The Climax *** (1944, Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey) – Classic Movie Review 1929

The Climax is an excellent, little-known vintage Universal Studios horror movie that finds Boris Karloff back in mad doctor mode as Dr Hohner, a demented physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, who becomes obsessed with a young opera singer called Angela Klatt (Susanna Foster). Her voice sounds similar to that of his late mistress, the star soprano.

Soon, to get her to do his bidding to sing only for him, he is hypnotising the young singer, who is unfortunately reviving the same show that made her dead predecessor famous. The madly jealous Dr Hohner had murdered her a decade previously when she didn’t return his love.

Now, if he can’t get what he wants, Dr Hohne is prepared to stop Angela singing forever and it is up to her fiancée (Turhan Bey) to try to save her.

Producer-director George Waggner’s 1944 follow-up to the previous year’s Universal horror hit Phantom of the Opera again features its female star Susanna Foster and is even shot on its sets. And it was modestly and hopefully advertised as ‘Greater than the Phantom of the Opera’. The Climax is a suspenseful, tongue-in-cheek slice of Gothic ghoulery, with a heaven-sent opportunity for Karloff to enjoy himself, which he takes in his usual grave and intense manner. [While The Phantom of the Opera was being shot, Waggner was making The Wolf Man with Lon Chaney Jr.]

You expect black and white in this era, but what you get is glorious colour, as with Phantom of the Opera again. Hal Mohr and W Howard Greene’s luminous Technicolor cinematography and Waggner’s taut direction are more than important pluses. They turn out to be essential ingredients for success, along with Karloff’s iconic appearance and Curt Siodmak and Lynn Starling’s engrossing screenplay, based on a theatre play by Edward Locke.

Gale Sondergaard (Luise), Turhan Bey (Franz Munzer) and Thomas Gomez (Count Seebruck) are other essential ingredients in the cast, while co-stars Scotty Beckett, June Vincent (as Marcellina), George Dolenz, Ludwig Stossel and Jane Farrar are important pluses.

Susanna Foster scored her most famous role as Christine Dubois in the 1943 Phantom of the Opera at age 19, but abruptly quit the business in 1945. She made one final film appearance in 1992’s Detour, a remake of the 1945 film noir cult favourite Detour. She died of heart failure on 17 January 2009 at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in New Jersey, aged 84. Her rare ability to render B above high C was exploited by Universal’s musical department.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Movie Review 1929

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Boris Karloff is back in mad doctor mode as Dr Hohner, a demented physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre in The Climax (1944).

Thomas Gomez plays Count Seebruck.

June Vincent plays Marcellina.