SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

emptywells The baby boom. I was there. I dropped out on the earth like everyone else. And if I had been anything other than shortsighted and dumb, I would have called together all of my neighborhood kids and said: Let's make this movie! There are no characters in this move who are unfunny. There are no lines delivered that lack edge. Anna Lee insults people in this film in a way I wish every woman would learn. A torrent of verbal abuse, and though she has been dead these fourteen years, somehow I still want her riding my carcass and hurling the gift of her abuse my way.

PoppyTransfusion A society of loose morals beneath and cruelty and indifference atop where the deaths of the mentally ill are as no more than the blink of an eye. This is the setting for the film and Hogarth's sketches are used as chapter headings throughout.A woman kept as a jester by Lord Mortimer, Nell Bowen, has a chance meeting with a Quaker outside an infamous mental institution, St Mary of Bethelhem's Asylum. The Quaker notes in Nell kindness and courage towards the mentally ill she has just visited: tuppence gained entry to laugh and mocked the afflicted. The meeting catalyses a change in Nell and she soon throws off Lord Moritmer and strikes out to reform treatment at the asylum, which is under the rule of a monstrous manipulator called Simms, Boris Karloff at his dastardly best. Simms connives to have Nell sectioned and she ends up in the bedlam that is the asylum, however he underestimates the affect Nell will have on the place and its incarcerated inhabitants.A witty film that will always be relevant as treatment of the mentally ill and the most vulnerable remains an ongoing issue. It is well acted by all and although the plot is perhaps predictable there are lots of quirks along the way that make it interesting including the fate of Simms ...

bkoganbing In Bedlam, Boris Karloff got one of the great villainous screen roles of his career. No costumes save of the period and no makeup aided him creating his character of Gerald Sims the Apothecary General of the United Kingdom and keeper of an insane asylum where he treats the inmates with barbaric cruelty unmatched on the screen. Aiding and abetting Karloff with his favor and patronage is rich lord Billy House. When House's mistress, actress Anna Lee shows some concern over the treatment of the people inside, House and Karloff conspire to have her committed there. But when she needs them those inmates prove to be her allies and helpful allies indeed.Besides Karloff, two other things Val Lewton's film has going for it that make it an outstanding classic. One is the meticulous detail that was paid to sets and costumes creating the atmosphere of 18th century Great Britain. RKO gave Lewton a bit more money on this film than they had on previous ones and he used it wisely. The other is Lewton's own original screenplay, based on William Hogarth's sketches of The Rake's Progress.Though considered a classic now, Bedlam failed at the box office. I have no doubt that Val Lewton was influenced by the reports of the Holocaust. But the idea that such barbarities could be inflicted by our civilized allies and mother country Great Britain was one that was way too disquieting to the movie-going public. I think that's the reason it failed. The film however was ahead of its times.Also the idea that one could be committed to an insane asylum under the pretexts that Anna Lee had done to her, was also a disquieting notion, something people did not want to think about.In retrospect Boris Karloff got one of the great roles of his career in Bedlam. Bedlam is a must for Karloff fans and for students of the serious, very serious cinema.

johnc2141 This was the very first time i saw the 1946 movie bedlam.i recently purchased this 3.00 DVD with two movies on it,the other one is isle of the dead which i will review next time,but bedlam was a great movie even by todays standards.Boris Karloff is at his wicked best as Sims who runs the asylum known as bedlam,his co star is Anna Lee who i think was an awesome actress and beauty.there's a lot of uncredited stars that turn up as the inmates like John Carridine,Robert Clarke,and Ellen Corby who would go on to play on TVs the Walton's.bedlam is a very well made movie by Val Lewton and Mark Robson.who did many rko classics like i walked with a zombie and isle of the dead.rich in atmosphere and mood bedlam was a low budget movie but it does'nt show.I'm not giving any spoilers because all Karloff fans will enjoy this classic thriller.no monsters in this but it will make anyone shudder.for this was a very real thriller known as bedlam which did exist many years ago.kudos and props to the late great Boris Karloff for this tour de force performance.as i mentioned Robert Clarke plays an inmate known as the dog.he went on to star in the hideous sun demon and beyond the time barrier,and yes the low budget incredible petrified world where again he would star with John Carridine.10 out of 10.bedlam rocks!