Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Boring, long, and too preachy.

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Copyright 5 August 1931 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Distributing Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 13 November 1931. 8 reels. 72 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An escape artist is framed for murder by a jealous rival (who actually wants the money rather than the girl).NOTES: When M-G-M's top male box-office attraction of the late 1920s, made his disastrous, all-talking, star debut in His Glorious Night (1929), M-G-M chief Louis B. Mayer didn't blame the stodgy direction of Lionel Barrymore, or the ridiculously insipid script penned by Willard Mack from the 1928 stage play Olympia by Ferenc Molnar. No, Mayer laid the blame squarely on Gilbert and tried to buy back his contract. Gilbert refused. It is alleged that Gilbert and Mayer came to blows and that the athletic star knocked the studio chief to the ground. This last statement seems more the stuff of legend than fact as Mayer was much the stronger man of the two and could easily have beaten Gilbert to a pulp. Nonetheless, it is true that Mayer's animosity didn't help Gilbert's career at a time when he needed the studio's support most. It is alleged that Mayer deliberately tried to sabotage Gilbert's efforts to retrieve his popularity, but this furphy is disproved by the facts. That Gilbert was given better scripts, better directors and kinder treatment from M-G-M's sound department is easily proven by the last three films he made under his M-G-M contract: Mervyn LeRoy was borrowed from Warner Bros for Gentleman's Fate (1931); John S. Robertson - who had notched up a number of critical and commercial successes including Tess of the Storm Country (1922) and The Enchanted Cottage (1924) - was assigned to The Phantom of Paris, adapted from a popular novel by Gaston Leroux; whilst Gilbert himself was allowed to write Downstairs (1932). It was the not the studio's fault that these films failed to retrieve Gilbert's former premier reputation.COMMENT: Although The New York Times felt that the microphone was unkind to John Gilbert's voice in The Phantom of Paris (thus helping to perpetuate the legend that there was something intrinsically wrong with Gilbert's voice), I found little to complain about. True, the recording seemed a little harsh, and Gilbert's acting was a little over-done, particularly in his impersonation scenes. True too that these scenes hardly impress as believable - but that is the fault of the script, not Mr. Gilbert. In these cases, it is usually preferable that the same actor play both roles. It's impossible to credit that both the man's wife and his mistress could be taken in by what seems a very obvious deception. Nonetheless, Gilbert gives both parts a good stab. And if you can accept this situation, you will find much that is novel and entertaining in this adaptation from Gaston Leroux (whose most famous novel, The Phantom of the Opera, is so well-known today). The plot has enough twists to keep any audience intrigued, Robertson's direction has a bit of style, whilst production values are all we expect of M-G-M.

"The Phantom of Paris" stars John Gilbert, Leila Hyams, C. Aubrey Smith, Lewis Stone, and Ian Keith. There's no Phantom, but the novel was written by the author of Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux, so I suppose the producers wanted audiences to make the connection.Made in 1931, the movie was somewhat of a surprise to me. I always had the idea that John Gilbert was a wimpy guy with a mustache - I had only seen him in Queen Christina - but I was wrong. Here he's handsome, elegant, and his acting is marvelous. So much has been written about his voice and how Louis Mayer changed it in "His Glorious Night" to make him sound silly - I actually never believed that. I think the corny dialogue and saying "I love you" out loud - something audiences had never heard - did him in. In truth, he had a beautiful speaking voice in a tenor range - he incorporated the mid- Atlantic speech of the day as did Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and others, and his diction was perfect.Here he plays a renowned magician, Cheri-Bibi, who is in love with a beautiful socialite Cecile Bourrelier (Leila Hyams). Her father (C. Aubrey Smith) does not approve and instead wants her to marry the Marquis Du Touchais (Ian Keith). Cecile wants to marry Cheri-Bibi. Du Touchais then learns that Cecile's father is making up a new will and omitting him. He kills Bourrelier, but Cheri-Bibi is arrested and sentenced to death.This is a really neat story but one has to account for dramatic license - the disguise used in this film is obvious, but entertaining nonetheless.Leila Hyams was a beautiful, vivacious actress in the early days of talkies who retired, married an agent, and stayed married to him for 50 years. Ian Keith was a wonderful stage actor who played character roles in films - he does a great job here, as do C. Aubrey Smith, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, and Natalie Moorhead.John Gilbert would be dead five years later - "Phantom of Paris" is an excellent chance to see why he had such great stardom. I had a chance once to speak with his daughter, Leatrice Joy Gilbert, a lovely woman with two actor sons, John Fountain and Gideon Fountain. She was very proud of her father's work, as she should have been.

"The Phantom of Paris" is a thoroughly enjoyable film that is, if you think about it, really stupid. The writing obviously is the weak point in this movie, as John Gilbert is excellent and is only hindered by a silly plot.When the film begins, the great magician/escape artist Chéri-Bibi (Gilbert) is performing one of his great stunts. He then goes to his girlfriend's home. Cecile loves him but her father isn't so impressed by him. But, since Cecile obviously is not going to marry the Marquis Du Touchais, he decides to change his will. He previously was going to leave his fortune to the man...and it was assumed he'd marry Cecile. But the father makes a HUGE mistake...he tells the Marquis and soon the father is murdered...and the Marquis and his skanky lady friend pin the murder on Bibi. Soon, Bibi is in prison and awaiting execution.So far, the film is really good. But after Bibi escapes the film kind of falls apart and becomes silly. He hides out in a friend's basement for several years until he learns that the Marquis is dying---and so he rushes off to confront the scoundrel. The Marquis is so sick he admits he set up Bibi...but then dies before there are any witnesses. So (and boy does it get dumb here), Bibi decides to impersonate the Marquis...and claim that he was kidnapped by Bibi and he returns home six months later!! And, inexplicably, all the folks who knew the Marquis suddenly think he IS the Marquis!!! Makes sense? Nah...but the film is entertaining despite being stupid....but stupid it certainly is. And, if you think about it, the film is a bit like the later TV series, "The Fugitive"...but a cheesier version of course!

Handsome "disappearing artist" John Gilbert (as Chéri-Bibi) entertains wealthy Parisians with his sensational Houdini-like escapes. Off-stage, Mr. Gilbert courts pretty Leila Hyams (as Cecile). When her father is murdered, Gilbert is accused and jailed. You will likely suspect the killer is sneaky Ian Keith (as the Marquis du Touchais), Gilbert's rival for Ms. Hyams' hand in marriage. As expected, Gilbert escapes from prison, vowing to solve the crime and clear his name. Eventually, he assumes a startling new identity, stepping into the "Marquis" character played by Mr. Keith...How Gilbert passes for Keith strains credulity, but this is an otherwise fine mystery. "The Phantom of Paris" was the fourth, but first really good film in Gilbert's famously unsuccessful career in talking pictures. It was originally slated to star the recently deceased "man of a thousand faces" Lon Chaney. Gilbert, who surprised "talkie" audiences with a more high pitched voice than expected, had been excellent in "The Show" (1927), another Chaney-like role...You can hear how Gilbert records poorly on the larger soundstages. But, it's also evident he and MGM had been working on the voice. Note how Gilbert seems to enjoy showing off his "deep" voice against the squeaky "cigarette case" actor (Tyrell Davis), apparently employed to show off his more high-pitched tone. Gilbert tries some weird acting tricks - like, what the heck is he doing with the knob of that chair while hiding in Jean Hersholt's basement? - but, in a challenging (almost dual) role, Gilbert clearly reveals a potential for greatness as a credible actor in the changing medium.******* The Phantom of Paris (9/12/31) John S. Robertson ~ John Gilbert, Leila Hyams, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt