The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film) like a grasshopper. One of them will save Raoul's life, but at the cost of Christine marrying Erik, while the other will blow up the barrels in the chamber Raoul and Ledoux are trapped in, in effect destroying the Opera House and killing them all. Christine picks the scorpion, but it is a trick by the Phantom to "save" Raoul and Ledoux from being killed by drowning them. Christine begs the Phantom to save Raoul, promising him anything in return, even becoming his wife. At the last second, the Phantom opens a trapdoor in his floor through which Raoul and
Phantom of the Opera (1943 film) return, along with Claude Rains as the Phantom, most likely meaning that his character survived the cave-in at the finale of the first film (indeed, in the final shot of the mask and violin atop the rubble, there is a sound of moving rock). The sequel, however, was later cancelled due to story troubles and problems concerning the availability of Claude Rains. "The Climax" was indeed released the year after "Phantom of the Opera", but it was not a continuation of the previous film and featured completely new characters. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning in two