Asylum (1972/I)

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writer:

Robert Bloch (stories)

Release Date:

17 November 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The hot-blooded beauty in the cold freezer.

Plot:

A young psychiatrist interviews four inmates in a mental asylum to satisfy a requirement for employment...

Plot Keywords:

Evil Doll | Anthology | Blind | Dismemberment | Robot

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Peter Cushing	...	Smith
Britt Ekland	...	Lucy
Herbert Lom	...	Byron
Patrick Magee	...	Dr. Rutherford
Barry Morse	...	Bruno
Barbara Parkins	...	Bonnie
Robert Powell	...	Dr. Martin
Charlotte Rampling	...	Barbara
Sylvia Syms	...	Ruth
Richard Todd	...	Walter
James Villiers	...	George
Geoffrey Bayldon	...	Max Reynolds
Ann Firbank	...	Anna
Megs Jenkins	...	Miss Higgins
John Franklyn-Robbins	...	Stebbins

Also Known As:

House of Crazies

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:16 | France:-16 | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1973) | Sweden:15 | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Amicus Productions

Trivia:

Herbert Lom shot his cameo in half a day, he was booked for a day.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the landlord of the tailor holds up his rent book, it alternates hands between shots.

Quotes:

[Barbara's imaginary friend Lucy has just stabbed Barbara's brother and nurse to death]
Lucy: I say... this is a lark, isn't it? There, Barbara, now you're free. Free of all of them.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stephen King's World of Horror (1986) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Pictures at an Exhibition

I never realized how hot Britt Ekland is!

I must admit that when I read the box and saw the cast of "Asylum" includes Peter Cushing, Britt Ekland and Herbert Lom, I thought to myself "Dr. Van Helsing, Peter Sellers's ex, and Insp. Clouseau's boss in a horror flick. Whoa." It turns out that while parts of the movie come out a little flat, it's some pretty cool entertainment. Portraying a neophyte doctor coming to an insane asylum and having to guess which patient is the former head doctor, they know how to do most things right.

The vignettes show two people plotting to kill a woman who, unbeknownst to them, practiced voodoo; a tailor having to make a most unusual suit; a woman and her "friend"; and a mannequin maker. Ah, but wait until you find out who the former doctor is! Not that this really relates to anything, but I never realized how hot Britt Ekland is! I've seen her in a few movies, but in none has she sent my hormones as wild as she did here. Of course, I just go crazy for any of those blonde actresses from the '60s (others include Barbara Eden and Elke Sommer).

So, this movie isn't any kind of masterpiece, but it doesn't pretend to be. Just nice, silly entertainment. Also starring Patrick Magee (the wheelchair man from "A Clockwork Orange") and Charlotte Rampling.