The Phantom of the Opera - 1925
Note: black and white
Directed by: Rupert Julian
Cast:
 

Plot Outline: At the Opera of Paris, a mysterious phantom threatens a famous lyric singer, Carlotta and thus forces her to give up her role (Marguerite in Faust) for unknown Christine Daae. Christine meets this phantom (a masked man) in the catacombs, where he lives. What's his goal? What's his secret?

The Phantom of the Opera - 1943 
Directed by: Arthur Lubin
Cast:
 

Plot Outline: Pit violinist Claudin hopelessly loves rising operatic soprano Christine Dubois (as do baritone Anatole and police inspector Raoul) and secretly aids her career. But Claudin loses both his touch and his job, murders a rascally music publisher in a fit of madness, and has his face etched with acid. Soon, mysterious crimes plague the Paris Opera House, blamed on a legendary "phantom" whom none can find in the mazes and catacombs. But both of Christine's lovers have plans to ferret him out.

The Phantom of the Opera House - 1961
Directed By: Paul J. Smith
Cast:

Plot Outline:

The Phantom of the Opera - 1962 
Directed By: Terence Fisher
Cast:
 

Plot Outline: The corrupt Lord Ambrose D’Arcy (Michael Gough) steals the life’s work of the poor musical Professor Petrie. (Herbert Lom). In an attempt to stop the printing of music with D’Arcy’s name on it, Petrie breaks into the printing office and accidentally starts a fire, leaving him severely disfigured. Years later, Petrie returns to terrorize a London opera house that is about to perform one of his stolen operas.

The Phantom of the Opera - 1983
Note: TV Movie
Directed By: Robert Markowitz
Cast:
 

Plot Outline:

The Phantom of the Opera - 1989 
Directed By: Dwight H. Little
Cast:
 

Plot Outline: In this version of the Gaston Leroux classic, Erik is not the victim of an accident but a man who sells his soul for supernatural powers.

Click here to view a trailer (Windows Media Player 28.8)
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The Phantom of the Opera [I] - 1990 
Note: TV movie
Directed By: Tony Richardson
Cast:
 

Plot Outline: Count de Chagnie has discovered Christine's singing talent on a market place and sent her to his friend Carriere, the director of the Parisian opera. However just when she arrives Carriere's dismissed. His arrogant successor refuses to let a woman of low birth sing in his opera, but graciously employs Christine as gadrobiere for his wife Charlotta, who's installed as first singer. He also fights the phantom, an unknown guy who lives since many years in the catacombs below the opera and was granted privileges by Carriere. However the phantom knows how to defend himself and at the same time helps Christine to her career. Insp. Ledoux, is the Persian

The Phantom of the Opera [II] - 1990 
Note: TV Movie
Directed by: Angel Hernandez and Darwin Knight
Cast:
 

Plot Outline: This movie is a filmed version of a stage play. The music is fairly good, and the chemistry between the Phantom and Christine is evident. With the goofy managers bickering and Carlotta's constant whining it is also quite funny. It is not the Leroux telling of the story, but it is an entertaining story none-the-less. Based on the Yeltson and Kopit musical.

Il Fantasma dell'opera - 1998
Directed by: Dario Argento
Cast:
 

Plot Outline: Standard story of the Phantom does have one major variation - The phantom is not a disfigured individual, but rather is an unwashed orphan abandoned in the sewers under the Paris Opera & raised by rats. The Phantom invokes death upon anyone who dares harm his beloved rats. In fact, The Phantom's nemesis is the chief exterminator (Istvan Bubik) who develops a rat-catching machine.

El Fantasma de la Opereta (1960)
Directed By: Ferdinand Cortes
Actors: Tin-Tan
Plot Outline: It was a "cheaply made paradoy"

Phantom of Hollywood (1974)
Director: Gene Levitt

Actors:
Jack Cassidy.....The Phantom
Broderick Crawford....?
Peter Lawford.....?
Corinne Calvet....?
Jackie Coogan.....?
John Ireland....?

Plot Outline: The Phantom is a former actor, now old and disfigured, who has been living hidden peacefully in a movie studio for 30 years. However his peace is destroyed when it is decided that the movie lot should be bulldozed. Outraged at the prospect of losing his home, the Phantom goes on a "wild rampage" to stop the progress.

The Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Directed: Brian de Palma

Actors:
Paul Williams.....Swan
William Finley....Winslow Leach (The Phantom)
Jessica Harper.....Pheonix
Gerrit Graham.....Beef
Gerorge Memmoli....Philbin Archie Hahn, Jeffery Commanor, Harald Oblong...Musicians
Colin Cameron, David Garland, Gary Mallaber, Art Munsun...Band
Mary Margaret Amaton, Rand Bridges, James Bohan....Swan's Entourage
Herb Pacheco....Assassin

Plot Outline: Winslow Leach is a gentle young composer, attempting to write a masterpiece: a rock opera of Faust. The infamous record impresario, Swan, notices him and takes interest in the rock opera. Namely, he wants to use it as the opening night piece for his new rock palace, the Paradise. However, he'd rather have his own name on it, as opposed to Leach's, and after promising to "get back to" Leach, he takes the only copy of the opera and begins to publish it as his own. When Leach finds out and attempts accuse Swan, he is framed and sent to prison in Sing Sing. He manages to escape and find Swan's record factory, which he then proceeds to sabatoge. Unfortunately, his attempt go awry when his head is caught in a record presser, leaving him forever deformed and without a voice. Dispite this mishap, Leach doesn't give up. He returns to the Paradise and begins causing mayhem, sabotaging sets and terrorizing actors, while wearing a cape and odd, bird-like mask. Swan convinces Leach to calm down and asks him to finish the opera, which Leach agrees to do, provided that a young, aspiring singer named Pheonix, whom Leach met earlier and for whom Leach has fallen, gets the lead part. Swan agrees and Leach sells his soul to Swan in order to get his voice "back" and have his music played. When Leach finds out the Swan has secretly assigned Beef, a gay male, muscle-bound rock star in the lead part instead of Phoenix, he freaks out, kills Beef, and begins terrorizing everyone again, trying to stop Swan. The story goes on as Leach discovers thar Swan has sold his own soul to the devil in order to get eternal youth, has corrupted and gained the soul of Phoenix, and plans to have Phoenix murdered on public television during their Paradise wedding. Leach confronts Swan in a spectacular show down at the Paradise, resulting in both their deaths.

All pictures, apart from the Poster for "Il Fantasma dell'opera" have been kindly lent to this site by Phorum Ghost, visit her EXCELLENT site by clicking here the cast lists, summaries, and directors all come from a movie site, which I have gone and forgotten the name off (it'll come back...) and so do the trailer clips. Kindly do not take the pictures. Thank you to Masked Rose for the last three :-)