The Climax is Universal's followup to their smash financial hit Phantom of the Opera from the previous year. While the film looks handsome in glorious Technicolor it suffers the same fate as Phantom: too much opera and not nearly enough Phantom or in this case Mad Doctor. Boris Karloff returned to Universal after a triumphant 4 year run on Broadway to tackle one of his most maligned roles while ceding much screen time to the juvenile leads Susanna Foster and Turhan Bey. The movie contains some turgid musical numbers, struggles to balance tone, has plot holes you could drive a train through, and is a waste of such sinister talents as Karloff and Gale Sondergaard.
Dr. Friedrich Hohner (Karloff) is the brooding house physician for the Vienna Opera who clandestinely murdered his love, prima donna Marcellina (June Vincent), because her career drove a wedge between them. Flash forward 10 years to when he overhears musical student Angela Klatt (Susanna Foster) singing the signature piece of his beloved - The Magic Voice - near the office of opera director Count Seebruck (Thomas Gomez). Impressed by her singing Seebruck decides to revive the Magic Voice for Angela while Hohner plots to derail her burgeoning career as he deems the music "sacred" to Marcellina's memory. First he hypnotizes her into believing she can't sing and when Angela's boyfriend Franz (Turhan Bey) uncovers this plot Hohner moves to the nuclear option: sever her vocal chords. Will Franz be able to save her?
The script concocted by Curt Siodmak and Lynn Starling adapted by Siodmak from the play by Edward J Locke had its genesis as a sequel to Phantom of the Opera. It evolved into a companion piece by virtue of it being another backstage melodrama filmed in Technicolor and staging its grand musical numbers on the Phantom stage. There are so many things wrong with the story that only the highlights need to be expounded upon. First of all, the character of Dr. Hohner is a dreadful conception; a miserable, selfish old bastard who carries the torch for a woman who despises him and kills her out of petty jealousy. Somehow he pulls off the perfect crime and everyone is fine with believing she mysteriously disappeared. All concerned seem to understand Hohner is not in his right mind yet he continues to be employed by the Opera and somehow lives in a palatial mansion down the street (how much do house physicians earn?). Furthermore his housekeeper is Marcellina's former maid Luise (Gale Sondergaard) of whom it is revealed has spent 10 years secretly sleuthing to prove Hohner killed her. Luise must be the worst detective in history because she never found the upstairs mausoleum containing Marcellina's perfectly preserved remains (How did it get built without her knowing? How did Hohner move the body from the Opera House to this chamber? Did Luise even try to get into the only room who's door is covered by drapes?). The opportunity for mystery and intrigue is presented right off the bat with Opera House doormen discussing the curious disappearance of Marcellina 10 years ago and how it emotionally destroyed Dr. Hohner. The poor guy appears to be haunting the building; skulking around in the middle of the night and apparently mooning over his lost love in her old dressing room. This buildup gets incinerated immediately with a flashback showing Hohner strangling his beloved and extinguishing any possibility of feeling sympathy for him. Lastly, the climax of "The Climax" is particularly ridiculous and lazily executed.
As directed by George Waggner The Climax struggles tremendously to overcome the insurmountable odds presented by the script. With the menace being nowhere near the malevolence promised in the trailers Waggner compensates with sumptuous visuals and more of an emphasis on lighthearted humor thankfully bereft of over-the-top gags. He employs plenty of matte paintings to fill out the Viennese streets and opulent palaces depicted in the picture; it is certainly a treat to see the famous Universal backlot in color. Some of this gets repetitive as the locations are limited but the opera house and Hohner's home are splendidly decorated and filmed (curious how many miles of drapes they employed to adorn the sets). The emphasis on light comedy is pronounced with several effective lines tossed off by cast members including a deadpan Karloff ("There's nothing wrong with his throat"). Some of the jokes are painful (particularly those involving Turhan Bey clapping like an overzealous seal and munching on his program as he is beguiled by Miss Foster's singing prowess) but many are mirthful particularly some quips delivered by a beleaguered Count Seebruck and the bickering between prima donna Jarmila (Jane Farrar) and her baritone Roselli (George Dolenz). Returning from his Academy Award winning efforts on Phantom of the Opera composer Edward Ward delivers a respectable score although decidedly less memorable.
As much as it pains me I have to lambast Boris Karloff for his performance in this film. Much like the great Claude Rains in Phantom Karloff is handicapped by the limitations of the character as conceived. Hohner is just a one-dimensional, miserable ass. Boris never attempts to make this individual sympathetic or even relatable while just going for straight villainy. Unlike nearly everyone who worked with Karloff over a 50 year movie career and regaled interviewers about what a wonderful gentleman he was costar Susanna Foster remembered him as a cold, introverted actor on set. Perhaps that could explain why his performance is so lifeless: he didn't like the role. Speaking of Miss Foster she follows up her Phantom triumph with a similar ingenue part demonstrating her formidable singing skills and winning personality. Cast as her more age-appropriate love interest is the usually compelling Turhan Bey who sadly contributes a dull turn and fails to generate any chemistry with his leading lady. Another alumni from Phantom, Jane Farrar, is back in basically the same role: the bitchy prima donna usurped by Miss Foster. This time Miss Farrar benefits from a lighter touch and her character's haughtiness is played more for laughs particularly when her ego is perforated by Roselli. As enacted by George Dolenz this character is frequently amusing and their combination delivers the desired comic relief. Surprisingly good is the normally oily Thomas Gomez who eschews this personality and submerges himself into a winning character role as the theater impresario. Thoroughly wasted on the other hand is the wonderful Gale Sondergaard in the housekeeper part anyone could have played; it's truly mind-boggling how Universal consistently squandered the talents of their best assets during the 1940's. June Vincent isn't around long enough to make much headway as the doomed Marcellina while Ludwig Stossel contributes another one of his endearing character turns as Turhan Bey's Uncle Carl.
In summation The Climax is a failure that earns its reputation as one of Universal's more vilified films of the early 1940s. It is overlong, dull, and lacking the menace one would expect. Karloff has shouldered much criticism from poison pens dissecting his performance and, given the high standards he set for himself, they are warranted. Certainly this is not anywhere near his best turns but even so he still has his moments. Everyone has a dud in their career and The Climax qualifies as such for all concerned.
Dr. Friedrich Hohner (Karloff) is the brooding house physician for the Vienna Opera who clandestinely murdered his love, prima donna Marcellina (June Vincent), because her career drove a wedge between them. Flash forward 10 years to when he overhears musical student Angela Klatt (Susanna Foster) singing the signature piece of his beloved - The Magic Voice - near the office of opera director Count Seebruck (Thomas Gomez). Impressed by her singing Seebruck decides to revive the Magic Voice for Angela while Hohner plots to derail her burgeoning career as he deems the music "sacred" to Marcellina's memory. First he hypnotizes her into believing she can't sing and when Angela's boyfriend Franz (Turhan Bey) uncovers this plot Hohner moves to the nuclear option: sever her vocal chords. Will Franz be able to save her?
The script concocted by Curt Siodmak and Lynn Starling adapted by Siodmak from the play by Edward J Locke had its genesis as a sequel to Phantom of the Opera. It evolved into a companion piece by virtue of it being another backstage melodrama filmed in Technicolor and staging its grand musical numbers on the Phantom stage. There are so many things wrong with the story that only the highlights need to be expounded upon. First of all, the character of Dr. Hohner is a dreadful conception; a miserable, selfish old bastard who carries the torch for a woman who despises him and kills her out of petty jealousy. Somehow he pulls off the perfect crime and everyone is fine with believing she mysteriously disappeared. All concerned seem to understand Hohner is not in his right mind yet he continues to be employed by the Opera and somehow lives in a palatial mansion down the street (how much do house physicians earn?). Furthermore his housekeeper is Marcellina's former maid Luise (Gale Sondergaard) of whom it is revealed has spent 10 years secretly sleuthing to prove Hohner killed her. Luise must be the worst detective in history because she never found the upstairs mausoleum containing Marcellina's perfectly preserved remains (How did it get built without her knowing? How did Hohner move the body from the Opera House to this chamber? Did Luise even try to get into the only room who's door is covered by drapes?). The opportunity for mystery and intrigue is presented right off the bat with Opera House doormen discussing the curious disappearance of Marcellina 10 years ago and how it emotionally destroyed Dr. Hohner. The poor guy appears to be haunting the building; skulking around in the middle of the night and apparently mooning over his lost love in her old dressing room. This buildup gets incinerated immediately with a flashback showing Hohner strangling his beloved and extinguishing any possibility of feeling sympathy for him. Lastly, the climax of "The Climax" is particularly ridiculous and lazily executed.
As directed by George Waggner The Climax struggles tremendously to overcome the insurmountable odds presented by the script. With the menace being nowhere near the malevolence promised in the trailers Waggner compensates with sumptuous visuals and more of an emphasis on lighthearted humor thankfully bereft of over-the-top gags. He employs plenty of matte paintings to fill out the Viennese streets and opulent palaces depicted in the picture; it is certainly a treat to see the famous Universal backlot in color. Some of this gets repetitive as the locations are limited but the opera house and Hohner's home are splendidly decorated and filmed (curious how many miles of drapes they employed to adorn the sets). The emphasis on light comedy is pronounced with several effective lines tossed off by cast members including a deadpan Karloff ("There's nothing wrong with his throat"). Some of the jokes are painful (particularly those involving Turhan Bey clapping like an overzealous seal and munching on his program as he is beguiled by Miss Foster's singing prowess) but many are mirthful particularly some quips delivered by a beleaguered Count Seebruck and the bickering between prima donna Jarmila (Jane Farrar) and her baritone Roselli (George Dolenz). Returning from his Academy Award winning efforts on Phantom of the Opera composer Edward Ward delivers a respectable score although decidedly less memorable.
As much as it pains me I have to lambast Boris Karloff for his performance in this film. Much like the great Claude Rains in Phantom Karloff is handicapped by the limitations of the character as conceived. Hohner is just a one-dimensional, miserable ass. Boris never attempts to make this individual sympathetic or even relatable while just going for straight villainy. Unlike nearly everyone who worked with Karloff over a 50 year movie career and regaled interviewers about what a wonderful gentleman he was costar Susanna Foster remembered him as a cold, introverted actor on set. Perhaps that could explain why his performance is so lifeless: he didn't like the role. Speaking of Miss Foster she follows up her Phantom triumph with a similar ingenue part demonstrating her formidable singing skills and winning personality. Cast as her more age-appropriate love interest is the usually compelling Turhan Bey who sadly contributes a dull turn and fails to generate any chemistry with his leading lady. Another alumni from Phantom, Jane Farrar, is back in basically the same role: the bitchy prima donna usurped by Miss Foster. This time Miss Farrar benefits from a lighter touch and her character's haughtiness is played more for laughs particularly when her ego is perforated by Roselli. As enacted by George Dolenz this character is frequently amusing and their combination delivers the desired comic relief. Surprisingly good is the normally oily Thomas Gomez who eschews this personality and submerges himself into a winning character role as the theater impresario. Thoroughly wasted on the other hand is the wonderful Gale Sondergaard in the housekeeper part anyone could have played; it's truly mind-boggling how Universal consistently squandered the talents of their best assets during the 1940's. June Vincent isn't around long enough to make much headway as the doomed Marcellina while Ludwig Stossel contributes another one of his endearing character turns as Turhan Bey's Uncle Carl.
In summation The Climax is a failure that earns its reputation as one of Universal's more vilified films of the early 1940s. It is overlong, dull, and lacking the menace one would expect. Karloff has shouldered much criticism from poison pens dissecting his performance and, given the high standards he set for himself, they are warranted. Certainly this is not anywhere near his best turns but even so he still has his moments. Everyone has a dud in their career and The Climax qualifies as such for all concerned.