Corridors of Blood

If Boris Karloff's character of a Victorian doctor looking for an anesthetic had the benefit of some scientific journals he might have read about Morton, Long, and Welles over in America experimenting on such a project. In Corridors Of Blood the lines of experimentation that Karloff was pursuing held a lot of danger for everyone concerned.

Corridors Of Blood casts Boris Karloff as a respected London surgeon of the early Victorian era who is seeking a method of painless surgery. But those Americans I cited were using a form of Nitrous Oxide and eventually developed Ether. Karloff has decided to use a concoction that has as its base Laudanum which is an Opium derivative.

The results are what you would expect, Karloff breathing in the fumes of his experiment becomes an addict and starts frequenting the seamier sides of London for Laudanum for his experiments and more for himself. A pair of cutthroats played by Francis DeWolff and Christopher Lee aid him in his search, for a price.

Corridors Of Blood is a moody atmospheric thriller set in Oliver Twist London. Look also for a good performance by Nigel Green as the police inspector looking to break up the den of vice and corruption that Karloff has fallen into. Definitely a must for Karloff fans.

This is a deceptive little film. First off, because it was made and sat for four years before release, you might be inclined to think it is a dud--but that's far from true. The film is very good--good enough to almost earn an 8. Second, while the film has some horrific scenes and features Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, it is not a horror film but more of a drama. So if you see it, don't expect monsters or madness--instead, there are just bad people and good people doing bad things.

The film is set in 1840 and Karloff plays an exceptionally skilled surgeon who is dismayed that there are no drugs to alleviate the suffering of patients during surgery. Basically, people were wide awake and felt EVERYTHING during surgery and amputations! This is true, as the first anesthesias didn't come about until around 1850. Despite his concerns, other doctors didn't share his enthusiasm for change, so Karloff foolishly begins experimenting on himself--inhaling a mixture of various chemicals (including opium). Not surprisingly, he becomes addicted and this once sweet man becomes an unwilling pawn in the seedy underworld.

The film gets very high marks for construction, writing, direction and the performance of Karloff. There isn't much I'd change about the film, though fans of Christopher Lee might be disappointed that his role isn't that big and his character isn't that interesting (despite the fact he's a cold-blooded murderer). Give this intelligent little film a watch--it's really very good.

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.

Boris Karloff gives a decidedly compassionate performance as a London surgeon madly trying to develop a gas of some kind to use in operations to relieve his patients of the inevitable pain that comes with surgery. The film chronicles much of the trial and error, ridicule from colleagues, and unfortunate reliance on opium based gas that surrounds Dr. Bolton, Karloff's character. Karloff walks in two circles: the first is at the hospital where he works with his son and is surrounded by other doctors and students - the second is a very poor part of the city where he helps the poor and is taken advantage of by a section of thieves and killers led by Black Ben(nice performance by Mr. De Wolf) and Resurrection Joe(played in a characteristically eerie fashion by Christopher Lee). Lee and De Wolf have a side business of killing wayward drunks and selling their bodies to the hospital. All they need is a signature from a doctor...that is where Karloff comes in. Although the film is not a "horror" film, it has some horror elements. Karloff really gives a nice, in-depth portrayal of a man destined to find a new way. The film has a great cast of British stalwarts such as De Wolf, Lee, Finlay Currie and Nigel Green. Production values are low, but the quality of film based on the budget used is exceedingly good.

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.