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Horrors of the Black Museum (1959) is certainly one of the more lurid exploitation films I've seen in awhile. Directed by Arthur Crabtree (his last film, by the way), who also directed the sci-fi classic Fiend Without a Face (1958), and produced by Herman Cohen, a pioneer in schlock exploitation with such releases as Target Earth (1954), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), and I was a teenage Frankenstein (1957), Horrors of the Black Museum, set in London, is a wonderfully nasty little tale about horrific murders of young women in most unusual ways.
The film stars Michael Gough, who many may remember as the character of Alfred Pennyworth in the all the Batman movies from 1989 to 1997, as Edmond Bancroft, a crime columnist/novelist who has made quite a living for himself writing about murder in all its' forms and those who commit them. Given the sensationalist nature of his source material, it's only natural that the public would lap it up, propelling Bancroft into the spotlight.
The film opens with an attractive blonde woman receiving a package in the mail to find a pair of binoculars. Now, the woman is very attractive, and gifts from suitors are probably not unusual, but binoculars seem a strange gift. Nonetheless, the woman accepts them with glee until she actually peers into them to find metal spikes shoot from the eyepieces and, well, picture the rest for yourself. We learn that this is another murder in a series of gruesome killings, ones that have the police baffled. Clues are scarce, and suspects are few. Very shortly, more murders occur, and Bancroft, along with his assistant, seems to be involved in the events in more than just as the role of reporter/researcher. Bancroft has such an interest in what he writes that he has gone so far as to build a museum, a black museum, to murder in the basement of his house. Scotland Yard has a black museum, one filled with tools and weapons of crime, but Bancroft feels his is a true museum, filled with relevant and meaningful items, much more discriminatory that the one at the Yard. What is Bancroft's connection to the murders?
One of the things I really enjoyed about this movie was while the murders gruesome and horrible, the bits of nastiness were certainly limited on screen, as many of the crimes where not shown, electing rather to build to the point of the killing, and then leave the rest to the viewers' imagination. Gough certainly seemed to enjoy himself, chewing the scenery something fierce in quite a few parts, which certainly served to enhance the film immeasurably. The plot leaks like a sieve, but no matter. There is much fun to be had here, of the extremely pulpy kind. The film reminded me a lot of one of my more favorite Vincent Price films, The House of Wax (1953), which I was actually lucky enough to see in all its' 3-D beauty at Chicago's Music Box Theater many moons ago.
Being the first American International Pictures release both in color and Cinemascope, Horrors of the Black Museum looks really good here in wide screen glory, but I think some of the picture is lost as the movie starts and the credits appear, letters are missing off either side of the screen. There are many special features included here, like original American and European theatrical trailers for the film, a really nice video tribute to producer Herman Cohen which was also included on the Target Earth (1954) DVD release, a phone interview with Cohen, a photo gallery, biographies/filmographies, an enclosed booklet with liner notes, extra trailers for films like Ruby (1977), The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) and The Headless Ghost (1959), to name a few. There is also a commentary by Cohen, and another by composer Gérard Schurmann and film historian David Del Valle. Finally, there is the original `Hypno-Vista' opening included and worth watching prior to watching the film. This was a gimmick, much like the ones used by showman Frank Castle, a 13 minute piece which had a hypnotist named Dr. Emile Franchel talk to the audience about hypnosis with the notion that various members of the audience could be hypnotized into a state where they would feel the movie, or, as the tagline stated, "It Actually Puts YOU In The Picture - Can You Stand It?" I know not whether I was put into a trance, but Dr. Emile sure seemed to know what he was talking about. As you can see, there was no skimping here on special features, and even the interactive menus are kinda cool, but I did find switching between the available items in the special features section a little clunky. This is a minor observance, and did little to negatively effect my overall enjoyment. If you take anything away from this film, I think that if you ever get a pair of binoculars sent to you anonymously, be sure to avoid putting them up to your peepers right away. Instead, go and show them off to that annoying nitwit neighbor who lets his dog bark all night or plays his car stereo so very loudly at 2 AM in the morning...
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Top reviews from other countries
Matthew Mercy
I think the word they were looking for is 'avalanche'...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 24, 2015
Wayne Allen
cinemascope,you see it with glasses!!
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A big letdown
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 10, 2016Amazon Customer
A solid old fashioned British horror
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 13, 2021
