The Phantom of the Opera 1962/Fun Facts

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< The Phantom of the Opera 1962
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  • The "London Opera House" used here is actually the Wimbledon Theatre.
  • According to producer Anthony Hinds(in Wayne Kinsey's book "Hammer: The Bray Studio Years"), Cary Grant was originally slated not for the role of the Phantom, as is commonly assumed, but for the romantic lead, eventually played by Edward de Souza.
  • The mask was made on the fly just before shooting out of cloth, tape, string and paint.
  • The film flopped on its release, and director Terence Fisher fell out of favor with Hammer Studios, for whom he was not given another film until 1964.
  • At one point, Christopher Lee was seriously considered for the Phantom part.
  • The film was originally written for Cary Grant, who wanted to do a horror film. The Phantom's character was rewritten as a more tragic figure, with the dwarf (played here by Ian Wilson) doing the actual violence, to suit Grant's image. Grant declined the part (possibly unhappy with the watered down character) and it went to Lom.
  • A subplot involving a pair of Scotland Yard police inspectors on the trail of the Phantom was shot especially for the American TV version (by the TV companies, not by Hammer). This was a regular occurrence in this era, most notably with Hammer's films The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) and The Evil of Frankenstein (1964).
  • The film takes place in 1890 and December 1900.
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