the climax would be more aptly name the anti climax . it mark boris karloff return to movie after three year on broadway and touring in arsenic and old lace . his name alone lead many to believe the climax would be a grand and shiver horror fest and especially a it would be karloff first color film . instead and the climax be a sad tale of an elderly doctor who have a thing about a singer he strangle ten year previously . for some and it might have promise a delightful technicolor movie of viennese operetta and hollywood soubrette . instead and it a weak re make of the phantom of the opera and without the phantom and which be release the year before . at the very least and ticket buyer would have expect and base on the lavish set and art design and all in technicolor and a passionate story of behind the scene old vienna and complete with everyone wear even dress or gilt braid uniform with red breech and with gas light and wet cobblestone and with jealous prima donna and excerpt from operetta and dancer in pastel tutu . we get the tutu and all right and but the lavishness be from the minnelli school of garish over kill . more than anything else and we get a story of aged obsession and hypnotism and throat spray that be a flavorless and stale a a slice of month old sachertorte . dr. friedrich hohner ( boris karloff ) and an aging and dignified doctor and serve the medical need of the operetta singer at vienna theatre royal . count seebruck ( thomas gomez ) run the theater and the opera company with firmness and humor . one day the doctor chance upon an audition seebruck be give to a young student and angela klatt ( susannah foster ) . she have a marvelous voice and and seebruck immediately give her a role in an upcoming production . hohner be horrify . angela sound just like the great singer and marcellina and who disappear without a trace ten year ago . we have already learn in flashback at the start of the movie that hohner love marcellina obsessively and and blame her refusal of his love on her ambition . cause by her extraordinary voice . hohner solve that problem by silence the voice . an unfortunate by product of his action be the dead body of marcellina . and now it appear that the same voice will star again at the the theatre royal . for the rest of the movie we have angela be pull and push between hohner and determine that marcellina voice will never be hear again and and the young man and fellow student who love angela and franz munzer ( turhan bey ) and who be determine angela will sing and be a great success . lurk around the doctor lavishly decorate medical office and home be his assistant and housekeeper and luise ( gale sondergaard ) . luise be play some game of her own and but what could it be . could it have something to do with the steel and locked door at the top of the stair in hohner home and a door which lead to a room we dread to see what it might contain . what make a movie dull . the phantom of the opera the year before also star susannah foster . it be a technicolor knock out of a movie and and feature a fine performance by claude raines and all the behind the scene stuff you could want and an amusing light comedy performance from nelson eddy and aid by his rival for foster affection and edgar barrier . the set be lavish and include some of the creepy below ground scene ever film . it be no classic and but it isn not dull . the climax use the same set and same story line and have a fine actor a the main threat . but there it end . the story be too familiar and drag on and on . inexplicably and karloff be under utilized . when karloff say in that deep and sincere voice of his and i have come to help you and my dear and we hope thing will pick up . they do not .