Bedlam (1946 film)
| Bedlam | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster by William Rose | |
| Directed by | Mark Robson |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Val Lewton |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 79 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $350,000[1] |
Bedlam is a 1946 American
Plot
It is 1761 in London at an
Mortimer and Sims conspire to commit Nell to the asylum, where her initial fears of the fellow inmates do not alter her sympathetic commitment to improving their conditions as she tends to the comfort of her fellow inmates. Alarmed by Bowen's imminent release, following legal pressure from Wilkes, Sims plans to apply his most drastic "cure" to her, but his attempt is thwarted by the inmates whom Nell has helped.
Sidney Long, an inmate who used to be a lawyer, insists on a fair trial for Sims. Sims' "defense" reveals his own mental instability. An inmate stabs Sims from behind with a trowel that Nell had obtained from her Quaker friend Hannay, a mason by trade. Believing Sims to be dead, the inmates bury him inside the walls. At the last minute one of Sims' eyes open and he realizes he is being walled up alive.
Nell is rescued by Hannay. They decide that Sims' fate should remain a mystery to the outside world. The "insane" inmates could not be held legally responsible under the law in any event. She addresses Hannay with the archaic familiar pronouns thee and thou, suggesting that they have formed a closer relationship.
Cast
- Boris Karloff as Master George Sims
- Anna Lee as Nell Bowen
- Billy House as Lord Mortimer
- Richard Fraser as Hannay
- Glen Vernon as The Gilded Boy
- Ian Wolfe as Sidney Long
- Jason Robards Sr. as Oliver Todd
- Leyland Hodgson as John Wilkes
- Joan Newton as Dorothea the Dove
- Elizabeth Russell as Mistress Sims
- Frankie Dee as Pompie
- Skelton Knaggs as Varney (uncredited)
- John Goldsworthy as Chief Commissioner (uncredited)
- Ellen Corby as Queen of the Artichokes
- Robert Clarke as "Dan The Dog"
Production
Mark Robson said he reproduced "much of Hogarth’s The Rake's Progress in our film; in fact, we virtually used Hogarth as our art director. The dialogue was an amalgam of all kinds of eighteenth-century characters, including Lord Sandwich and various others."[3]
Release
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Theatrical release
The movie recorded a loss of $40,000.[4][5]
Home media
The film has been released on DVD by
Reception
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Initial reception
Variety called it "morbid and depressing, but fascinating at the same time."[7]
Later reception
On
See also
References
- ^ a b Stephen Jacobs, Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster, Tomahawk Press 2011, pp 309-10[ISBN missing]
- ^ a b Lineberger, Rob (2005-10-24). "Review: Isle Of The Dead/Bedlam". DVD Verdict. Archived from the original on 2006-01-07. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ Higham, Charles (1969). The celluloid muse: Hollywood directors speak. p. 211.
- ^ Richard Jewel, 'RKO Film Grosses: 1931–1951', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 14, No 1, 1994, p. 46[ISBN missing]
- ^ Richard B. Jewell, Slow Fade to Black: The Decline of RKO Radio Pictures, Uni of California, 2016
- ^ Scapperotti, Dan (2008-01-08). "Out of the SHADOWS". Fangoria. Starlog Group. Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Bedlam". Variety. 24 April 1946. p. 8.
- ^ "Bedlam (1946)". Rotten Tomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-14-751682-4.
External links
- Bedlam at IMDb
- Bedlam at the TCM Movie Database
- Bedlam at Letterboxd
- Bedlam at AllMovie
- Bedlam at the American Film Institute Catalog
