The Phantom

When you hear the title The Phantom you are probably more likely to think about the purple-clad vigilante than a mostly forgotten poverty row mystery flick from the early 30's.

This Phantom is a criminal. He escapes from prison on the eve of his execution and sets out to take revenge on the DA that incarcerated him. When half the town arrives at DA Hamilton's house, and one of which may be the Phantom, they all start roaming about the secret passages in aimless fashion. Meanwhile Ruth and her reporter boyfriend decide to investigate a weird sanitarium.

I'm all for making a visit to a creepy, old sanitarium, but any mention of the Phantom or his desire to get the DA drops out of the plot for the entire second half of the movie up until the very end. The plot in general seems pointless and meandering. It gets to the point of not making a lot of sense. Part of the issue is that the sudden edits feel choppy and jarring to the point of making it difficult to tell what is supposed to be happening.

The action choreography is laughable, the acting is amateurish, and the overly frightened maid gets to be very annoying. I suppose this could be enjoyable if you're looking for something campy with goofy humor, but I am far from impressed.

MORALITY:

Typical of these old black-and-white films there is no sexuality, nudity, or strong language. Despite being a suspense flick involving a criminal vicious enough to be given the death penalty there is no violence other than the suggestion that he wants revenge.

SPIRITUALITY:

I didn't pick up on anything significantly spiritual.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I can't recommend The Phantom unless you specifically enjoy very old, very campy suspense flicks. There is much better than this available.

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