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Movies / Upcoming / Bedlam
Bedlam

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Bedlam (1946)

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Reviews Counted:15

Fresh:13

Rotten:2

Average Rating:6.5/10

Runtime: 79 mins

Genre: Horror/Suspense

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: An intriguing change of pace from chillmaster Val Lewton about an innocent girl imprisoned in a ghastly 18th-century insane asylum. Nell, an aspiring young actress, rejects the patronage of a... An intriguing change of pace from chillmaster Val Lewton about an innocent girl imprisoned in a ghastly 18th-century insane asylum. Nell, an aspiring young actress, rejects the patronage of a London nobleman after learning of the aristocrat's indifference to sadistic practices at the local insane asylum. When word of Nell's accusations reach Master Sims (Karloff), the villainous director of the madhouse, the brutal "doctor" attempts to protect his own reputation by casting doubt on the young woman's sanity. Interesting because the shock depends on a more-or-less accurate depiction of authentic settings. [More]

Starring: Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, Richard Fraser, Ian Wolfe

Starring: Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, Richard Fraser, Ian Wolfe, Billy House, Glenn Vernon

Director: Mark Robson

Director: Mark Robson
Composer: Roy Webb
Producer: Val Lewton

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Bedlam

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1 - 15 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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Lewton had something to say. Perhaps inevitably, he found less interesting ways of saying it over the course of nine films in a short four years.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
10/22/09
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

The feminist-political fable is couched in absorbing grey zones

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
09/05/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

Another strong chiller from brilliant producer Val Lewton.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
11/14/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Nicholas Musaraca's excellent cinematography contributes a number of fine effects, and there's a strange and witty aside on the invention of movies.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
11/14/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

As a sociological tract it's right on the money, as a psychological thriller it wanders at times too far away from the money.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
10/31/06
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Notable only for a nuanced performance by Boris Karloff.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
09/30/06
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

While the film has a tendency to wander into unadulterated Hollywoodisms in spots, it is a generally straight-forward and imaginative estimate of a two-century-old sociological theme.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/25/06
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A fine feature in the Val Lewton series for RKO is not so much a horror film, though it does contain one of Karloff's more deliciously sadistic performances.

comment Comment
02/06/06
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Robson's notably unpoetic direction doesn't help, either; yet few Hollywood films ever had such ambition.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

One of Val Lewton's final films, this collaboration with Boris Karloff is also one of his most tragically underrated.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/06/05
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/01/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Creepy doings with Karloff amok in asylum.

comment Comment
11/01/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

Last gasp in the famed Lewton horrors. Frankly, pretty dull.

comment Comment
08/11/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The film's single most resonant image -- that of the grasping arms of the Bedlam inmates straining to reach through the bars of their cells -- has inspired countless other movies.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

Creepy, atmospheric, yet underrated Val Lewton thriller.

comment Comment
10/09/02
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner
 
 
1 - 15 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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