Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Robert J. Maxwell Many of these early talies seem to have been ground out with little attention paid to character, or to story for that matter. A parade of murder mysteries and bathetic romances.This one is different in that it has a narrative that is not only coherent but interesting in itself. If, that is, "The Count of Monte Christo" is interesting, so is "The Phantom of Paris," though far less rich in detail.Gilbert is supposed to have fallen from grace in Hollywood because of his squeaky voice. I didn't notice it here. He looks and sounds like any other matinee idol of the period.It's a watchable flick.

GManfred "The Phantom Of Paris" is a misnomer as there is no phantom in the picture. The website calls it a drama/mystery, but it basically falls under the heading of a romance story. John Gilbert is the 'title' character, an illusionist deemed unworthy of the daughter of aristocrat C. Aubrey Smith - the villain of the piece, Ian Keith, has that honor. Due to a misunderstanding, Smith is killed and the blame goes to Gilbert instead of Keith. Unfortunately, the atmosphere of tension stops at this point.From here on Gilbert is a fugitive and the picture becomes his alone. He is quite good and almost convincing when impersonating Keith, although a leap of faith is required on the viewers part. There is no evidence of a laughable pitch to his voice, but now we have recently learned that the alleged falsetto was perpetrated by L.B. Mayer himself in retaliation for an argument between the two.Despite the concocted ending it holds your interest right to the end, and is well-done in all respects. Leila Hyams was good as his love interest and Ian Keith was, well, villainous. It was on TCM the other morning, and you'll have to wait for it again as it is unavailable in any format.

wes-connors 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

ducdebrabant This turned out to be a nifty little flick. Not too surprising, since Leatrice Fountain's book on Gilbert said it was popular with both critics and audiences, though not with big enough audiences to help Gilbert much, since attendance was way down after the Crash. Based on a novel ("Cheri-Bibi") by Gaston Leroux, the author of "The Phantom of the Opera," it concerns a celebrated escape artist who is framed for the murder of his beloved's father by the man who intends to marry her for her money. Later on, having escaped from prison, he tries to clear himself by impersonating (with the help of plastic surgery) the real killer. Gilbert is very good indeed, and the far-fetched story goes down easily. There is a certain continental formality to the goings-on, and he gets to be most debonair. It's surprisingly easy to accept that everybody else buys the impersonation, since Gilbert is quite good at mimicking the carriage and mannerisms of Ian Keith, who plays the real Marquis Du Touchais in the early scenes. Leila Hyams is a lovely girl and a competent actress, but she's one of those actresses of the period (like Ann Harding) who are always perfect ladies and don't haunt the memory much. What Hyams is able to do, however, in both this and "Way for a Sailor," is seem worth it. She's the kind of intelligent, modest, upright and attractive woman a man would go to lengths to make his wife. And she benefits a lot from the decision to use Rene Hubert as the costumer. The gowns and furs and hats in this movie are the very last word in chic, and several of them were probably talked about quite a lot by women who saw the film. One jacket Hyams wears has a narrow ermine collar and huge, turned-back ermine cuffs lined with sable and trailing sable tassels. A supporting character wears another two-toned fur later on. Players like Lewis Stone (as a principled but sympathetic detective nemesis) and C. Aubrey Smith (as the murdered man) don't disappoint either. This is literally a dark film, rarely going outdoors and almost never in sunlight. There's a great deal of evocative chiaroscuro used to further the Gothic mood. The director John S. Robertson was unfamiliar to me. He turns out to have had a much longer career in silents (he directed his last sound film in 1935), but he's perfectly competent in the talkies medium. The dialogue is by Edwin Justus Mayer, and there's just the right amount of it. Robertson has some excellent credits, including directing Pickford in "Tess of the Storm Country," Garbo in "The Single Standard" and John Barrymore in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Nobody ever mentions a "phantom of Paris" in the movie (though Cheri-Bibi does elude the law very effectively most of the time). The title was undoubtedly to call attention to the fact that the author of the story was Leroux.