JohnHowardReid Copyright 5 August 1931 by Metro Goldwyn Mayer Distributing Corp. New York opening at the Capitol: 13 November 1931. 8 reels. 72 minutes.SYNOPSIS: An escape artist is framed for murder by a jealous rival (who actually wants the money rather than the girl).NOTES: When M-G-M's top male box-office attraction of the late 1920s, made his disastrous, all-talking, star debut in His Glorious Night (1929), M-G-M chief Louis B. Mayer didn't blame the stodgy direction of Lionel Barrymore, or the ridiculously insipid script penned by Willard Mack from the 1928 stage play Olympia by Ferenc Molnar. No, Mayer laid the blame squarely on Gilbert and tried to buy back his contract. Gilbert refused. It is alleged that Gilbert and Mayer came to blows and that the athletic star knocked the studio chief to the ground. This last statement seems more the stuff of legend than fact as Mayer was much the stronger man of the two and could easily have beaten Gilbert to a pulp. Nonetheless, it is true that Mayer's animosity didn't help Gilbert's career at a time when he needed the studio's support most. It is alleged that Mayer deliberately tried to sabotage Gilbert's efforts to retrieve his popularity, but this furphy is disproved by the facts. That Gilbert was given better scripts, better directors and kinder treatment from M-G-M's sound department is easily proven by the last three films he made under his M-G-M contract: Mervyn LeRoy was borrowed from Warner Bros for Gentleman's Fate (1931); John S. Robertson - who had notched up a number of critical and commercial successes including Tess of the Storm Country (1922) and The Enchanted Cottage (1924) - was assigned to The Phantom of Paris, adapted from a popular novel by Gaston Leroux; whilst Gilbert himself was allowed to write Downstairs (1932). It was the not the studio's fault that these films failed to retrieve Gilbert's former premier reputation.COMMENT: Although The New York Times felt that the microphone was unkind to John Gilbert's voice in The Phantom of Paris (thus helping to perpetuate the legend that there was something intrinsically wrong with Gilbert's voice), I found little to complain about. True, the recording seemed a little harsh, and Gilbert's acting was a little over-done, particularly in his impersonation scenes. True too that these scenes hardly impress as believable - but that is the fault of the script, not Mr. Gilbert. In these cases, it is usually preferable that the same actor play both roles. It's impossible to credit that both the man's wife and his mistress could be taken in by what seems a very obvious deception. Nonetheless, Gilbert gives both parts a good stab. And if you can accept this situation, you will find much that is novel and entertaining in this adaptation from Gaston Leroux (whose most famous novel, The Phantom of the Opera, is so well-known today). The plot has enough twists to keep any audience intrigued, Robertson's direction has a bit of style, whilst production values are all we expect of M-G-M.

LeonLouisRicci Forgettable Early Talkie with John Gilbert Giving Hs All, this Pre-Code Film has a Good Premise but is Strained and Stilted. It's one of those that Screams Stage Play, is Well Acted but Not Stylish and a bit Clunky.Everyone goes Through the Motions and in the End, Despite a Twisty, Labored Climax the Movie Borders on Boring. There are much Better Examples of Horror from the Time Period like "Mystery of the Wax Museum" (1933), "Dracula" (1931), and "Dr. X" (1933).Overall, Fans of John Gilbert can witness His Transition to Talkies and Despite a Good Speaking Voice, His Career was Mishandled by MGM and given the Short End by the Studio. While always a Pleasure to Watch (and hear), His Talking Pictures were mostly Mediocre.

robert-temple-1 This intriguing film is based on a novel by Gaston Leroux (author of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) entitled CHÉRI-BIBI. John Gilbert, with all his charm showing, and looking and behaving every bit like Ronald Colman, plays a raconteur magician and escape artist named Chéri-Bibi who performs stage feats similar to those of the later American stage celebrity Houdini. The drama is set in Paris in the late 19th century. He and a 'girl of good family' named Cécile are in love. She is engaged to a dastardly aristocratic fortune-hunter named the Marquis du Touchais (this could be a satirical name meaning something like 'Lord Gotchya'), who is a most appalling character whose unsympathetic nature is exceeded only by his revolting Olympian pomposity. (There is nothing worse than a bad marquis other than, perhaps, in the world of the cinema, a bad marquee.) Leila Hyams plays the quavery-voiced ingénue Cécile, in true 1931 style. The dour and unremitting hatred of John Gilbert by a detective inspector played by Lewis Stone in his most threatening mode is the key to the story. At first Stone is secretly hired by Cécile's rich father to try to discredit Gilbert, so that his daughter will not be tempted to marry him. But Stone conspicuously fails, and is humiliated in public. His wounded vanity, elevated to the level of a maniacal idée fixe, becomes the source of years of persecution for Gilbert, whom he jails and then hunts down for years mercilessly, on a false murder charge. The story somewhat falls apart with Gilbert hiding in a cellar for four years, but then Leroux always liked men lurking underground, only to rise up with romantic intentions at unexpected moments. This is very much a watchable tale carried through by the sincerity with which its non-credible story line is believed in by the director and the actors, who all seem convinced that it is important, so it must be. After all, if it's in the papers or it's on the stage or screen, it must be true. Gaston Leroux knew that you don't have to get everything right, you just have to be able to carry off a melodrama with sufficient conviction. God knows how many times I have now seen PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, due to necessity. The reason why I don't get bored is that I sit there every time trying to analyze what it is that makes it work. Even Andrew Lloyd-Webber doesn't know. No one knows. I have certainly never figured it out and no one ever will. Actually, every time I see it I enjoy it. Now why is that? What is it about these Gaston Leroux stories that makes them not so much Ghastly Leroux stories as something more like Gastronomic Leroux stories, in the sense that they result in you just going on wanting more. 'Lerouxerie' could be patented as a kind of addictive junk food.

dgz78 John Gilbert stars as escape artist & magician Cheri-Bibi accused and convicted of murdering his lover's father. But just before he is executed for the murder he escapes and goes into hiding.Since this movie was made before the Hays code, I thought it could have ended as a Shakespearian tragedy. Or maybe after his escape, Gilbert could use his talents to catch the real killer(s). Instead he sulks in a basement for four years and then does a body switch with the real killer. Ludicrous! Gilbert does what he can and his co-star Leila Hyams is okay but someone should have tried to use a little more imagination when writing the screenplay. Even the way Gilber is exonerated at the end is a weak twist that would have been rejected for a Thin Man movie. I doubt having Garbo as his co-star would have been able to overcome the weak story. At least it was only a little over an hour long.