I'll tell you why so serious

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

The Phantom of the Opera (1943): Dir: Arthur Lubin / Cast: Claude Rains, Susanna Foster, Nelson Eddy, Edgar Barrier, Jane Farrar: Originally made as a silent film in 1925, and here it makes its debut with sound. Title suggests disruption of peace. Claude Rains stars as a struggling composer whose music is stolen and he suffers a fatal facial injury while attempting to retrieve it. He terrorizes the opera and favours a young female singer be given a better deal. Effective plot with detailed writing that indicates that doing wrong to express right will ultimately fail. Skillful directing by Arthur Lubin with great production design. Rains is excellent as a musician released from his job only to discover deceit. He is menacing as the phantom while pushing the talent of a woman who can do what he cannot anymore. Despite his madness it will only lead to damnation. Susanna Foster plays the woman who he is smitten with. There are those hoping to separate her from her talent but the phantom will have none of it. Her final scene is a great push for independence. There are two suitors out for her hand. Nelson Eddy has her best interest in mind while Edgar Barrier is out for control. Jane Farrar plays a diva out to remain the focal point of attention because she is obviously insecure. In the end she will win leaving one applauding and the other disappointed. It regards anger and how it can destroy when not controlled. Score: 9 / 10

(55%) A more light-hearted horror from universal featuring large amounts of dubbed-in opera performances and some romantic comedy, although I've learnt that some of the actors were in fact more than able singers. I doubt this was ever considered to be that scary, and these days it's very tame owing mainly I'm guessing to the fact that most people living through the second world war wanted to get away from fictional horror because so much real horror was going on around the world. The advancement in screen acting means that the performances are better suited and the set design featured is pretty great. Worth a watch today more to enjoy it's classic status than to witness an actual truly scary movie.

"Erique Claudine" (Claude Rains) is a violinist for the Paris opera who has fallen in love with a young soprano understudy named "Christine Dubois" (Susanna Foster). Unfortunately, he finds himself unable to tell her of his love so he uses all of his money to finance singing lessons for her. This continues for 3 years during which time he begins to have problems playing the violin and loses his job after 20 years with the opera. His one remedy is to publish a concerto he had been working on for 2 years. However, following a misunderstanding at the publishing house he kills the publisher and has acid thrown on his face in the process. Now hunted by the police, he secretly escapes into the opera house which has thousands of rooms and hidden passages all over the place. But even after all of this he still harbors an insane love for Christine and is determined to have her assume the leading role by any means at his disposal. As luck would have it though there are two other people who also love Christine. The first is the leading baritone, "Anatole Garron" (Nelson Eddy) and the other is a police detective named "Raoul D'Aubert" (Edgar Barrier). Although both are rivals for her affection they share a desire to apprehend this mysterious phantom and protect Christine at all cost. Anyway, without divulging any more of the story I will just say that this movie wasn't exactly what I expected in that the horror was superseded by the musical numbers and the extravagant sets and costumes. That being the case it was almost like watching an opera within a movie. Now, I certainly didn't mind watching this film because it was plain to see that a lot of time and effort went into this production and it was quite enjoyable. But I would have preferred to see a bit more "Phantom" and a little less "opera" just the same. In any case, I found this movie to be above average and I recommend it to those who might enjoy something of this nature.

This version of POTO is far from the thriller or horror genre. While it includes elements of both every now and then, it's more of a romantic comedy with musical numbers sprinkled about. The luscious Technicolor used is as far from the Gothic mood of the story, but damn, I cannot deny it's just gorgeous. The cinematography is the principal reason to watch this version. Plus fans of the silent version with Lon Chaney might be interested to see what the "Phantom Stage" looks like in color.Claude Rains brings great pathos and his velvety voice to the role of the phantom. More memorable for this movie-goer is Susannah Foster as Christine. She was absolutely perfect in the role: not only does she physically resemble the character of the book but she manages to be both a classic ingénue and a fiery career woman all at once. Plus she could actually sing! A shame she wasn't cast in a more book accurate adaptation. The part of Christine's bland lover Raoul is split into two characters played by Nelson Eddy and Edgar Barrier; both are the least entertaining part of the movie. One wishes more screen time had been given to Rains.