Thorley Walters

"Phantom of the Opera" is director Terence Fisher's remake of the classic French novel. In this version the Phantom is played by Herbert Lom. The make up isn't as memorable as Lon Chaney's and the changes in the plot along with the smaller scale of the production makes this one that gets overlooked. Although it wasn't the huge financial hit that Universal had hoped at the time and the action lags a bit at the beginning, "Phantom" still remains a terrific bit of entertainment and has a number of marvelous set pieces directed by Fisher.

Peter Cushing delivers his most cold-blooded portrayal of the mad Baron in his fifth turn as Dr. Frankenstein. Abandoning his latest experiment after a drunk stumbles into his secret lab (upsetting a severed head) he hurriedly finds new lodgings with a sweet young thing (Hammer glamour babe Veronica Carlson) whose boyfriend (Simon Ward, in his film debut) works in the local sanitarium.