Like the previous year's remake of The Phantom of the Opera, Technicolor Boris Karloff thriller The Climax (oo-err) takes place in the world of opera, with its villain, a mad physician (natch),causing problems for the theatre's newest star, beautiful young soprano Angela Klatt (played by the very lovely Susanna Foster, who also starred in Phantom).

The Climax not only sails very close to Phantom territory n terms of plot, but it also shares much of that film's crew - - director George Waggner (who was producer on Phantom),composer Edward Ward, cinematographers Hal Mohr and W. Howard Greene, costume designer Vera West, art directors Alexander Golitzen and John B. Goodman, makeup artist Jack Pierce, editor Russell F. Schoengarth, and set decorators Russell A. Gausma and Ira Webb, who recycle Phantom's lavish backdrops.

And the similarities don't end there: as with Phantom of the Opera, The Climax proves hard to endure thanks to its horrible operatic screeching, the musical numbers a cacophony of high pitched warbling guaranteed to set one's teeth on edge and get the local dogs a-barking. It's my intense dislike of operatic singing that ensures that, of all the Phantom Of The Opera adaptations, my favourite remains the silent 1925 version (opera is so much more tolerable when you can't actually hear it).

All of The Climax's tuneless shrieking might have been a touch more bearable had the film been stronger in the script department, but Karloff's crazed Dr. Hohner hypnotising Angela so that she can no longer perform on stage is hokey B-movie tripe. Mind you, I can't really blame Hohner for trying: great looking gal, but that warbling soprano... Sheesh!

The sets are gorgeous, the cast is good, Karloff is always fun to watch. Unfortunately someone forgot this is supposed to be a thriller and decided what audiences really loved was opera. So much of this movie is devoted to operatic musical numbers. I was having to mute the tv often. That stuff just gives me a headache. It's still worth a look for Karloff, the lovely Technicolor, and the impressive sets. Just be aware that it's not a horror film even by the standards of 1944, and it's got way too much focus on opera.

My summary, if you knew me, is quite sarcastic, as I am not a fan of opera. And, when I watch a horror movie (with the exception of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA),I tune in to watch horror--not see song after song after song. While technically this is a Boris Karloff film, you'd never know it unless you paid attention. It looks much more like a musical--something fans of Karloff probably were not happy to see.

When the film began, I was immediately struck by the vivid Technicolor. Karloff rarely performed in color until late in his career when most films were in color. But, for 1944, it was unusual to see color films--particularly horror films. Also, the spectrum of colors they used were unusual--lots of pastels like mauve, rich purple and aqua as well as gray. It was very striking.

A decade ago, Karloff argued with a prima dona at the opera and strangled her. However, her body was never found and Karloff has remained free. Now, a new singer, Miss Klatt, arrives and she reminds him strongly of dead woman, Marcellina. And, since Karloff is a bit touched, he feels strange impulses towards Klatt. He tricks her into being hypnotized and gives her the suggestion that her voice is gone! Apparenly now that Marcellina is dead, Karloff won't allow anyone else to sing like her or sing her music. In many ways, this film is like an anti-Phantom of the Opera or anti-Svengali--where the mad genius guides a woman's career to failure instead of great success.

The young lady's fiancé, Turhan Bey, is worried about her and the odd influence that Karloff is having on her. So, he sneaks her away from Karloff's home (where she is staying while she "recouperates"). Bey is surprised to find that the medicine that Karloff has given her in an atomizer turns out to be nothing but colored water. What gives?! Somehow Bey gets the idea to help his fiancée get over her inability to sing can be cured by arranging a command performance before the very young king. This plan made very little sense and I have no idea what Bey's reasoning was. The king, it turns out, is pretty swell and agrees to the plan.

Somehow Bey also gets the idea that by destroying the atomizer in front of her, that his lady friend will regain her voice. It's as if he read the script! Such amazing "insider knowledge" is an inherent weakness of the film.

When Karloff discovers what's happened, he once again tried to persuade Klatt not to sing. But, just to make sure, plans to either kill her or destroy her vocal cords--it's hard to tell which he's about to do when the housekeeper confronts him--of course, with no backup or witnesses!! She KNOWS the truth and will stop him (how?!)! Fortunately, as Bey read the script, he knew to appear just in time to save the lady and rescue Klatt from Karloff's clutches.

In the end, Klatt goes on and is marvelous (if you like that sort of stuff) and Karloff overacts as he and his dead Marcellina (who he kept embalmed in a hidden room in his house) catch fire for no particular reason.

Overall, it's hardly fair to call this a Karloff movie, as he's really just a supporting playing to a bunch of warbling. Unless you are a glutton for opera (very high-pitched opera, by the way),then this film will be, at best, barely a time-passer and nothing more. That's because there is almost no suspense, no twists, Bey apparently always has ESP (how else can he do what he does in the movie?) and in the end, Karloff catches fire for no apparent reason other than it's the end of the film! Truly, despite looking nice, this is a very badly written film that wastes Karloff's considerable talents.

And to think that Karloff's first color film was this dull song-fest.