The Climax

The Climax
File:TheClimaxPoster.jpg The Climax original 1944 poster
Directed by	George Waggner
Produced by	George Waggner
Written by	Curt Siodmak Edward Locke (play)
Starring	Boris Karloff Susanna Foster Turhan Bey
Music by	Edward Ward
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	October 20, 1944 (1944-10-20)
Running time	86 min.
Language	English
Budget	$750,000

The Climax is a horror film produced by Universal Pictures, first released in the United States in 1944. The credits state this is based on the play of the same name by Edward Locke, but the plot has little connection to Locke's play.

Originally intended to be a sequel to Universal's Phantom of the Opera, it featured new characters and a new plot. Susanna Foster was the only member of the cast to star in the new film.

Plot

The physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, Dr. Hohner (Karloff) murders his fiancee, a prima donna, out of obsession and jealousy. Ten years later, he hears another young singer (Foster) who reminds him of the late diva, and is determined to make her sing only for him, even if it means silencing her forever.

Cast

• Boris Karloff – Dr. Friedrich Hohner
• Susanna Foster – Angela Klatt
• Turhan Bey – Franz Munzer
• Gale Sondergaard – Luise
• Thomas Gomez – Count Seebruck
• June Vincent – Marcellina
• George Dolenz – Amato Roselli
• Ludwig Stössel – Carl Baumann
• Jane Farrar – Jarmila Vadek
• Ernő Verebes – Brunn
• Lotte Stein – Mama Hinzl
• Scotty Beckett – The King
• William Edmunds – Leon – theater concierge
• Maxwell Hayes – Count Romburg – King's aide
• Dorothy Lawrence – Miss Metzger

Production

The film was originally conceived as a sequel to Phantom of the Opera (1943). The Climax was made using the sets of the 1943 Phantom of the Opera, which was in turn used Universal's set for Phantom of the Opera (1925).

Choreography was made by Lester Horton.

The film was also nominated for an Academy Award in 1944 for Best Art Direction (John B. Goodman, Alexander Golitzen, Russell A. Gausman, Ira Webb).

Reception

The Climax was a box office disappointment.

Home Video Release

This film, along with Night Key, Tower of London, The Strange Door and The Black Castle, was released on DVD in 2006 by Universal Studios as part of The Boris Karloff Collection.

See also

• List of American films of 1944
• Boris Karloff filmography

External links

• The Climax at IMDb
• The Climax at AllMovie