A Máscara do Mágico

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.

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 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.

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.

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.