Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Climax (1944)

A Interesting Victorian Thriller


According to the Wiki: The Climax was "Originally intended to be a sequel to Universal's Phantom of the Opera..." This film is really nothing like "Phantom" but it does have a dark charm of it's own dealing with an opera house and singer.

I realize that this film is not a favorite among some Karloff fans but some of us do find this film has an appeal of it's own. I for one enjoyed the movie.

Boris plays Dr. Friedrich Hohner a man obsessed with the memory of his dead girlfriend Marcellina and keeps her body preserved in a hidden chamber. He is determined that no one shall sing Marcellina's songs - NO ONE. It's a sinister role that Karloff plays and quite good too.

Franz Munzer (Turhan Bey) and Angela Klatt (Susanna Foster) are a couple in love. Angela is the target of Dr. Hohner anger because she sounds very much like his beloved Marcellina. Franz is a man out to find out what is going on with Angela. -- You will have to watch the film to find out more!!

Turhan Bey really steals the show in this movie to me. The cutest scene is when Angela (Susanna) is on stage singing and Franz (Turhan) is chewing on the paper of the opera program... LOL that was quite funny. Let's just say Franz really is deeply in-love with Angela! :D

This is also the first Boris Karloff movie that is in colour. The colour film shows us a reasonably ruggedly handsome man! He is very photogenic and the colour really brings that to light. 

The movie is a good Victorian thriller. It is a horror film but I find the film more of a dramatic thriller.

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