Erique Claudin floats adrift in the dark seas of a lonely life, growing older, growing weaker. His only beacons of light are his passion for music and the care he bestows upon a young rising star of the Paris Opera, Christine DuBois. But in one personal calamity after another, Erique’s life falls apart, and he is driven to madness and murder. Such is the tragedy at the heart of the 1943 version of Gaston Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera.

Typically, any piece of media regarding the classic tale of the spook beneath the Paris Opera House is about either the legendary Lon Chaney silent film or the modern classic Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. Between the two stands this underrated take on the story, which shows the Phantom in a much more sympathetic light. As Erique, Claude Rains hits all the right notes of melancholy and menace. Erique is a violinist for the Paris Opera, but he has developed an arthritic condition in his left hand which has impacted his playing. The conductor has noticed, and Erique is unceremoniously dismissed after twenty years with the Opera. To make matters worse, he has been using his wages to anonymously pay for Christine’s singing lessons, and now without a steady salary Christine won’t be able to continue them. But Erique has a backup plan—the concerto he has written, which he is confident will be published and land him a significant pay day. Erique takes his music to the local publisher, Playel & Desjardin, and hands it over. The look on his face while he anxiously waits for a response is affecting. When he’s had enough waiting, he ventures down to see Playel himself. Playel doesn’t like Erique, and doesn’t know or care what happened to his concerto, speculating it must have been thrown in the wastebasket. Dejected, Erique is preparing to leave when he hears a familiar melody from somewhere in the building. It is none other than Franz Liszt playing his music in another room. Liszt and the man standing with him comment on the high quality of this piece, saying it is sure to be published. Unfortunately, Erique is not in their presence, and because of his sour relationship with Playel, he believes the publisher is stealing his music. He snaps, strangling Playel, and is splashed in the face with engraving acid by Playel’s assistant. Erique flees the building in agony and, with the police in pursuit, finds refuge in the city sewers. After stealing a cloak and a prop mask to hide his acid-burned appearance, Erique begins his haunt of the Paris Opera House as the Phantom. He sets about doing whatever it takes to see his daughter succeed, even if it means more death and destruction to those who stand in their way.

Yes, that’s right—Christine is Erique’s daughter this time around. He has a vested interest in her career, and it’s not because he’s going through a midlife crisis by creeping on a beautiful young woman. It’s because he is her long lost father, and he feels guilty for abandoning her many years ago. Paying for Christine’s singing lessons and keeping an eye on her from the orchestra pit is Erique’s way of trying to make it up to her. It’s a father’s love, even though she’s unaware of it. While this isn’t explicitly stated in the film, it is confirmed on the DVD extras as the origin of their relationship, and a scene explaining it was ultimately cut. But the clues remain throughout the film. For instance, Erique’s concerto is based around the melody of one of his favorite lullabies, and Christine later recognizes it from her childhood when the concerto is played during the film’s climax. This father-daughter dynamic intensifies the tragedy of Erique’s downfall, and it makes the sadness cut deeper. For as much depth as the relationship between Erique and Christine gives the proceedings, the film does falter whenever a baritone named Anatole and a boring inspector named Raoul aim for comic relief with their bumbling attempts to win Christine’s heart. The scenes detract from the serious tone of the story and feel unwelcome, plus they take up time which could have been used to further flesh out Erique’s dreary life in the catacombs.

In many ways, this film is not a conventional horror film, despite Universal Studios selling it as part of their Classic Monster Collection. While there is murder and mayhem, the real horror comes from seeing a well-meaning man completely broken by the circumstances around him, sending him into the pits in both body and mind. We fear the Phantom, but we pity the man. Sympathetic villains don’t always work in horror films, but Erique Claudin is a heartbreaking exception.