Monday, April 30, 2018

PHANTOM OF PARIS 1931 (TCM VIEWING)

Interesting, but sometimes slow moving thriller.

I caught this on TCM a while back. John Gilbert stars as Cheri-Bibi, the most celebrated escape artist in Paris. His shows play to sold out crowds and he is riding high on a wave of success.

He is happy and about to be married to Cecile Bourrelier (Leila Hyams). However all goes wrong when he is charged with murder and sentenced to death.

He easily escapes prison and hides in a friends secret cellar while trying to clear his name. This proves to be no easy task as his identity is known to all and he must become a master of disguise as well. His friend Max is the real killer, but he dies before he can make a confession, and this only makes matters worse for Cheri-Bibi.

Watching this film unfold is pretty cool, but as I said, it does drag in a few spots, however that doesn't make it a bad film.

This early talkie from MGM is well handled and Gilbert makes a good leading man, although he would find it difficult to change from silent films to sound, as did many actors and actresses back in the day. He died in 1936 at the age of 38 from heart failure.

I believe this film is available on DVD from Warner Archive, and if you're so inclined, you might want to check it out for something a little different.

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