The Climax

10/20/19441h 26m

Theatrical Release (US)

~ The screen's classic of suspense! ~

Overview:

Dr. Hohner, theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, murders his mistress, the star soprano when his jealousy drives him to the point of mad obsession. Ten years later, another young singer reminds Hohner of the late diva and his old mania kicks in. Hohner wants to prevent her from singing for anyone but him, even if it means silencing her forever.

Director:

George Waggner

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

opera
obsession
based on play or musical
singer
murder
mad doctor
singing
opera house
hypnotism

Cast

Boris Karloff

~ as ~

Dr. Friedrich Hohner

Susanna Foster

~ as ~

Angela Klatt

Turhan Bey

~ as ~

Franz Munzer

Gale Sondergaard

~ as ~

Luise

Thomas Gomez

~ as ~

Count Seebruck

June Vincent

~ as ~

Marcellina

George Dolenz

~ as ~

Amato Roselli

Ludwig Stössel

~ as ~

Carl Baumann

Jane Farrar

~ as ~

Jarmila Vadek

Ernö Verebes

~ as ~

Brunn

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

t
talisencrw
Written 9 year(s) ago
8
A very enjoyable romp from the 40's about unrequited love driving a man to obsession, selfishness and murder, and you really can't go wrong with Boris Karloff, particularly from this vintage. This is especially enjoyable if you're a fan of opera at all. New York City-born director Waggner, most famous for 'The Wolf Man', is decent at this sort of thing, though he got relegated the last phase of his career to TV-work (such as the 60's 'Batman').

Karloff's first colour film (and in Technicolor, no doubt), it's also famous for using the same sets as 'The Phantom of the Opera', made the previous year--the oldest surviving movie set. I came across this in an excellent 5-film pack of Karloff-starred thrillers from the late 30's and early 40's. Both the boxed set and this individual film are highly recommended to fans of the star's work.