Dr. Talbot as Claudin

The contrast between Dr. Talbot's talent for self-destruction and Phantom's Claudin in the 1943 film is compelling. While the former threw away family, career, integrity, identity, and even the relationship he thought he desired, Claudin had those things he most prized taken from him. By destroying the body of his patient, Dr. Talbot even removed the possibility of an autopsy that would have cleared him of that man's murder. The messy details of a wife who did not recognize him at trial and a mistress who suggested she would not disclose his identity are, by contrast, minor. While Claudin lost almost everything by the film's end, he triumphed vicariously in the end through his protege.

BrendaBradford