THE PHANTOM OF THE ROXY

I was in the process of lining up for a story of the Gnuffs inheriting an old rundown theatre when I came to watch a brilliant British comedy from 1957 directed by Basil Dearden, 'The Smallest Show on Earth', which then provided much of the inspiration for the comedy scenes in the album.

Apart from that I was also taken by the old musical 'The Phantom of the Opera', so the mysterious ghost supplied the scene with an element of suspense.

Ultimately, I came to regard this story as one of my better Gnuff vehicles, since we have invented good parts for all the family members joining in solving the many problems.

At the time I made this, there was still a blooming video-business, so this was included as an extra element of drama. Since then the video stores have closed, and everything has shifted to streaming.

So, in the run of the story we find music halls, vaudevilles, silent movies and blockbuster film production now changed from the rise of CGI movies and streaming outlets. A worthy epitaph of a bygone history of entertainment, where even comics is now an endangered mass medium of expression.