In this Universal adaptation of the story, Claude Rains portrays a Paris Opera violinist enfatuated by an up and coming opera singer. In fact, he has spent all his savings secretly paying for her tutor. When he's dismissed from the opera because of an injury to his left hand, he tries to sell some music he composed-but believes they are trying to steal it from him. He gets in a fight with the owner of the music shop and ends up strangling him, but not before his assistant throws a pan of acid into his face. He runs away, shrieking, to seek refuge in the sewers beneath the city streets. In the following months strange things happen at the opera-food and objects are stolen-and murders start to happen.This is the least horrific version of Phantom, mostly concentrated on the musical numbers and the interractions between the lead woman and her two potential boyfriends. In the end the phantom's mask is pulled off, to reveal some acid welts (nothing really scary) and he's dispatched very quickly by the police inspector.