''The Phantom of Paris'' is a 1931 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by John S. Robertson and written by

Bess Meredyth Bess Meredyth (born Helen Elizabeth MacGlashen, February 12, 1890 – July 13, 1969) was a screenwriter and silent film actress. The wife of film director Michael Curtiz, Meredyth wrote ''The Affairs of Cellini'' (1934) and adapted '' The Unsus ...

, Edwin Justus Mayer and John Meehan. The film stars John Gilbert and

Leila Hyams Leila Hyams (May 1, 1905 – December 4, 1977) was an American film and stage actress, model, and vaudevillian, who came from a show business family. Her relatively short film career began in 1924 during the era of silent films and ended in 19 ...

, and is based on the 1913 novel ''Chéri-Bibi et Cécily'' by

Gaston Leroux Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 186815 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction. In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, ...

. The film was released on September 12, 1931, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The studio simultaneously made and released a Spanish-language version, ''Chéri-Bibi,'' directed by Carlos F. Borcosque and starring Ernesto Vilches.

Cast

* John Gilbert as Chéri-Bibi *

as Cecile * Lewis Stone as Costaud *

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is best known for starring on the radio series '' Dr. Christian'' (1937–1954) and in the film '' Heidi'' (1937).Obitu ...

as Herman *

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

as Bourrelier *

Natalie Moorhead Natalie Moorhead (born Nathalian Morehead, July 27, 1901 – October 6, 1992) was an American film and stage actress of the 1920s and 1930s. She was known for distinctive platinum blond hair. Early years Moorehead grew up in Pittsburgh. ...

as Vera * Ian Keith as Marquis Du Touchais * Alfred Hickman as Dr. Gorin * Claude King as Attorney

Plot

Chéri-Bibi, a Houdini-like magician and escape artist, is the toast of Paris, except among certain members of the upper-class, who consider him a charlatan. Unfortunately, one of them is the nobleman Bourrelier, whose daughter Cecily is madly in love with Bibi (and vice versa), despite being engaged to the Marquis Du Touchais. One night at a party, Bibi and Bourrelier get into a fierce argument over Cecily, with her father ordering Bibi not to see her again. Momments later, he is found dead, and Bibi is naturally assumed to have killed him. He is arrested and sent to prison, but manages to escape four years later. While hiding out at the home of a friend, Herman, he overhears that Bourrelier was actually murdered by the Marquis, who was afraid of losing out on Cecily's inheritance. Bibi goes to his house to make him confess, but the Marquis is dying of the flu. He admits to the killing, aided by his lover Vera, but expires before Bibi can get a witness. Fearful of being blamed for a second death, Bibi takes the body and flees to a friendly doctor, Gorin, who agrees to use plastic surgery to make Bibi look like the Marquis. He eventually reappears in his new guise, telling the public that Bibi has died and that he had suffered a head injury which conveniently affected his memory. He learns that in his absence Cecily married the Marquis but had been deeply unhappy and still loves Bibi. Eventually he reveals himself and they embrace, but the reunion is short-lived: Detective Costaud, who has smelled a rat since the beginning, appears and demands to fingerprint "the Marquis" to see if they match those of Bibi. They do and he submits to the arrest. He promptly escapes and confronts Vera, demanding she tell the police everything. She refuses, but by admitting her participation she implicates herself: the escape was fake and Costaud overheard everything. She is placed under arrest, and Bibi and Cecily are free to get on with their lives.

References

External links

* * 1931 films 1931 drama films American drama films Films based on French novels Films based on works by Gaston Leroux Films directed by John S. Robertson Films set in Paris Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American multilingual films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub