Le tueur porte un masque

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.

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.

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.

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.