Violinist Erique Claudin is dismissed from the
Paris Opera House after revealing that he is losing the use of the fingers of his left hand. Unbeknownst to the
conductor, who assumes Claudin can support himself, the musician has used all his money to help anonymously fund voice lessons for
Christine Dubois, a young
soprano to whom he is devoted. Meanwhile, Christine is pressured by
Inspector Raoul Dubert to quit the Opera and marry him. But famed opera
baritone Anatole Garron hopes to win Christine's heart despite this. Christine considers them both good friends but doesn't openly express if she loves them. In a desperate attempt to earn money, Claudin submits a
piano concerto he has written for publication. After weeks of not hearing any response about his concerto, he becomes worried and returns to the publisher, Maurice Pleyel, to ask about it. Pleyel rudely tells him to leave. Claudin hears his concerto being played in the office and is convinced that Pleyel is trying to steal it; unbeknownst to him, a visiting
Franz Liszt had been playing and endorsing the concerto. Enraged, Claudin strangles Pleyel. Georgette, the publisher's assistant, throws
etching acid in Claudin's face, horribly scarring him forever. Now wanted for
murder, Claudin flees into the sewers of the Opera and covers his disfigurement with a
prop mask stolen from the Opera house, thus becoming the Phantom. During a performance of the opera
Amour et gloire, the Phantom drugs a glass of
red wine which
prima donna Biancarolli drinks, knocking her unconscious. The director puts Christine in her place, and she dazzles the audience with her singing. Biancarolli, who suspects that Garron and Christine are responsible for drugging her, orders Raoul to arrest them, but he says he cannot because there is no evidence. Biancarolli says she will forget the affair only if Christine is replaced as understudy and her performance is not mentioned in the papers. The following night, the Phantom kills Biancarolli and her maid, and the opera is subsequently closed. After some time, the opera's owners receive a note demanding that Christine replace Biancarolli. To catch the Phantom, Raoul comes up with a plan: not let Christine sing during a performance of the (fictional) Russian opera
Le Prince masqué du Caucase ("The Masked Prince of the Caucasus") to lure the Phantom out into the open. Garron plans to have Liszt play Claudin's concerto after the performance, but the Phantom strangles one of Raoul's men and heads to the auditorium's domed ceiling. He then brings down the large
chandelier on the audience, causing chaos. As the audience and the crew flee, the Phantom takes Christine down underground. He tells Christine that he loves her and she will now sing all she wants, but only for him. Raoul, Anatole, and the police begin pursuing them underground. Just as the Phantom and Christine arrive in his lair, they hear Liszt and the orchestra playing Claudin's concerto. The Phantom plays along with the melody on his piano orchestra. Christine watches, realizing the concerto was written around the melody of a lullaby she has known since childhood. Raoul and Anatole hear the Phantom playing and follow the sound. Overjoyed, the Phantom urges Christine to sing, which she does. While the Phantom is distracted by the music, Christine sneaks up and pulls off his mask, revealing his disfigured face. At that same moment, Raoul and Anatole break-in. Claudin grabs a
sword to fight them with. Raoul fires his
gun at Claudin, but Anatole knocks Raoul's arm, and the shot hits the ceiling, causing a cave-in. Anatole and Raoul escape with Christine, while Claudin is seemingly crushed to death by the falling rocks. Later, Anatole and Raoul demand that Christine choose one of them. She surprises them by choosing to marry neither one of them, instead choosing to pursue her singing career, inspired by Claudin's devotion to her future. Anatole and Raoul later go to dinner together. ==Cast==