Cheri-Bibi is a stage magician and escape artist living and working in Paris. Bibi is in love with socialite Cecile Bourrelier (Leila Hyams). Cecile returns the affection, but she is engaged to Marquis Du Touchais (Ian Keith). Her father (C. Aubrey Smith) is not happy that his daughter prefers the debonair and handsome Bibi.
Bourrelier learns that Touchais is basically a gold digger and wants to marry Cecile to get access to the old man’s money when he dies. Bourrelier pulls Touchais aside during a party and informs him that he plans on changing his will to keep Touchais from getting his hands on the estate and dismisses the Marquis. Bibi, who was invited to the party by Cecile, tells Bourrelier that he is in love with the man’s daughter and wants to marry her. He is also dismissed.
Shortly after that Bourrelier is murdered and Bibi is accused, arrested and sentenced to death. Bibi escapes from jail just before being executed and hides out with his friend Herman (Jean Hersholt). Bibi learns that the Marquis is dying from the flu. He believes that Touchais is responsible for Bourrelier’s murder, so he goes to see Touchais hoping to get him to confess. Touchais implicates himself and his lover, Vera (Natalie Moorhead), but dies before anyone witnesses his confession. Realizing that he will be looked at for a second murder, Bibi takes the Marquis’ body and visits his old friend Dr. Gorin (Alfred Hickman). Gorin performs plastic surgery on Bibi and makes him look like the Marquis. In disguise Bibi hopes to hide in plain sight, find proof of his innocence and convince Vera to admit to her part of the conspiracy.
“The Phantom of Paris” was released in 1931 and was directed by John S. Robertson. It is an American pre-code thriller. It is based on the 1913 novel “Cheri-Bibi and Cecily” by Gaston Leroux. MGM also released a Spanish version of the film that was shot at the same time. The Spanish language version was directed by Carolos F. Borcosque.
I have no idea why they called the film “The Phantom of Paris” since there are no phantoms in the film. Lon Chaney had been tagged to play Bibi before he died. Some suggest that the title is a call back to Chaney’s previous movie “The Phantom of the Opera” 1925, another story written by Gaston Leroux, but the working title for the film under Chaney was supposed to be “Seven Seas” so everything is questionable.
What I found interesting about the movie is that John Gilbert plays both Cheri-Bibi in the first half of the movie as well as the Marquis Du Touchais in the second half, instead of Ian Keith. Gilbert does a good job of transforming himself into the Marquis. I wasn’t sure for a while if the actor in the second half of the movie was Gilbert or Keith. His performance was impressive, especially since his forte was silent films.
The movie itself wasn’t too bad, if slightly implausible. Not great but as a “B” picture it was well done with some decent actors to round things out.
Pre-code aspects of the film include infidelity, and an allusion to rape.