Le fantôme d'Hollywood

Interesting little TV-movie, obviously inspired by the more famous Phantom Of The Opera. Nice behind-the-scenes shots of decaying MGM sets, some even in the act of being demolished. Peppered with old stars, Jackie Coogan, etc. A nice companion piece to the William Castle's Ghost Story/Cirlce Of Fear episode "Graveyard Shift" which aired the previous year (1973) featuring John Astin and a pregnant Patty Duke Astin. Both seem to hit upon the same note - a sign of the times - the despair of the end of the Hollywood magic factories and a longing for a return to times and people lost. MGM was becoming a hotel chain and record label as Universal was devolving into television and theme parks.

The famed MGM back lot is home to a million memories of movies gone by. It's also secret home to a masked killer who goes on the rampage when the lot is threatened with redevelopment.

Inspired by the Phantom of the Opera, this is an interesting thriller that melds the sinister with moviemaking nostalgia. You sort of feel sorry for the phantom who is trying to stop the backlots from being torn down. Well-photographed and located, the phantom of Hollywood is atmospheric, fun and boasts a tour de force performance from Jack Cassidy.

The Phantom of Hollywood (1974)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Worldwide Studio has fallen on some hard times so a decision is to made to sell its back lot to some developers, which will bring in some much needed cash but at the same time it would take away from historic nature. This doesn't sit well with a mysterious figure who starts murdering people on the lot.

This here is basically a remake of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with the main interest being that "Worldwide Studio" is actually MGM. Yes, MGM is the back lot that is used here and some of the most interesting moments happen early on when we see how some of the sets currently look and then we get a clip of the movie that they were once featured in. We get some pretty fascinating scenes doing this and there's another section where some of the MGM classics like SAN FRANCISCO, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY and GRAND HOTEL are paid tribute to.

As far as the rest of the film goes, it's a pretty routine murder-mystery but at the same time there's a nice cast that helps keep the film moving even if its 74-minute running time seems a bit longer. I actually really liked the look of the killer as well as his choice of weapon. They really did seem like a costume from the 1930s and as I said we also get a nice cast. Jack Cassidy, Jackie Coogan, Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Peter Lawford and Kent Taylor are all fun to watch here and certainly add to the entertainment.

This is, frankly, a rather awful movie.

Despite that, however, it is (as some other commenters have noted) a very interesting piece for anyone who enjoys old movie history or wants to learn a little bit more about it. The shots of MGM's back lots and the clips from a plethora of classic movies are nostalgia-provoking even in the layman, and it's hard to avoid a little tug at your heartstrings when the sets are destroyed at the end of the film.

Beware, however, to those who are looking for a Phantom of the Opera retread: this will likely disappoint you. Very few of Leroux's original ideas survive, since the Phantom here is a vehicle to show the destruction of old Hollywood rather than a story point unto himself. There's no love story and no examination of social morals, and the things that do carry over are mostly reworked to suit the new purpose of the film.

That said, the dialogue is terrible, the action cartoonish and in some cases outlandishly unrealistic, and the plotting slipshod. It's not Plan 9, but it's definitely not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination.

If you're a die-hard Phantom of the Opera fan, feel free to add it to your collection (though it's extremely hard to find nowadays), but the real reason to watch this film is to reflect on the milestones of the film industry and to watch the last moments of a bit of movie-making history before its destruction. Even if the writers borrowed Leroux's framework for their story, it is all about Hollywood and its legacy.

One of our Hollywood fantasy streets and towns, the MGM backlot, where many a "Twilight Zone" victim, sometimes "Out of Limits" victim lived or wound up, crumples up like old wet cardboard before our very eyes. But, as seen in other scenes in the movie, sadly, perhaps it was too much of a mess to save. But we do get a tour of the backlot sets before it is torn down. And, Jack Cassidy Is the only other reason for looking at this.