La Chambre des Horreurs

This film is yet another outstanding example of Karloff during his time at RKO. I find this film to be eerie and genuinely disturbing, when one sees inside the mental institution. Although Karloff gives a fine performance, my own particular favourite here has to be Anna Lee as Nell, who appeared later as the nosy neighbour in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" It is such a tragedy that so many similar films of the period have been lost due to decay of the archives. Luckily, this one has survived, and my advice is to see it if you get the chance.

In 18th century London, Nell Bowen the protégé of Lord Mortimer is confined by the malicious asylum master, for voicing her concerns about the condition of the Bedlam asylum.

This is a pretty interesting horror film by RKO studios and producer Val Lewton. Director Mark Robson gives a reasonable job in the use of setting and characters, though it does have its flat spots and may lack suspense at times- but not enough to damage the film.

The performances are perfect with the ever-reliable Boris Karloff as the evil Master George Sims, which he brings such an evoking presence of macabre. Billy House as the pompous Lord Mortimer who is easily influence, fit's the role perfectly. Richard Fraser as the ever-helpful Hanny, who befriends Nell Bowen and tries to help her out on her quest. The best performance would have to be Anna Lee as Nell Bowen who brings a spirited and caring vibe to her character, she is disgusted in the way the upper class treat the mentally insane and tries to change that, especially when she learns a great deal about them when she is confined.

The story of the mental institution is quite interesting though at times the pace seems to be to padded- but when it focus on the manipulative Master Sims and the institution, especially when Nell is detained it has a disturbing aurora that draws you in, though nothing that shocking. The grim atmosphere, especially the asylum is really top-grade, the cinematography is alright- with great use of lighting and shadows and the music score is nothing spectacular- but just right.

3.5/5

There aren't many films that feature the mentally ill in institutions. One of the most famous is One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. But that was mild compared to seeing how they existed in the 16th Century.

It wasn't too much better in the United States, and this created the push to Community Mental health instead of institutions. It was too easy in these facilities to abuse and neglect patients, and it was also too easy, as illustrated in the film, for families to quietly get rid of unwanted wives or barriers to wealth.

Boris Karloff is excellent in his role as the warden and the film does manage to keep from being too morose with attempts at humor, and what is probably a prettier picture of the institution that really existed.

Anna Lee, probably better known as Lila Quartermaine on "Port Charles" and "General Hospital," did a very good job as someone who was taken aback by the conditions at Bedlam and fought for reform to the point that she, herself, was committed. She then worked from within to defeat Karloff, and manged to endear herself to the residents to the point that the film had a really great ending.

Master George Sims runs the famous mental asylum Bedlam for his own personal amusement – using the inmates for his own ends (such as entertaining powerful guests) even if it means his patients die as a result; although even when they do, it matters naught to Sims or his political peers. However the arrival of Nell Bowen with Lord Mortimer exposes Sims to his first critical voice as she tries to reform the asylum to actual treat the patients rather than abuse them. Although Sims can initially control her by pushing the right political buttons on Mortimer, she continues to strive for change and Sims is forced to take further steps to protect his cruel way of life.

A strange mix of well-written dialogue with some comic touches, a solid story, an interesting debate and chiller; however I think those that are disappointed in the film tend to put to much onus on the latter rather than the former qualities. I agree that the film really does fall flat when it comes to drawing the horror and tension out Nell's imprisonment but there was enough going on to cover for it. The early stages are quite light, with flowing dialogue and some moments of wit that are enjoyable and offer a bit of menace just below the surface where I'd hoped it would gradually be revealed as more. Sadly in the second half this menace didn't come out enough and it wasn't as chilling as I would have liked. Despite this it is still interesting and is a polished film that is very engaging.

The basic story is simple enough and the debate over Sim's methods versus the "Quaker lies" is a nice addition despite it always falling on the side of Nell. The dialogue contains too many "thee's" and "thou's" for its own good but it is still nicely poetic and flows well, adding to the classy feel of the film. With these words the cast mostly stand up well to it. Karloff has fun with the words and enjoys mixing intelligent wit with his usual brand of menace. Lee is good despite being a bit too liberal for her won good, although she gets off better than Fraser, who stumbles across nearly every word he has to say and comes across about as natural as PVC. Hodgson, House and others all give good support but mostly the film is best when Karloff and Lee are on screen together.

Overall not a chiller or horror by any means, although you can see why people expect it to be. However it is still a professional period piece that flows well with the dialogue and most of the actors to produce an enjoyable story that is worth seeing.

If you're watching a classic horror movie and you see the words 'produced by Val Lewton' sprawled across your screen, you know that you're in for a great movie! While Bedlam doesn't represent Lewton's best work, or even his best collaboration with the great Boris Karloff, it's still a great atmospheric horror film. The story takes place in an eighteenth century 'Looney bin' called "Bedlam", and stars Karloff as the apothecary general. Lunatic asylums make for great settings for horror movies, especially when they're set in the time period that this one is set in. Nowadays, hospitals are more geared towards helping the patients; but back then, they weren't; making the setting more horrifying and therefore riper for a horror movie. The plot sees a young woman who becomes concerned at the way the patients are being treated at Bedlam. After trying to get the asylum to reform their practices, the powers that be decide to have her committed in order to save themselves money and stop her revealing how badly the patients are treated.

As usual with Lewton, the film breathes a thick and foreboding atmosphere and this is the main star of the show. The atmosphere is complimented by a nice story which, although there's maybe slightly too much talking, plays out well and features a great ending that is seething with irony. Mark Robson isn't as great as the other directors that Lewton has worked with; Jacques Tourneur and Robert Wise, but he knows his stuff and the three films that he made with Lewton, while falling somewhat short to the others', are still nice horror movies. The Body Snatcher will remain the finest collaboration between Karloff and Lewton - but that film was exceptional and the fact that this one doesn't live up to it isn't a commentary on it's quality. Karloff himself puts in another awesome performance and his screen presence combines with his mannerisms to create an eerie performance from the great horror legend. This film comes with high recommendations from yours truly. I'm a big fan of Lewton, and after seeing a number of his films; I don't see how anyone couldn't be.