Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Overview
Singer-songwriter Winslow Leach seeks revenge on the nefarious music producer Swan, who steals both Winslow's music and his favorite singer for the grand opening of his new rock palace, the Paradise.
Cast
William Finley
Winslow Leach / The Phantom
Paul Williams
Swan
Jessica Harper
Phoenix
George Memmoli
Philbin
Gerrit Graham
Beef
Archie Hahn
The Juicy Fruits / The Beach Bums / The Undeads
Jeffrey Comanor
The Juicy Fruits / The Beach Bums / The Undeads
Peter Elbling
The Juicy Fruits / The Beach Bums / The Undeads
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CinemaSerf
William Finley as the eponymous character and Paul Williams as the duplicitous record producer "Swan" both ham up enjoyably in this update of the Gaston Leroux novel. "Finley" is writing a cantata, parts of which are overheard by the unscrupulous "Swan" who gets his sidekick "Philbin" (George Memmoli) to pinch the score. Next thing, auditions are ongoing and the poor old writer has been well and truly sidelined. He's determined to wreak his revenge, a determination amplified after an accident sees him hideously disfigured. With chaos ensuing all around, "Swan" decides to try and make a peace with his nemesis - but pretty soon it's clear that's never going to work and as the opening night of the rock club "The Paradise" looms ever closer, you have to wonder if you'd really want a ticket after all. It's good fun this film with some entertaining performances at the top, Jessica Harper holds her own as the feisty chanteuse "Phoenix" and there's just about enough menacing megalomania to prevent it descending into farce. It's quite easy to see how many subsequent films or concepts it may have spawned as it takes much from musical theatre and high drama and mingles them into something that's a sort of an hybrid of the "Man from U.N.C.L.E" and "Jesus Christ Superstar". Williams also wrote much of the of the original soundtrack with a few power ballads packed in to keep the pace moving along and it's worth sticking about for the credits. It has dated, but I still enjoyed it.
