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Bedlam [VHS]

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"Bedlam", one of Val Lewton's lesser known efforts with the late and great Boris Karloff, delivers a kind of a Edgar Allan Poe type tale about insanity and sanity, the corruption of the powers that be, etc. None of this is as attractive as the setting and the costumes, and the style of the movie far exceeds its actual content. Karloff turns in a fantastic performance as the creepy George Sims, cruel apothecary of Bedlam asylum. You've gotta love the wig he wears. It makes him look even more ghoulish than his natural hair.

In an attempt to ingratiate himself to the obese, moronic but ultimately good natured Lord Mortimer (Billy House), Sims takes the "idiots" (the inmates of his asylum) to lordly dinner parties and humiliates them for Mortimer's benefit. There is one unforgettable scene in which he paints an insane young man a shining gold, trying to make him look like a Greek god. When he dies of suffocation due to the shutting of his pores, the hero of the film, Anna Lee, breaks with Mortimer, a decision which to Sims' amusement lands her in Bedlam.

She is a heroic and strong character with a great deal of empathy for the insane people Sims treats as dogs. Some of the scenes are simply unbelievable, such as when Sims puts her in a cage with an apparently chained, dangerous man in an attempt to disprove her Quaker philosophy of loving all human beings. With a few words she woos this dangerous man into submission and befriends him. He eventually helps her escape.

The best scene by far is when the inmates "try" Sims, and find him guilty of sanity. They then wall him up alive, unbeknownst to the authorities who investigate later on. The paltry plot aside, the flashes of Hogarth's engravings and the dreadful mood of the film make it worth buying. No one could make anything out of a script this bad but Val Lewton. As you might imagine, Karloff makes the film.

In the case of this 1946 film the term "Bedlam" refers to the infamous 18th century London aslyum for the insane. Set in 1791, the story tells of the time when the English upperclass would actually go to Bedlam for an entertaining evening of watching the imprisoned lunatics. The film was actually inspired by the infamous engraving of Bedlam that William Hogarth did for "The Rake's Progress." However, one of the visitors, young Nell Bowen (Anna Lee), an actress, is offended by the way the inmates are treated. When she tries to do something about it both her patron, Lord Moritmer (Billy House), and George Sims (Boris Karloff), the master of the asylum, stop her by having Nell committed to Bedlam.

"Bedlam" does not receive as much notice of some of the other films of producer Val Lewton, such as "Cat People" and "The Body Snatchers," but this is still a solid little film. Where it differs from the others is that it is not really a horror film per se, but more of a period peice about a horrific time and place. Of course, when you have Karloff playing the bad guy, in one of his above average performances, it is hard to remember that this around he is just a human monster. Lewton co-wrote the script under the pen name Carlos Keith and it ended up being this last at RKO. Director Mark Robson ("The Ghost Ship" and "Isle of the Dead"), the other co-writer, does a masterful job of creating sympathy for the inmates, most of whom are given great little bits as some point during the film. The ending can be dismissed as melodramatic, but there were really not a lot of better options for ending this one.

Ultimately, the setting for "Bedlam" is better than the actual story. It is rather impressive that with the rather pedestrian plot this production did such a great job of capturing the lunatic asylum, in terms of both the set and the various poor souls trapped therein. Such things surely go beyond the status of mere window dressing. Final Note: Watch for Jason Robards, Sr., as Oliver Todd; I think this is the first time that I got to see the father of Jason Robards, Jr. in a film (although at this point he is just listed in the credits as Jason Robards).

Bedlam is a surprisingly good film with Karloff as the master of the famous insane asylum. Nel is a fluff of a woman under the care of a lord who helps support the asylum. Karloff's character uses his inmates for the entertainment of the elite society, often dressing them up and having them in crazy plays.

When Nel becomes upset about this and teams up with an insightful Quaker, Simms (Karloff) feels threatened and the adventure of her transformation and her eventual railroading, becoming a "guest" of Bedlam and her eventual freedom is really amazing.

The Quaker's ideas of compassion and thoughtfulness seem to penetrate through to Nel as she herself becomes subject to fear and vengeance. And the final fate of Simms is chilling -- just like a Poe novel!

It's great to see Karloff not as a monster or a mad scientist, but a fearful man who grants fear to those he hates and despises, a man who loves power and does not lose gracefully.

A must-see from RKO Radio and another Val Lewton favorite! And Ian Wolfe appears as a looney and is one of my favorite character actors -- you may recall his later appearance in the original Star Trek!

The amazing lighting and cinematography will make you fall in love with monochromatic film all over again. Great film, fun to watch.

Cast
Boris Karloff
Master George Sims

Anna Lee
Nell Bowen

Billy House
Lord Mortimer

Richard Fraser
Hannay

Glen Vernon
The Gilded Boy

Ian Wolfe
Sidney Long


Crew:

Director
Mark Robson

Producer
Val Lewton
producer

Good Idea to Get:

The Val Lewton Horror Collection (Cat People / The Curse of the Cat People / I Walked with a Zombie / The Body Snatcher / Isle of the Dead / Bedlam / The Leopard Man / The Ghost Ship / The Seventh Victim / Shadows in the Dark / Martin Scorsese Presents ...
Martin Scorsese Presents Val Lewton - The Man in the Shadows

Bedlam is a 1946 film about care in English mental hospitals in the late 18th century. The focus is on the Bethlehem Royal Hospital which was referred to as "Bedlam", and while the account is fictionalized, the existence of the hospital and the care is not.

The film stars Boris Karloff and Anna Lee with a host of other actors including Billy House, Jason Robards Sr., Elizabeth Russel, and Ian Wolfe.

Films about mental hospitals and psychiatric care became popular in the 40s and after. "The Snake Pit" (1949) with Olivia de Havilland was probably the most famous. Other films about mental hospitals include Hitchcock's 1945 thriller "Spellbound", "David and Lisa" (1962), "Marat/Sade" (1967), and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975). Other films about treatment for mental illness at that time include "Home of the Brave" (1948) and "The Three Faces of Eve" (1957).

Boris Karloff started in films in 1916 and up until 1931 he was a bit player in B films. Then came "Frankenstein" (1931), "The Mummy" (1932) and "The Mask of Fu Manchu" (1932) and he was off on a whirlwind career that lasted for decades. "Bedlam" comes a few years before his "Abbott and Costello meets..." films while he was doing the "scarey dude but not a monster" films such as "Dick Tracey Meets Gruesome" (1947), "Isle of the Dead" (1945), and "The Boogie Man Will Get You" (1942). Karloff plays the keeper of the asylum.

Anna Lee was a favorite of director John Ford appearing in 8 of his films including "How Green Was My Valley" (1941), "Fort Apache" (1948), "The Last Hurrah" (1958), and "The Horse Soldiers" (1959). She is best known for her work on "General Hospital" where she played Lila Quartermaine. Lee plays a woman wrongfully admitted to Bedlam who starts the reform movement.

Robust Billy House played in only a few dozen films, lending his portly manner and strong laugh to films such as "The Stranger" (1946), "Inner Sanctum" (1948), and "Rogues of Sherwood Forest" (1950) where he played Friar Tuck.

Ian Wolfe is best known as the butler from "WKRP in Cincinnati", but he played in more than 200 films. Some of his best roles were as Maggs in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935), President Coolidge in "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955), and Carter in "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957). Wolfe plays an inmate.

Elizabeth Russel plays the sister of Boris Karloff, and has the distinction of having played the wife of Bela Lugosi ("The Corpse Vanishes"). She was a favorite of Val Lewton and appeared in "The Seventh Victim", "Cat People" (1942), and "Curse of the Cat People".

Jason Robards Sr. appears as an inmate, but he is billed as Jason Robards since his son was not acting at the time (Junior started in films in 1959). Robards was a prolific actor appearing in nearly 100 films, most of which are forgettable.

Val Lewton was the producer. He was Head of Horror" at RKO where he produced "Cat People" (1942), I Walked with a Zombie" (1943), and "The Leopard Man" (1943) and teamed with Karloff on this film and "Isle of the Dead" (1945) and "The Body Snatchers" (1945).

Mark Robson directs. He worked with Lewton on "Cat People" (1942), I Walked with a Zombie" (1943) and "Isle of the Dead" (1945). He was twice nominated for an Oscar and a DGA award ("Peyton Place" and "Inn of the Sixth Happiness"), and twice nominated at Cannes ("Bright Victory" and "The Harder They Fall"). His best work was directing "The Bridges at Toko-Ri" (1954) and "Champion" (1949).

The film is interesting as a portrayal of life in the late 18th century in England, and as a portrait of care for the mentally ill at the time. None of the performances are first rate and the film moves slowly, although the scene in the asylum when the patients put Karloff on trial is amusing. There is a lot of funny banter between Anna Lee and the aristocratic company she keeps.

Fans of Val Lewton will enjoy the film as this is a break from his more horrific efforts, and fans of Karloff will enjoy seeing the master at work, although Karloff did much better work in other films.

The film starts with pictures by Hogarth, the inspiration. The 18th century was called "The Age of Reason". We see St. Mary's Bethlehem Asylum - a place where they kept the insane (as per official findings). Lord Mortimer knew one of them (a poet who drank). Master Sims was summoned, he is the Apothecary General of the Asylum. Sims will present a play for entertainment using the Bedlam inmates. Sims has a way of doing business. There is a charge to see the lunatics (unlike broadcast TV today). And so the show goes on. People are sacrificed to amuse the wealthy and powerful. [Has that changed?] Mistress Bowen has second thoughts. Can the poor people be helped? "It's a great responsibility to be rich."

Can a parrot be arrested for libel? Can politics improve Bedlam? Will somebody be imprisoned for political reasons? Does putting a sane person in an asylum make them crazy? Henny enters to find Nell Bowen and talks to her. Will Sims try to trick Nell? Will he give her the "treatment"? Will the inmates take over the asylum and judge Sims? Will help arrive in time? Sims explains he is just following orders from above. He is released, but finds a disagreeable surprise. Can they hide him so he won't be found? Will his replacement be better? [Are you tired of these questions"] Reforms were started in 1773 and led to better treatment for those judged lacking in sanity. [Such as refusing to sell an item.]

With sad irony, Bedlam, one of the Val Lewton-produced B-movie quickies, was not successful at the box office yet was probably the best constructed of his films. Along with The Body Snatchers, I think it stands up as a compelling story with solid dialogue and better acting than we've come to expect from Lewton's films.

Boris Karloff, in a performance of skill and complexity, plays Master George Sims, the ruler of St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum in London...a forbidding hulk of a stone building. Bedlam, for short. The time is 1761. Bedlam is the place where the insane are sent, as well as inconvenient or embarrassing relatives. The violent ones are kept in chains and in cages. The quieter ones are housed in a huge ward, male and female all together, the floor covered with filthy straw, where the inmates mutter or cry or ceaselessly walk or stare at the walls. But they all cower when Master Sims comes in.

Nell Bowen (Anna Lee), is the smart, privileged and arrogant protege of a fat English lord. When she meets Sims her dislike is instant. But Sims counts her patron as one of his sponsors. While many of the upper-class willingly pay a shilling to visit Bedlam and laugh at "the antics of the loonies," Nell finds herself repulsed and outraged. When she sets out to improve conditions, she finds herself blocked by the clever Sims. In a major miscalculation, she aims her furious temper at her protector, Lord Mortimer, leaves him and sets out to make him a laughing stock. Before long, she finds herself an inmate in Bedlam, too. Can she survive in Bedlam by showing kindness? Can she win over the inmates before a confrontation with Sims becomes inevitable? Will she ever be released? Will she find love in the arms of a Quaker she met...and if she does, can she curb her tongue with him? Will Sims ever be brought to justice? All rather mundane questions, but director Mark Robson and the Lewton production team, plus a larger than usual budget, set most of these questions in a fine and repellant reconstruction of an 18th Century insane asylum.

As unsettling and threatening as the movie looks, Bedlam is in no way a horror film. Bedlam is a well-balanced character study pitting the obsequious, envious and dangerous George Sims against the resourceful and unintimidated Nell Bowen. Karloff and Lee are more than up to the task. Anna Lee gives us a Nell Bowen who is remarkably quick with her temper and with her tongue. Her description of Sims is pungent. "If you ask me, my lord, he's a stench in the nostrils, a sewer of ugliness and a gutter brimming with slough." Boris Karloff gives us a fascinating portrait of a man who fawns over his superiors and abuses his inmates. It's a masterful job. Watch the difference in how he walks into Lord Mortimer's bedroom after being kept waiting for hours and how he strides into his own empire, Bedlam. Watch how he compulsively touches his pig-tailed wig to make sure it's on straight whenever he meets Lord Mortimer. Watch the difference in his stare when Nell Bowen is seen as just Lord Mortimer's plaything and when she's seen as a threat to him. There are several times when Karloff's face registers anger, resentment and satisfaction in just moments and with just a slight movement of his lips. And unlike many of Lewton's films, in Bedlam there are a number of capable actors in smaller parts.

With two strong actors, it's good to see that they were given a well-written script to work with. When Sims is accused of abetting the death of an embarrassing "guest" at Bedlam, a sane young man who could cause problems for Sims' sponsor, he simply smiles and says that the man's fall from the roof was "a misadventure, contrived by the victim and executed by nature's law that all who lose their grip on gutters must fall."

Was the treatment of the insane in Bedlam just an historical fact which we have corrected in our modern age? If you are naive enough to believe that you might want to read up on Titticut Follies, a Frederick Wiseman documentary he filmed in 1967. It shows the routine mistreatment and humiliation of the mentally ill by the guards and doctors at the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Mass. Or you might sign up for a sociology class in college that could take you to visit a state hospital for the insane. I can recall my own visit years ago to a ward for men which was filled with patients wearing only untied hospital gowns. The men shuffled about or came up to stare and try to touch or simply rocked back and forth. The ward smelled strongly of human waste.

Once again Val Lewton takes what would have been a second rate horror story and turns it into a sit on the edge of your seat psychological thriller. The basic question of the story is the same as the one in his movie "Ghost Ship"; that is, is man fundamentally good and helpful of others or is he so self centered that he will act even to his own ultimate demise? An added element is that of not quite being granted all mental faculties.

The year is 1791 Lord Mortimer (Billy House) is just one of the upper class (Wiggs) that gets his kicks from watching the loonies of Bedlam loon. His protégé (Anna Lee) is discussed at the treatment of the "guests" by the head apothecary, Master George Sims (Boris Karloff who can actually act). She attempts to correct this to the detriment of Lord Mortimer. So Lord Mortimer and Sims invite her as a guest to Bedlam.

Will she ever get out or just go crazy. While there she applies a theory supplied by a Quaker (Richard Fraser), one of the Society of Friends if this works the tables may turn on Sims. What can Sims say in his defense?

Isle of the Dead / Bedlam