Erik (The Phantom of the Opera) strangles the publisher and tries to retrieve his music, only to be disfigured when the publisher's assistant throws etching acid in his face. In the musical horror film "Phantom of the Paradise" (1974), Winslow (the Phantom character) gets his head caught in a record-press, while Robert Englund's horror-version has him selling his soul to Satan and having his face mutilated as a result. This version also has a gruesome variation on the mask, in which Erik is sewing flesh to his face. In Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation, only half of Erik's face is deformed (thus the famous half-mask often
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