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The Climax

The Climax

  • Status: Released
  • 20-10-1944
  • Runtime: 86 min
  • Score: 5.424
  • Vote count: 33

Dr. Hohner, theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre, murders his mistress, the star soprano when his jealousy drives him to the point of mad obsession. Ten years later, another young singer reminds Hohner of the late diva and his old mania kicks in. Hohner wants to prevent her from singing for anyone but him, even if it means silencing her forever.

Boris Karloff

Dr. Friedrich Hohner

Susanna Foster

Angela Klatt

Turhan Bey

Franz Munzer

Gale Sondergaard

Luise

Thomas Gomez

Count Seebruck

June Vincent

Marcellina

George Dolenz

Amato Roselli

Ludwig Stössel

Carl Baumann

Jane Farrar

Jarmila Vadek

Ernö Verebes

Brunn

Lotte Stein

Mama Hinzl

Scotty Beckett

The King

William Edmunds

Leon, Theatre Concierge

Maxwell Hayes

Count Romburg

Dorothy Lawrence

Miss Metzger

Bella Lewitzky

Dancer (Uncredited)

Jack Richardson

Musical Conductor (Uncredited)

Polly Bailey

Cleaning Woman (Uncredited)

Stuart Holmes

King's Consul (Uncredited)

Eddie Polo

Stagehand (Uncredited)

Paul Power

Reporter (Uncredited)

Ernie Adams

Man in Audience Next to Franz (Uncredited)

Gertrude Astor

Woman in Audience Behind Franz (Uncredited)

Grace Cunard

Backstage Maid (Uncredited)

William Desmond

Backstage Technician (Uncredited)

Francis Ford

Backstage Attendant (Uncredited)

Louis Payne

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Anne Cornwall

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Rudy Bowman

Audience Member (Uncredited)

William H. O'Brien

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Helen Gibson

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Maurice Costello

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Harry Mayo

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Richard Neill

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Eric Mayne

Audience Member (Uncredited)

Barry Regan

Audience Member (Uncredited)

talisencrw

A very enjoyable romp from the 40's about unrequited love driving a man to obsession, selfishness and murder, and you really can't go wrong with Boris Karloff, particularly from this vintage. This is especially enjoyable if you're a fan of opera at all. New York City-born director Waggner, most famous for 'The Wolf Man', is decent at this sort of thing, though he got relegated the last phase of his career to TV-work (such as the 60's 'Batman'). Karloff's first colour film (and in Technicolor, no doubt), it's also famous for using the same sets as 'The Phantom of the Opera', made the previous year--the oldest surviving movie set. I came across this in an excellent 5-film pack of Karloff-starred thrillers from the late 30's and early 40's. Both the boxed set and this individual film are highly recommended to fans of the star's work.