Trivia for
Phantom of the Opera (1943) More at IMDbPro »

• Because the war in Europe made it so difficult to track down who had who had the rights to most operas (coupled with the studios reluctance to pay the required royalties) all the operas performed in the film were either in the public domain (i.e., no-one owned the rights to them) or were based on classical music that was in the public domain. The film makers were able to slip in a reference to the opera Faust (which featured heavily in the original novel) by having Christine appear in the Marguerite costume as she comes off stage at the end of the film.
  
  
• The auditorium and stage of the Paris Opera House seen here was the same set built for the 1925 version. It still stands at Universal Studios today, and has been used for countless other productions, including Thoroughly Modern Millie and The Sting. It is the oldest remaining film set in the world.
  
  
• The original script revealed Claudin to be Christine's father, who abandoned her and her mother in order to pursue a musical career. When this was excised from the final film, it left Claudin's obsession with Christine unexplained.
  
  
• Of the three "operas" in the film, only the first, "Marta," by Friederich von Flotow, is an actual opera. The second, "Amore et Gloire," is adapted from music originally written for piano by Chopin: the overture and opening chorus is taken from the "Military" Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, No. 1; the duet between Anatole and Biancarolli is taken from the Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2; and the music for Christine's aria/duet with Anatole is taken from the Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, No. 2. The music of the third opera, "Le Prince Masque de Caucasie," is actually excerpts from the finale of Tchaikowsky's Fourth Symphony.
  
  
• The bronze sculpture of Christine Dubois (Susanna Foster) was actually made by co-star Nelson Eddy, who was an accomplished sculptor.
  
  
• The role of Christine Dubois was originally intended for Deanna Durbin, who turned it down.
  
  
• Universal Studio originally planned to rewrite Phantom of the Opera as a comedy for the team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They also considered casting Lon Chaney Jr. as "The Phantom," a role made famous by his father, and actor Jon Hall as the romantic lead.
  
  
• The budget was approximately $1,750,000, which included $100,000 to soundproof the still-existing opera stage from Universal's The Phantom of the Opera (1925) silent film version
  
  
• On 21 May 1943, the finished film was rejected by the Hays Office because of a "number of unacceptable breast shots of Christine" in her dressing room. It has not been determined if the offending scenes were deleted or re-shot, but the film was released in Aug 1943 with Production Code Administration approval.
  
  

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