The Baritone’s Corner

The Baritone!

The Stars!

The Baritone ….. Nelson plays Anatole Garron, the opera company’s star baritone, who is engaged in a rivalry for the heart and hand of lovely understudy Christine DuBois. He also becomes suspect #1 when the goblet he hands to the prima donna literally knocks her off her feet.

After almost 10 years Nelson Eddy left MGM and signed with Universal for this one lavish Technicolor extravaganza.  The studio put him in a black wig and moustache (to the horror of his fans ) but they couldn’t  disguise that marvelous voice!

The Understudy ….. Susanna Foster plays the role of Christine DuBois, the understudy for the opera company’s prima donna and the pawn between Anatole, Raoul and , unfortunately the demented violinist, Claudin.

She was born Susanna De Lee Flanders Larson on December 6 th, 1924 in Chicago, Illinois but was raised in  Minneapolis. MGM took an interest in her at age 11 (her vocal range was F over High C) to replace Deanna Durbin. But, after their vocal coach almost ruined her untrained voice, they dropped her option.   After a short stint at Paramount, Suzanne signed with Universal to do the Phantom role that their star, Deanna Durbin turned down (she seemed destined to follow Durbin’s exits). But her career was short and she made only 12 films before leaving Hollywood in 1948. She returned to California later after herchildren had grown (two sons to her marriage to singer Wilbur Evans) and still  resides there.

The Cast!

Claude Rains plays the violinist Erique Claudin whose slow descent into madness accelerated when his face was horribly burned by acid.

Claude was born in London, England on November 10 th, 1889 and debuted on the London stage at age 11. However, his career in films never really took off until he was middle-aged when his distinctive voice and expressive face made him one of Hollywood’s most popular character actors. Claude Rains died at 77 on May 30 th, 1967. For more on his life, see our issue number 17.

Edgar Barrier is Police Inspector Raoul D’Aubert, Anatole’s rival and openly suspicious of the baritone’s involvement with the murder victims.

Edgar was born in New York City on March 4 th, 1907 and educated at Columbia University. He was a seasoned veteran of the Broadway stage before he ever went to Hollywood. Barrier became a very versatile character actor playing a wide range of suave sleuths and charming villains. He also did a variety of radio ( “The Saint” Simon Templar in 1945) and television roles. Edgar Barrier made 52 films before his death of a heart attack on June 20 th, 1964 in California. He was 57.

Leo Carrillo plays Signore Ferretti, Christine’s vocal coach who is being secretly paid by Claudin.

Carrillo was born On the 6 th of August, 1881 in Los Angeles, California to a very old California family. He became a dialect comedian in vaudeville before entering films. By the 1940’s he was one of Hollywood’s busiest character actors. However, Carrillo is best remembered for his role as Pancho, Duncan Renaldo’s sidekick in the television series “The Cisco Kid”. Leo Carillo died of cancer on September 10 th, 1961 in Santa Monica, California. He was 80 years old.

Jane Farrar is Madame Biancarolla, the opera’s prima donna and fiercely jealous of her understudy. She becomes one of Claudin’s murder victims along with her maid.

I haven’t found much written about about Ms. Farrar except that she was the daughter of actress/opera singer Geraldine Farrar. This was the first of her 3 films, the last listed a “A Song for Miss Julie” in 1945 where she played the title role.

J. Edward Bromberg played Amiot, one of the opera’s board of directors. He steadfastly supported his players against any suspicion of guilt in the murders.

Bromberg was born in Temesvar, Austria-Hungary (now Timisoara, Romania) on Christmas Day, 1903. He was a salesman when the acting bug bit him and he spent 10 years on the stage before Fox signed him in 1936 for his debut film “Under Two Flags”. Unfortunately, like actors John Garfield and Canada Lee, Bromberg became a victim of the Communist witchhunt of the early 50’s. He died of a heart attack while appearing in a Dalton Trumbo play in London on December 6 th, 1951. Ironically, Trumbo was also on the blacklist.

Steven Geray is Vercheres, the stage director, who is totally convinced that ghosts haunt the hallowed halls of the opera house.

Geray was born in Ungar, Austria-Hungary (now Uzhgorod, Ukraine) on November 10 th, 1904. A member of the Hungarian National Theater, he appeared in over 40 European films before coming to Hollywood early in the 1940’s. Geray played ethnic parts, most often villains, but always played even the most menacing roles in a soft-spoken manner. In one of his last films, he played Dr. Frankenstein in “Jesse James Meets Frankenstein’s Daughter” (1966). Steven Geray died in Los Angeles on December 26 th, 1973 at the age of 69.

Hume Cronyn is Gerard, aide-de-camp to the police inspector. It was a small role but Hume made the most of it.

Hume was born in Ontario, Canada, the son of a prominent politician and shared his time between drama and boxing. He received his stage experience with the Montreal Repertory Theater and segued to Broadway in 1934. Hume became know for his ability to portray ordinary people sometimes in extraordinary circumstances. He married actress Jessica Tandy in 1942 and they worked together in some memorable productions including Broadway’s “The Fourposter”. H also directed and wrote screenplays. After 41 films, Hume Cronyn died of prostate cancer June 15, 2003. He was 91.

The Director!

Arthur Lubin was an actor before he became a director giving him some expertise on both sides of the camera.

He was born on July 25 th, 1898 in Los Angeles and educated at Pittsburgh”s Carnegie Tech famous for its celebrity alumna. After a decade of acting in films, he turned to directing in 1934. Most of his films were considered escapist fare including “Abbott and Costello” comedies and “Francis, the Talking Mule”. “The Phantom Of the Opera” was considered to be his most ambitious and successful film. From 1955 he worked primarily in television, directing several of the popular series of that period (Cheyenne”, “Maverick”, “77 Sunset Strip” and “Bonanza”). Arthur Lubin died on May 12 th in Glendale, California at the age of 96.

Scenes from the film!

"The porter lied..."	"It's a bust..."	Christina gets her chance
Creating a ruse	"She's missing..."	They hear music in the tunnel..
"You're safe now.."		e Who goes first?

Film notes….

Nelson Eddy starred in over 14 films…but this was the only one where the object of his affections literally walked out on him! Knowing how fervent we Nelson Eddy fans are, that scriptwriter must have feared for his life!

The make-up Claude Rains wore to create the illusion of severe scarring was the work of talented make-up artist Jack Pierce. Jack also designed the mask Claude wore to resemble Rains’ own facial contours.

Frank Puglia, who conducted the orchestra during the opera scenes, also conducted the orchestra during the “Les Huguenots “ scene in “Maytime” when Paul (Nelson) was listening to Marcia (Jeanette MacDonald) sing her aria.

The bust of Christine shown in the film is actually a bust of Susanna Foster as Christine and it was sculpted by Nelson Eddy. Susanna has no idea how he did it and there is no trace of it now.