The Climax is a 1944 horror film directed by George Waggner and starring Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, and Turhan Bey. The film is set in Vienna and follows the story of Dr. Hohner, played by Karloff, who is a talented theatre physician at the Vienna Royal Theatre. Hohner becomes obsessed with a famous soprano singer named Marcellina, played by June Vincent, who is also his mistress. When he discovers that she has been seeing other men, his jealousy turns to madness, and he strangles her during a performance.
Ten years later, a young singer named Angela, played by Foster, comes to audition for the Vienna Royal Theatre, and Hohner immediately becomes fixated on her. He begins to manipulate her singing career, trying to prevent her from performing for anyone but him. When Angela's fiancée, Franz, played by Bey, becomes suspicious of Hohner's intentions, he investigates and discovers Hohner's past.
In the film's climax, Hohner drugs Angela and plans to murder her on stage during a performance. Franz arrives just in time to stop Hohner and save Angela. The film ends with Hohner's madness driving him to leap off the theatre's balcony to his death.
The Climax was notable for its use of Technicolor and the on-screen pairing of Karloff and Foster, who had previously worked together in a successful radio drama called Appointment with Fear. The film was moderately successful at the box office and received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising Karloff's performance and the film's visuals while others criticized the plot for being formulaic.