as Raoul Dubert Jane Farrar as Biancarolli J. Edward Bromberg as Amiot Fritz Feld as Lecours Frank Puglia as Villeneuve Fritz Leiber as Franz Liszt Steven Geray as Vercheres Miles Mander as Maurice Pleyel Hans Herbert as Marcel Hume Cronyn as Gerard Development and production Universal first announced a remake of The Phantom of the Opera in 1935. Set to be directed by Anatole Litvak, this version would have been set in contemporary Paris, and would have portrayed the Phantom as a psychologically wounded World War I veteran who was physically unharmed, but imagined that he was disfigured. However, development lingered as the studio faced financial problems that resulted in the ousting of the original film's producer Carl Laemmle and his son, Carl Laemmle Jr. Plans for the remake finally surfaced again in November 1941, when Henry Koster became attached to direct. Koster discarded the previous screenplay, and envisioned a new version of the story in which the Phantom was Christine's father. Under Koster, the initial casting included Boris Karloff as The Phantom, Allan Jones as Raoul, and Deanna Durbin as Christine. Eddy was cast after leaving MGM for a two-picture deal with Universal. This led to Durbin refusing the role, not wanting to be compared to Eddy's frequent film partner Jeanette MacDonald, who Durbin admired. Karloff also became unavailable, and Koster also considered Cesar Romero, Feodor Chaliapin, Charles Laughton and Broderick Crawford for the Phantom. Producer George Waggner eventually fired Koster from the project. After Koster's firing, Arthur Lubin was brought on to direct. Under Lubin, Koster's subplot about the Phantom being Christine's father was jettisoned, because it gave the romantic elements of their relationship incestuous overtones; however, the Phantom's obsession with Christine is not completely stated within the film. Lubin cast Rains in the film almost immediately, saying he was his "only choice" for the role. Foster, who had just left Paramount Pictures, was cast after meeting Lubin through a mutual friend, and auditioning for Waggner. Filming began on January 21, 1943. Lux Radio Theater presented a radio adaption of the film on September 13, 1943. Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster and Edgar Barrier reprised their roles from the film; Basil Rathbone replaced Rains as Erique Claudin. This presentation was produced and hosted by Cecil B. DeMille. Score The score was written by Edward Ward. For the opera sequences, Ward adapted music from Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 as well