The 1943 version of The Phantom Of The Opera is perhaps a bit unfairly overlooked.

Its one of the original run of Universal Studios classic horrors, but there’s no Karloff or Lugosi this time around. The Phantom is played by Claude Rains, who is third billed behind crooner Nelson Eddy. His disfiguration is just a few scars, by comparison with the iconic look achieved by Lon Chaney in the 1925 original film.

There is a lot more musical and a lot less horror this time around than many would like. And yet it is sumptuous to look at, shot in colour on the sets of the Paris Opera house which had originally been created for the Chaney version. It remains the only one of the classic Universal horror films to win an Oscar (for Art Direction and Cinematography).

This great image is from an original release Spanish herald. This now has pride of place in my small collection of horror/sci-fi heralds from the 40s to the 60s!