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15	* AbominableAuditorium: In a twist on the usual appearance of this trope, the Paris Opera is a perfectly reputable business with no seedy underbelly... up until Eric Claudin moves in following his disfigurement and begins the Phantom's reign of terror.
16	* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Claudin gets away from the chantarms by escaping through the sewers of Paris.
17	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Instead for a having skull for a face, the Phantom only has a very nasty acid burn around his right eye.
18	* AllThereInTheManual: It's never stated, but Claudin is in fact Christine's DisappearedDad (hence the transferral of the third member of the LoveTriangle to Anatole). Universal decided to cut all references to this lest it add accidental IncestSubtext for viewers who remembered the setup in the 1925 film.
19	* AnonymousBenefactor: Claudin was one for Christine, as he paid for her singing studies.
20	* CanonForeigner: Since Phantom in this version was meant to be Christine's father, a completely new character Anatole takes his role in the LoveTriangle.
21	* CareerVersusMan: The film ends with the LoveTriangle [[DumpThemAll unresolved]], and with an implication that Christine chooses to pursue her career instead.
22	* ChekhovsGun: The acid in Pleyel's office.
23	* CoatHatMask: Claudin's disguise as The Phantom.
24	* CompositeCharacter: Due to the intention to have Claudin be Christine's father, since in the original story Erik and Mr. Daae were two different characters, with the latter long dead by the time of the story.
25	* DecompositeCharacter: Due to the intention to have Claudin be Christine's father, a new character named Anatole took his role in the love triangle.
26	* DissonantSerenity: Aside from his outburst of rage when he believes his music has been stolen, Claudin as the Phantom talks in an extremely gentle, fatherly manner to Christine and almost never raises his voice to anyone else, which makes him even more chilling with the murders he commits.
27	* DramaticIrony: When Erique Claudin tries to have his work published, one of the publishers tells him that he never received it. Little did either of them know, was that the company was showing Erique's work to renowned music critic Music/FranzLiszt to get his testimonial for its publication. When Erique hears his music being played to Liszt in the other room, he assumes that the company stole his music and [[FreakOut strangles the publisher to death]]. The publisher's wife then grabs a tray of etching acid and... well, you know the rest.
28	* DeathlyUnmasking: [[spoiler: Claudin's final unmasking occurs right before he ends up getting crushed under the collapsing sewers.]]
29	* DramaticUnmask: As Christine sings for Claudin in the climax, she gets closer to him until she can rip off his mask and reveal his burned face to the audience.
30	* FacialHorror: Claudin getting splashed with acid.
31	* FallingChandelierOfDoom: When Claudin's demands of letting Christine sing are not met, he drops the chandelier on the unsuspecting audience.
32	* GayParee: Like the novel, the film is set in Paris, where [[TranslationConvention everyone speaks English]].
33	** All signage is in French, except for the notice plastered over the opera's billing, which says, in English, that the Opera is closed until further notice.
34	* GorgeousPeriodDress: Prevalent in the opera performances.
35	* HighClassGlass: Worn by Lecours, one of the owners of the Opera.
36	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Erik's work is presented to Music/FranzLiszt, who loves it.
37	* LostInImitation: This version changed the nature of the Phantom's ugliness from deformity to disfigurement, and several subsequent adaptations followed suit.
38	* LoveTriangle: Differing from the usual setup, it's not Raoul and The Phantom competing over Christine, but Raoul and a fellow opera singer named Anatole.
39	* PublicDomainSoundtrack: The performances depicted in the film were based on works in the public domain.
40	* RunningGag: Raoul and Anatole trying to fit themselves through the same doorframe.
41	* ThePrimaDonna: Biancarolli, played by Jane Farrar, who is [[spoiler:strangled to death by the Phantom to make room for the unsuspecting Christine to take her place]]. Amusingly, Farrar played the same type of role in the next year's (1944) movie Film/TheClimax, which was intended originally as a sequel to this movie.
42	* ScarsAreUgly: Rather than being born deformed like other versions, this iteration of the Phantom was a normal person who was disfigured with etching acid.
43	* SequelHook: Averted. As Christine and the boys escape, the camera zooms into the collapsed chamber where Erique's violin and mask are laying in the rubble. Modern audiences half-expect a hand coming into frame to pick up either, to suggest Enrique survived the cave-in.
44	* TheScrooge: As Claudin has secretly spend all his money on Christine's education, his landlady thinks that his overdue rent is caused by him being a miser and complains him about it.
45	* StandardFemaleGrabArea: Claudin manages to drag Christine all the way down to his underground lair against her will by grabbing her arm with one hand.
46	* TakeAThirdOption: Christine is confronted by Raoul and Anatole at the end, who demand she choose between them. She chooses neither and pursues her singing career unhindered by marriage prospects, leading the two men to awkwardly go to dinner together as friends.
47	* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Claudin tampers with Biancarolli's drink to make her unable to sing.
48	* ToTheTuneOf: Claudin bases his concerto around the Provencean lullaby he (and Christine) knows.
49	* ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: While inquiring about his concerto at the publisher's, Claudin hears it being played in the next room and immediately jumps to the conclusion that the publisher stole it. He strangles the man to death and the frightened assistant throws acid in his face.

Context Film / PhantomOfTheOpera1943