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Rating: 5 stars

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opera performance doctor

All movies seen on 03/13/2020

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The Climax (1944)

Directed by George Waggner

Crime | Music

Most recently watched by sensoria

Overview

Dr. Hohner, theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, murders his mistress, the star soprano when his jealousy drives him to the point of mad obsession. Ten years later, another young singer reminds Hohner of the late diva and his old mania kicks in. Hohner wants to prevent her from singing for anyone but him, even if it means silencing her forever.

Rated NR | Length 86 minutes

Actors

Boris Karloff | Susanna Foster | Turhan Bey | Gale Sondergaard | Thomas Gomez | June Vincent | George Dolenz | Ludwig Stössel | Jane Farrar | Ernö Verebes | Lotte Stein | Scotty Beckett | William Edmunds | Maxwell Hayes | Dorothy Lawrence | Bella Lewitzky | Jack Richardson | Polly Bailey | Stuart Holmes | Eddie Polo | Paul Power | Ernie Adams | Gertrude Astor | Grace Cunard | William Desmond | Francis Ford | Louis Payne | Anne Cornwall | Rudy Bowman | William H. O'Brien | Helen Gibson | Maurice Costello | Harry Mayo | Richard Neill | Eric Mayne | Barry Regan

Viewing History (seen 1 time)

Viewing Notes

I think this was meant to be a sequel to Phantom of the Opera? Something happened in the pre-production and it was changed to a slightly different story about this guy who murders his mistress than 10 years finds a new target to make his own. All the while there’s an opera happening with complete musical performances. It’s borderline horror but I don’t classify it as such since everything is revealed up front. There’s no mystery; just Karloff obsessing over this new singer that he wants only for himself. I think this would’ve worked better had it been the Phantom.

Update: yes, this was meant to be a sequel to Phantom and even uses the same set from Phantom of the Opera (1943) and features Susanna Foster, the star of that film. Come to think of it I wonder if I’ve seen that version of Phantom.

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