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This is essentially a variation on House Of Wax ,in both the plot and the type of role played by the star of both movies ,Vincent Price.In both pictures he plays a talented artist who is sent toppling over the edge into insanity when his creations are usurped by other,less talented and less scrupulous people .In this movie he plays a designer of illusions for stage magicians who aspires to set out on a performing career himself only to be frustrated when another illusionist ,the Great Rinaldo (John Emery)insists that he honour his contract and give him first choice of any illusions he designs.Price is already ill disposed towards Rinaldi as his former wife is now a paramour of Rinaldi. He deploys his talents as an illusionist and as a brilliant mimic to avenge himself upon Rinaldi and others who thwart his plans for recognition as a performer and a designer.

Price is pretty much the whole show here and gives a well judged star turn as a wronged man whose predicament earns audience sympathy.The rest of the cast are competent if colourless and the weight of the whole venture falls on Price who carries the burden with ease .

Good solid B Movie melodrama , this is a crime movie rather than a horror picture and is enjoyable providing you don't expect a masterpiece .Shot in black and white it is low on gore and is best seen as melodrama and enjoyed for the presence of its star giving an idiosyncratic performance

The great Vincent Price has done many fantastic Horror films, some of which range among the greatest genre gems of all-time. Price's greatest achievements were doubtlessly his films in the 60s, with films such as Roger Corman's brilliant Poe-cycle (still the greatest Horror cycle of all-time), Michael Reeves' "Witchfinder General" (1968) or Ubaldo Ragona's "The Last Man on Earth" (1964) marking the ultimate highlights of this brilliant man's career. The films that made the man famous and thereby made him the immortal Horror icon he is, however date back to the 50s, with "House of Wax" (1953) marking his rise to stardom. "The Mad Magician" of 1954 follows a plot that is very similar to that of its successful predecessor. This is not to say, however, that this film isn't an original, delightfully macabre and absolutely wonderful gem itself. As the lines above may suggest, Vincent Price is my favorite actor, and, while I personally would not allow myself to miss anything the man has been in, none of my fellow fans of the man may miss this little gem.

Price stars as Don Galico (aka. Galico the Great), an underrated master magician and inventor of magic devices, whose boss, a sleazy businessman, stole his wife (Eva Gabor) from him. When the boss takes away one of Galico's ingenious inventions and gives it to his rival, The Great Rinaldi (John Emery), Galico snaps, and a murderous spree of revenge begins...

Don't we love Vincent Price when he's out for revenge? Some of his most famous and greatest films such as "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" (1971) or "Theater of Blood" (1973) were about absurd and delightfully macabre revenge murders, and this earlier film in his Horror career is another proof that no one takes revenge as Vincent Price does. This film provides a wonderfully eccentric leading role for Price, who, as always, delivers a brilliant performance, and guarantees 70 minutes of outrageously entertaining and macabre fun for every Horror fan. Another must-see for my fellow Price fans.

There were and are not many gods that walk among us mortals - Vincent Price was for sure one of those titans. The Mad Magician is just one movie more that proofs that those horror classics of Vincent Price's legacy will stay forever young (no matter the nostalgic looks and flavor) and are a feast for generations of horror addicts still to come, and old-school hounds like me.

The only ingredient missing in this VINCENT PRICE tale of horror is Technicolor which might have provided even more interest in this murderous tale of a magician who kills in order to protect his inventive magic act.

First to go is a partner with whom he has a violent argument and is given the buzz saw treatment. Then, JOHN EMERY, a rival magician who is foolish enough to steal from Price and threatens to reveal what he knows about the death of Price's partner. Emery has a grand time matching his scene stealing tricks with Price.

Skillfully directed by John Brahm, a section of the film dealing with the bonfire is reminiscent of a similar moment from Brahm's HANGOVER SQUARE when Laird Cregar delivers the body of a woman to be consumed by fire.

Acting is uniformly excellent and the script moves at a fast pace under Brahm's direction. Once again, Vincent Price delivers a first-rate performance in a shuddery role. The suspenseful moments lead to an edge of your seat climax involving a crematorium device.

Vincent Price's follow-up to HOUSE OF WAX (1953), the film which cemented his reputation as a horror icon, similarly revolves around a bitter – albeit resourceful – showman. Though a remake, the former (shot in Technicolor) remains the superior effort; that said, apart from some resistible comic relief, the obligatory resort to cheap gimmickry (it was another 3-D showcase) and occasional narrative shortcomings (whatever happened to the missing bag which supposedly turned up at some police station containing a severed head?), this offers more than enough Grand Guignol-type thrills and overall camp value (Price hamming it up in a variety of disguises as an inventor of illusions impersonating 'missing' star conjurers who had taken advantage of his genius) to stand on its own two feet. Incidentally, director Brahm's involvement here proves no mere coincidence – since the narrative incorporates elements from two horror titles (both starring Laird Cregar) he had previously helmed i.e. THE LODGER (1944) and HANGOVER SQUARE (1945). The young leads are played by Mary Murphy (as Price's ingénue assistant) and Patrick O'Neal (as her police detective boyfriend – curiously enough, he would himself take the lead in a similar piece, CHAMBER OF HORRORS [1966], which I have acquired just in time to serve as an encore to this one). An interesting sideline here is the latter's adoption of a novel detection technique, fingerprinting, which is crucial in bringing about Price's downfall (in a predictable but rather awkward fiery climax)…though the persistent snooping of his amateur crime novelist landlady has at least as much to do with it in the long run! Watching the star in a made-to-measure role, the film emerges a good deal of fun – particularly at a compact 73 minutes.

I just recently watched this 1954 movie starring Vincent Price for the first time on Turner Classic Movies. Price portrays Don Gallico, a magician/inventor who is driven to murder when his boss steals several of his magical inventions (and also his wife, portrayed in a brief role by the lovely Eva Gabor). Even though Price is a murderer, I actually found myself rooting for him, he is a sympathetic character who is driven mad by the greedy people around him who keep taking advantage of him.

Although this movie doesn't have the "horror" factor of some of his more famous roles (such as my favorite, "House of Wax") it nonetheless has enough going for it to keep the viewers interest.

This is a must for Vincent Price fans.

Although there is more ham in this film than a full street of German delis, the movie will definitely hold your attention. We know Price is a ham, but so was Gabor, the landlady writer, and the competing magician. THREE HAMS in ONE FILM! I am pretty sure this is a record. Regardless of the pork content, the film is entertaining because of the story and the characters. A brilliant magician who is a terrible businessman, gets taken in by a few sharpies. His revenge is sweet. But the climax is not as satisfying as one would want. What we really want is for him to get away with the scam. But this film was under the watchful eye of the film code, which guarantees the sappy ending I will not reveal. Good fun.

Even though it has one of the standard "Revenge Price Plots," this film is my favorite of Vincent Price's work. Gallico has that quality that is missing in so many horror film characters- likeability. When you watch it, you feel for him, you feel his frustration, the injustices against him, and you cheer him on when he goes for vengeance, even though he frightens you a little with his original fury. As the film goes on, his character becomes tragic. He's committed his murder, but now he must kill to cover that up. And again to cover that one up. And again... your stomach sinks with his soul as it goes down its spiral- like watching a beloved brother turn into a hood. Even if the revenge story is of old, the plot devices themselves are original- Gallico uses his tricks to kill in more and more inventive ways. A shame this one isn't available for home veiwing.

Horror legend Vincent Price plays Don Gallico, inventor of stage magical illusions, but he wants to be a famous magician himself, Gallico the Great. However his employer and rival in love Ross Ormond, plus a magician The Great Rinaldi put a stop to his ambitions, Gallico's response is a series of elaborate murders and cover-ups using masks that he has made of his victims. Black and white mystery/horror that was filmed in 3-D, I watched this on TV in 2-D, it was still good fun to see objects being aimed at the audience. Price again gives a wonderful performance, as he always does, "They'll lock me in a jail in a padded cell with a straight jacket. No thank you, I'll take the chair!" The gorgeous Eva Gabor plays his ex-wife. The film is set in the 1880's and looks very nice, I wouldn't call this a classic but after having a bad day this did cheer up my evening.

The Mad Magician (1954)

*** (out of 4)

Vincent Price followed his success in HOUSE OF WAX with this horror thriller. He plays Don Gallico, a masterful creator of magic tricks who is double crossed by his boss and kills him. He eventually takes the dead man's identity but when the police start to investigate he must commit one murder after another trying to cover his tracks. THE MAD MAGICIAN was originally released in 3D and there are a lot of objects flying towards the screen and even when you view the film flat it's still easy to see that the effects are in good nature and appear to be fun. The movie itself is quite fun from start to finish and a lot of credit has to go to the wonderful Vincent Price. He was such a wonderful actor and his great performance made him a perfect fit for the genre. His soft-spoken nature he just makes you really love his character and made you feel sorry for him once the boss rips him off. Even after he starts murdering people you can't help but wish there's some way for him to get out of it. These added feelings for the character would be missing with so many other actors but Price's perfect performance really adds so much to the film. Mary Murphy is good as his assistant and Eva Gabor is simply snake-worthy as Price's ex-wife. Director John Brahm (THE LODGER) has had experience with the genre so he's able to build up a wonderful atmosphere and keep the film moving at a very fast pace. The biggest flaw with the picture is that it's pretty much HOUSE OF WAX but with a magician. The two film's are very close to one another as it's clear Columbia was trying to capture the success of that Warner film and didn't really come up with a fresh plot. With that said, Price certainly makes this film quite memorable and it ranks as one of the better horror pictures from this period.

Basically the exact same movie as "House of Wax" - Vincent Price's first genuine horror hit released the previous year - but seriously who cares, because "The Mad Magician" offers just as many sheer thrills, delightful period set-pieces, joyous 3-D effects, sublime acting performances and macabre horror gimmicks as its predecessor! "Never change a winning team" is exactly what writer Crane Wilbur must have thought when he penned down Price's character Don Gallico, another tormented soul besieged by fate and out for vengeance against those who wronged him. Don Gallico is about to perform his very first own illusionist show as Gallico the Great and plans to exhibit the greatest magic trick in history; entitled "The Girl and the Buzz Saw". Gallico's promising solo career is abruptly ruined before it even begins when his previous employer Ross Ormond appears on stage and shoves a contract under his nose, stating that all of Gallico's inventions are the rightful property of the company. The sleazy and relentless Ormond, who by the way also ransacked Gallico's once beloved wife, takes off with the buzz saw trick and programs it in the show of Gallico's rival The Great Rinaldi. Inevitably Gallico snaps and sadistically butchers Ormond, but – also being a master of creating disguises – recreates his victim's image and even starts leading a double life. "The Mad Magician" is an amusing and thoroughly unpretentious 50's horror movie in Grand Guignol style, with a whole lot of improbably plot twists (the landlady turns out a brilliant crime novelist?) and a handful of fantastically grotesque gross-out moments (although they obviously remain suggestive for most part). The 3-D delights near the beginning of the film, like a yo-yo player and a goofy trick with water fountains, merely just serve as time-filler and contemporary 50's hype, but it's still fun to watch even now and without the means to properly behold them. "The Mad Magician" is also interesting from a periodical setting point of view, as the events take place around the time fingerprints were starting to get used as evidence material and the character of Alice Prentiss is an obvious reference towards famous crime authors of that era. Needless to state that Vincent Price remains the absolute most essential element of triumph in this film, as well as from nearly every other horror movie this legendary man ever starred in. Like no other actor could ever accomplish, Price depicts the tormented protagonist who gradually descends further and further into mental madness in such an indescribably mesmerizing way. You pity Don Gallico, yet at the same time you fear him enormously. You support his vile acts of retaliation and yet simultaneously you realize his murderous rampage must end in death. Vincent Price simply was a genius actor and, in my humble opinion, the embodiment of the horror genre.

Theres always something so joyous about watching a vincent price film; there something about him as a person I always enjoy and he is no exception in this. The film itself can be a little bland at times and I feel though it being in black and white adds a little something. Mary murphy as karen is always charming and vincent trying to get the body out of her vision is something fun to watch. This film is not really a horror and I don't point it down for that what we have is a pretty interesting and compelling thriller which shares good camera techniques and shock values scenes and overall it was enjoyable movie and another great vincent price piece.

"The Mad Magician" is a thoroughly enjoyable follow-up to the earlier Vincent Price classic, "House of Wax". Rather reminiscent of that favourite, it stars Price as Don Gallico, a magician & master of illusion furious with his conniving employer, Ross Ormond (Donald Randolph). Ormond intends to pass on Gallicos' "buzz saw" bit to Gallicos' egocentric rival, Rinaldi (John Emery). So Gallico uses his talents to commit murder, and commit more murders in order to keep his secret. Alan Bruce (Patrick O'Neal), a young police detective, utilizes cutting edge new techniques such as fingerprinting to work the clues.

This movie is not going to be as memorable as "House of Wax", which was largely responsible for launching Price as a new star of the horror genre. It's rather formulaic, and predictable, but it's richly photographed in black & white by Bert Glennon, and director John Brahm, an expert in period genre productions such as "Hangover Square" and "The Lodger", keeps the pace consistent. What viewers may marvel at is the makeup (by George Bau and Gustaf Norin), which is pretty impressive for any era in filmmaking.

"The Mad Magician" also provides great evidence of what a talent Price was. It's a fun vehicle, and the more unhinged Gallico gets, the more enjoyable Price is to watch. The supporting actors are good - leggy Mary Murphy as the assistant Karen Lee, Eva Gabor as Claire, the greedy, grasping woman who'd married both Gallico and Ormond, Jay Novello as landlord Frank Prentiss, and especially Lenita Lane as Prentiss' wife Alice, who has a second career as an author of murder mysteries. Corey Allen, Conrad Brooks, Roy Engel, and Lyle Talbot have uncredited parts.

This amusing plot, contrived by Crane Wilbur, leads to an exciting and incendiary finale.

Seven out of 10.

The Mad Magician is directed by John Brahm and written by Crane Wilbur. It stars Vincent Price, Mary Murphy, Eva Gabor and Patrick O'Neal. Music is by Arthur Lange and Emil Newman and cinematography by Bert Glennon.

Magician Don Gallico (Price) is incensed when his attempts at stardom is scuppered by a contract he signed, so much so he takes matters in to his own hands...

One of the eras 3-D productions, The Mad Magician sees Columbia recycle Warner Brother's 1953 release of House of Wax. The familiarity of it all is impossible to shake off, with a key scene even stolen from one of director Brahm's more notable productions. Yet it's still a fun movie, watching Price turn in a good one, as he gradually gets more dastardly with each passing quarter, all set to Victorian style backgrounds.

There's some ghoulishly enjoyable macabre moments, played straight but with tongue in cheek evident, and while the scenes shot for 3-D gain obviously lose impact, they hold well enough in 2-D for story enjoyment. Performances around Price are fine, the girls (including Murphy's outstanding legs) add colour to the otherwise weak plot, and although the absence of Brahm's skilled Gothic/noir touches is a blow, the look of the piece is suitably moody.

More one for Brahm and Price completists, this is still enjoyable fare (it was a commercial hit upon release) that's worth tracking down. 6.5/10

A magician (Vincent Price) is screwed out of money by a business partner (Donald Randolph) who owns the rights to his stunts. This does not sit well, and soon a murderous streak begins...

I had never heard of this film before, and none of my horror references books mention it. Not the general reference ones or the ones covering the period. How it got overlooked, especially starring Vincent Price, is beyond me.

This is a great story, with good magic tricks and a phenomenally amazing performance from Price. Eva Gabor also appears, and there is hardly a dull moment. The makeup and costumes department, as well as those who built the contraptions, really deserve to be honored for this one.

To my knowledge, this has not been properly released on DVD... except in Germany. Sony now offers the film as part of its "choice" collection, but there are no special features and the disc is a DVD-R, so it is not intended for serious collectors.

The wronged artist is the theme of so many revenge horror movies. Going back to "The Phantom of the Opera," the unjustly maimed or wronged bring vengeance to their adversaries. No one could look more pained when victimized than Vincent Price. He is the master of the hang dog expression. In this one, he is a magician and master of high tech disguises (for the time) who has sold his talents to another man, seemingly for the rest of his life. When he decides to freelance and do his own magic show, his contract is waved in his face. Not only that, but the man who owns him also stole his wife years before. So there is even more bitterness brewing. The plan becomes to get rid of all the people who wronged him, then, through the use of clever masks, keep the people alive by impersonating them. He even "becomes" one of the great magicians of the world, showing his incredible talent. This is a silly, unbelievable movie. But who cares. I don't think I'll get it mixed up with Schindler's List. The hardest thing to swallow was why these two successful men had anything to do with Eva Gabor and why the Vincent Price character could have cared less when she ran off. She has no redeeming qualities in the movie other than her beauty, and that is so flamboyant and self centered, who cares. Every time Vincent Price was in disguise, it was easy to see who it was. Nevertheless, I've always loved Vincent's mugging from his Roger Corman films to "The Last Man on Earth." I liked the way he said "Crematorium." Why, exactly, does it have an automatic pilot that sends the body into the flames if it is not activated within a certain period of time? There is also a subplot with a mystery writer and her husband who bumble their ways into the plot. If you like the campy world of Price, watch it on the late show.

At a tender age when Hollywood battled home television by offering movie-goers 3D and then CinemaScope (to say nothing of Cinerama!), I begged my family to take me to every 3D movie. In retrospect I can only admire their stoicism at sitting through this surfeit of corny flicks. (The only truly good movies made in 3D must have been Kiss Me Kate and Dial M For Murder. The rest were usually horror or action to utilize the unique ability of the actors to jump out of the screen or throw something directly at you.)

Anyway, I loved House of Was and when I saw the newspaper ads for The Mad Magician, my whining began. Five decades later, I've reseen it several times "flat" on television and can only wish someone would create a viable method to put 3D movies on DVD or home video. (When House of Wax was re-released in the early '80's to usher in that attempt to interest audiences in the 3D process, the aids claimed "You've never seen House of Wax if you haven't seen it in 3D!" and to a great extent that is true.

The process added to the fun of these campy movies. Incidentally "Magician" is in black & white but still looks great. By all means check it out if you like the shlocky type of B horror flicks which inundated audiences in the '50's & early '60's.

Don Gallico (Vincent Price) is an inventor of stage magic effects who aspires to become a star in his own right. Just before his first performance his act is shut down by capricious manager Ross Ormond who wants Gallico's brilliant buzz saw effect for the act of The Great Rinaldi, an established star. With this defeat, and the humiliation of having already lost his wife Claire to Ormond, Gallico decides it is time to take matters into his own hands.

And when Vincent Price as the wronged character takes matters in his own hands, you know it'll definitely be murderous and in the most inventive way. As an inventor of illusion he puts that in good use in this neat little horror-mystery tale that is well-paced, suspenseful and has a nice flavour to it. Price's character is similar to the one in House of Wax, someone who is turned into a vengeance seeking killer due to the action of others- he plays similar characters later on his career. Lenita Lane as a mystery writer ( and a sort of heroine of the whole show) is really good. There's a great "crematorium" device action scene at the end.

What a just amazing concept that is sadly not done to justice. There is a lot of fun to be had about "The Mad Magician" but somehow it just never really wants to commit to its strengths and instead delivers a rather predictable and dull narrative withs is impressive for a movie that is just 1 hour and 12 minutes.

A magician is robbed of his tricks and honour and can´t take it anymore. He starts killing and starts spinning a web of lies that people around him slowly untangle.

The concept of this movie is so cool and I wish I knew of a movie who did something similar. The idea of a crazy magician that kills with magic tricks is untapped to me and I really want someone to make or tell me about a movie about a murders magician with more and more macabre tricks. Here we don´t really get that as the evil magician more or less only has 2 tricks and strangles people. There is also some masks involved, but that's about it. The movie doesn't play to its strengths and becomes a rather dull affair of just a very weak crime drama.

This together with some really poorly written exposition creates a rather poorly made movie on a lot of levels. It doesn't really do a lot with its runtime and it has too many characters for its own good. Some colourful and fun ones but too many no doubt, the acting is fine all around though.

The masks and effects in terms of using prostatic masks looks incredible. I don´t know when it´s a double actor or a mask that Price is wearing and that speaks highly of the production. Also the cool magician gadgets look cool.

A few things I also didn´t like that much, the 3D is not used that well and is not very prominent in the movie to the point it feels even more pointless than it normally is. The movie should have had more magic ort utilized that gamic better. And the later bonfire scene is too unreliable since there is literally just a corpse being dragged through a crowed and the killer even climbs the bonfire, a bit too unbelievable.

The Mad Magician would have been such a fun movie had it gone with a more fun approach and leaned more into its premise, instead we get a rather simple and predictable thriller that leaves more to be desired.