Bedlam (film)

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Bedlam (1946) is a film starring Boris Karloff and Anna Lee, and was the last in a series of stylish B films produced by Val Lewton for RKO Radio Pictures. The film takes inspiration from a William Hogarth print, with Hogarth being given a writing credit.

Plot summary

Set in 1761 London, England, the film focuses on events at St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum, a fictionalized version of Bethlem Royal Hospital. After an acquaintance of aristocrat Lord Mortimer dies in an attempt to escape from the asylum, apothecary general Master George Sims (played by Karloff, a fictionalized version of an infamous head physician at Bethlem, John Monro) appeases Mortimer by having his "loonies" put on a show for him. Mortified by the treatment of the patients, Mortimer's protege Nell Bowen (Lee) seeks the help of Whig politician John Wilks to reform the asylum. Mortimer and Sims conspire to committ Nell to the asylum, where her initial fears of the fellow inmates do not sway her sympathetic commitment to improving their conditions. Frustrated by Nell's progress with the inmates, Sims threatens her with his strongest "cure" but his attempt is thwarted by the very inmates that Nell helped. Ultimately, Sims is deposed and Nell is rescued by her Quaker friend who had counseled her through the whole process.

Releases

The film has been released on DVD by Warner Bros. as part of a double release with Isle Of The Dead and as part of the Val Lewton Horror Collection. It features a commentary by film historian Tom Weaver.

References

External links

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Last updated on Thursday January 31, 2008 at 11:37:28 PST (GMT -0800)
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