Corridors of Blood

Boris Karloff gives one of his best performances as a tormented doctor trying to invent anaesthesia. In the process he becomes addicted to the narcotics and begin associating with various London low-lifes - including grave-robber Christopher Lee in a rivetting performance.

This is less horror than an atmospheric character study - and it is really very good.

This finely-crafted minimalist film stars two of the most legendary horror stars of all time, yet it is without any supernatural elements. I suppose it is classified as horror because it is steeped in the creepy atmosphere of a 19th century operating theater and clinic for the poor, and because Christopher Lee plays a serial killer.

Into the final decade of his career and life, Boris Karloff gives a typically excellent performance of a good and compassionate man who defies the conventional wisdom of his time, such wisdom being the belief that since god intended humans to suffer to administer pain-killing drugs for surgery is to defy god's will.

The creepy, claustrophobic, impoverished world of this film is an appropriate setting for the business of a horror film, as well as a peak into the vast inequities between the upper and lower strata of society. Karloff is an upper-class doctor who once a week operates a free clinic for the poor.

While being thoroughly satisfying as a psychological horror film in its own right, this picture also provides a realistic portrayal of drug addiction and other issues of social relevancy.

Boris Karloff, as usual, is a joy to watch, as is Christopher Lee, who was right on the verge of becoming a big star in the Hammer films. This film is also notable for strongly evoking the grimy atmosphere of those out-of-the-way areas in 1800's England, worthy of comparison to David Lean's "Oliver Twist" (1948). Coincidentally, not long after seeing this film I happened to read the true life story of Horace Wells (1815-1848), a Connecticut dentist who experimented on himself with ether, chloroform, and laughing gas in an effort to discover a painless method of oral surgery. He succeeded, but became an addict in the process; his behavior subsequently became so violent that he was placed in prison, where he committed suicide. I wonder if Karloff's character in this film is at least partially based on Horace Wells.

Dr. Thomas Bolton fights for the use of anesthetic in surgery and uses himself as a guinea pig but soon finds himself addicted.

After the success of "The Haunted Strangler", producer Richard Gordon looked at making a follow up with Boris Karloff. At one stage a color remake of Dracula was discussed as was an adaptation of The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. Eventually producer John Scott discovered a screenplay by Jean Scott Rogers based on the early days of anesthesia, originally called Doctor from Seven Dials.

From what I can gather, the film was put on hold for a few years between shooting and release, and ultimately made a very small profit. This is unfortunate, given the casting of Karloff and Lee, but there is no denying that this film is somewhat inferior to "Haunted Strangler". The fact it was marketed as terrifying seems a bit odd and false... it has some horror elements, but is definitely not scary in any sense.

Karloff is great in this tale of a compassionate surgeon who is looking to relieve the pain and suffering that he inflicts through his life-saving surgery. In the process of developing an anesthetic, he becomes addicted to his formula and is used as a pawn of criminals.

This is not a horror film at all but a good story about the historical problems facing surgery before anesthetic. There are murders for profit, there is the suggestion of painful bloody surgery but they do not really show it. There are no real disturbing scenes. This movie was billed as horror but most horror fans would probably object to this classification. It is, however, a good solid movie about a very real problem, surgery before anesthetic and a man who looked to find the secret to painless surgery.

If you are looking for a horror movie, you wont find it here...but you will find a pretty good movie with the bonus of Christopher Lee as a ruthless criminal killer called Resurrection Joe.