Hi Lee,
Thanks for the nice write-up on Hammer's version of
Phantom of the Opera.With all the hype attributed to previous film versions and the stage
musical, this version often gets lost in the shuffle and it's far superior to
all the others. It knows it's a horror movie. I wish you'd consider
having someone on your staff write up a piece on that film. It was planned for
Cary Grant to actually play the Herbert Lom role, but that casting arrangement
fell apart. I think Grant might have been excellent as the Phantom (he was
always desparate to play a character he could disappear into), but I have a very
hard time seeing him as Professor Petrie, don't you? In any case,
Hammer's
Phantom has always been my favorite just for its raft of character
actors alone - Michael Ripper and Miles Malleson as cabbies, Patrick Troughton
as the Rat Catcher and on and on. Thanks again,
Bill Shaffer
Topeka,
Kansas
Retro responds: Thanks, Bill - and we will surely do a major piece on the film in a future issue of Retro. We've been hounding Herbert Lom for an interview, but every time it looks like it's ready to happen, scheduling problems have interfered. We remain hopeful, however. It's true that Cary Grant was considering the film, but as I understand it, he got cold feet about deviating so far from his established image. I can't picture him in the role, but the experiment would have been fascinating. You're right about those wonderful Hammer character actors. Don't forget, the film also feature such stalwarts as Thorley Walters and Michael Gough, playing one of the most sinister villains ever. The Hammer version is far superior to the storyline of most other films based on this story, because the use of the chandelier is brilliantly and dramatically incorporated into the tragic ending. In the Broadway production, I was dumbfounded when the big chandelier scene came half way through the play and merely consisted of the Phantom riding atop the fixture as it swung out toward the audience - a neat technical trick, to be sure, but devoid of any emotion. Does anyone remember the 1990 TV version starring Burt Lancaster (who incidentally, was not cast as the Phantom)? It always escaped me and I was wondering what it's merits (or demerits) may be. Meanwhile, here's a bonus Australian release poster from the Hammer version. -
Lee Pfeiffer