The Phantom of the Opera

"BENEATH HIS MASK...The Grotesque Face of Horror Unimaginable! INSIDE HIS HEART...The Desperate Desire for Beauty and Love!"

1962 1h 24m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 109

Horror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A London opera house is haunted by tragic events on its opening night, but when its star is kidnapped, a producer tracks down the Phantom who is intent on seeking his revenge.

“BENEATH HIS MASK...The Grotesque Face of Horror Unimaginable! INSIDE HIS HEART...The Desperate Desire for Beauty and Love!”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Herbert Lom
The Phantom (Prof. L. Petrie)
Heather Sears
Christine Charles
Edward de Souza
Harry Hunter
Thorley Walters
Lattimer
Michael Gough
Lord Ambrose d'Arcy
Harold Goodwin
Bill
Martin Miller
Rossi
Liane Aukin
Maria

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Terence Fisher
Writers: Anthony Hinds
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

64 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Arthur Grant. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Edwin Astley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Alfred Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Herbert Lom and Heather Sears and Edward de Souza carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "BENEATH HIS MASK...The Grotesque Face of Horror Unimaginable! INSIDE HIS HEART...The Desperate Desire for Beauty and Love!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0056347 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Terence Fisher directs. Arthur Grant behind the camera. Edwin Astley scores. Alfred Cox cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
264 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Terence Fisher, shot by Arthur Grant. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Edwin Astley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Alfred Cox shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Herbert Lom and Heather Sears and Edward de Souza carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "BENEATH HIS MASK...The Grotesque Face of Horror Unimaginable! INSIDE HIS HEART...The Desperate Desire for Beauty and Love!".
8IMDB entry: tt0056347 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 15 themes, including "mask", "opera", "london, england", "musical".

The technical file

Cinematography: Arthur Grant
Original score: Edwin Astley
Editing: Alfred Cox
Production design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup / hair: Roy Ashton
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Phantom of the Opera (1962)

Also by

Terence Fisher

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-03-06
★ 8/10
And when you sing, Christine, you will be singing only for me. The Phantom of the Opera is out of Hammer Film Productions and directed by Terence Fisher. Based on the Gaston Leroux novel, the screenplay is written by John Elder and it stars Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, Edward de Souza and Michael Gough. Filmed in Eastman Color, cinematography is by Arthur Grant and music by Edwin Astley. The latest opera production of Joan of Arc is beset with problems, prompting many to believe it's the work of a mysterious phantom who haunts those involved with the show. It has been the basis for a number of adaptations, the Leroux novel's core story proving to be fascinating enough to prompt writers, film makers and musical directors to produce their take on it. Of the film versions, it's still the Lon Chaney silent of 1925 that carries the highest horror value, but for style and substance I feel Hammer's version is the best of the bunch. Fisher's film is played wonderfully straight, the production is given much care and consideration, but in the main the makers let the story sell itself. The characters remain interesting and in the case of the phantom himself, he smartly gets a back story shown late in the day amid off-kilter camera angles. This really gives the film a dramatic thrust as it heads into the finale, where the pay off is exciting and emotionally tight (one of the finest tear sheds in cinema is right here). A voice so wonderful that theatres all over the world will be filled with your admirers. Cast wise the film is led superbly by Lom's performance as the sad and tragic phantom. Lom manages to elicit sympathy with minimal dialogue and pure body language, giving this phantom an irresistible vulnerability that hits home hard as the film closes down. Around him it's Gough who is having the most fun playing villain of the piece Ambrose D'Arcy, and he does it well. De Souza is adequate as love interest Harry Hunter, but Sears, whilst certainly pretty and a decent actress, lacks believability in the scenes shared with the phantom. Note worthy is a quality cameo that comes from Patrick Troughton; even if it does make us hanker for more of him in the picture. Fisher's direction is tight and smooth, if lacking some of the camera flourishes that other Hammer films have benefited from. While Grant's Eastman Color photography adds a zest to the period flavouring by bringing the well designed sets to the fore. Astley's music is standard genre stuff, but easy listening for sure. Bonus is to hear Toccata and Fugue in D minor, it's now disputed as to if it actually was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, but regardless it's a haunting piece of organ music that has the power to induce chills down the old spinal cord area. Particularly when used location wise as it is here. A lovely adaptation of the source, Hammer's version may not be as horror based as some would like, but it more than makes up for that with style, substance and a quality turn from the leading man. 8/10
JPV8522020-08-03
★ 7/10
Entertaining rendition with nice performances from Herbert Lom and to some extent Heather Sears, plus seeing Michael Gough playing such a scoundrel was new to me as only really knew him as Alfred... The music is fine and all in all, was a solid film, nothing terribly memorable however. 3.5/5
CinemaSerf2024-11-19
★ 6/10
This Hammer adaptation of the Gaston Leroux standard is much less a horror film; more just a story about love and betrayal. Aside from Michael Gough as the devious and loathsome "Lord Ambrose d'Arcy" the casting isn't up to very much, even Herbert Lom doesn't really seem to get into the swing of it. What is does have to distinguish it from other versions is it's own score to "Joan of Arc" and some lovely arias from Patricia Clark. The ending is rather better, too.