Madhouse (1974)

Director:

Jim Clark

Writers:

Angus Hall (novel)
Ken Levison (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

March 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Mystery

Tagline:

If Stark Terror Were Ecstasy... living here would be sheer bliss!

Plot:

Horror movie actor Paul Toombes (Vincent Price), famous for playing "Dr. Death," suffers a nervous breakdown...

Plot Keywords:

Pinball | Peacock | New Year's Eve | Tarantula | TV Show

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Paul Toombes
Peter Cushing	...	Herbert Flay
Robert Quarry	...	Oliver Quayle
Adrienne Corri	...	Faye
Linda Hayden	...	Elizabeth Peters
Natasha Pyne	...	Julia
Barry Dennen	...	Blount
Catherine Willmer	...	Louise
Ellis Dayle	...	Alfred
Jenny Lee Wright	...	Carol
John Garrie	...	Harper
Ian Thompson	...	Bradshaw
Julie Crosthwaite	...	Ellen
Peter Halliday	...	Psychiatrist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Boris Karloff	...	Clip from 'The Raven' (archive footage)
Debra Paget	...	Clips from 'The Haunted Palace' (archive footage)
Michael Parkinson	...	TV Interviewer
Basil Rathbone	...	Clip from 'Tales of Terror' (archive footage)
George Blackler	...	George the Make-Up Artist (uncredited)
Antony Carbone	...	Clip from 'Pit and the Pendulum' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Robert Cawdron	...	CID Inspector (uncredited)
Earl Rhodes	...	Boy Fishing (uncredited)
Christopher Sandford	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Patrick Westwood	...	Clip from 'Pit and the Pendulum' (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Jim Clark

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Angus Hall		novel "Devilday"
Ken Levison		screenplay
Greg Morrison		screenplay

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	executive producer
John Dark	....	associate producer
Max Rosenberg	....	producer
Milton Subotsky	....	producer

Original Music by
Douglas Gamley

Cinematography by
Ray Parslow

Art Direction by
Tony Curtis

Makeup Department
George Blackler	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michael Green	....	third assistant director
Allan James	....	first assistant director
Nigel Wooll	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Gerry Humphreys	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Ian Smith	....	clapper loader

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dulcie Midwinter	....	costumes

Music Department
Douglas Gamley	....	conductor

Other crew
David Sheldon	....	production executive

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)
• Amicus Productions

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Video Ltd. (1986) (UK) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Deathday
The Madhouse of Dr. Fear
The Revenge of Dr. Death

Runtime:

92 min | USA:89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) | Finland:(Banned) | USA:PG

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

During the last scene and over the closing credits, it is Vincent Price whose voice is singing.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the police are examining the hanged woman's body, the camera shows her face reflected in a piece of gym equipment. Her eyes clearly move as the camera tilts up.

Quotes:

Herbert Flay: Paul's on the make. Ellen is on the take. That's Hollywood.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 3 (1996) (V)

The Waste...the Incredible Waste!

No bones about it. This film is not very good. It has so few moments of inspiration that I really have little to say in its favor. Let's tackle what is wrong with the film first. The story is threadbare and in many ways very illogical and incomprehensible. The ending makes little sense even though its billed as a "twist" ending. Paul Toombes, the co-creator of Dr. Death, was suspected of beheading his wife to be in Hollywood many years ago. He is brought to London by the other co-creator, writer Henry Flay, at least a dozen years later. Years of self-guilt, self-denial, and psychological analysis. So far so good. People begin to die again of course, but the three main suspects from many years ago are back. Vincent Price as Toombes, Peter Cushing as Flay, and Robert Quarry as a producer are all in London and all involved in a return to televisionshow of the retired Dr. Death. Toombes looks very guilty as we constantly see a pair of hands without a face put gloves on indicating someone is about to die. Little mystery here. It can only be one of three people, and the way the film is shot you know that it is unlikely Toombes did it...especially as one of the murders takes place while he is being interviewed. Now our suspects are down to two...and it is so incredibly easy to figure out the identity of the killer that I would go so far as to say there is NO mystery in this film. Any how, the story climaxes with an unrealistic and unexplained plot element that must have been scavenged from the throw-away red herring pile of Agatha Christie as something she would not even have the temerity to use and expect people to believe. I found myself after viewing th film filled with a great deal of disappointment that such huge talents were wasted. this was a co-production from Amicus and AIP. I think AIP just let the producer and director use a lot of Price's work from the old Corman-Poe movies. There are clips from The Raven, Tales of Terror, The Pit and the Pendulum(in black and white no less as it's advertised as one of Toombe's early works), and several others.The fact that the clips were used demonstrates the budget used in the film and the apparent lack of creativity and originality used in the film. Was there anything good? Yes, the pairing of Price and Cushing in ANY film is always worth a look. Price is excellent in some scenes, particularly those dealing with the business of the horror business. Cushing has little screen time but is effective for the most part. Quarry, though given little to do, is also a bonus. The real acting talent goes to Adrienne Corri as a woman whose body has been burned and has a penchant for spiders. Her character is totally unrealistic, but Corri really does a great job with what she is given. Themake-up of the Dr. Death character is fantastic. I think more could have been done with that. The biggest problem for me is not what the end product was but what it could have been. Vincent Price and Peter Cushing has shared so little screen time together that this movie could have been their penultimatepairing..for some it may be as I cannot think of but only one other film where they share any considerable screen time...House of the Long Shadows. For my money that is a far better film than this(and I am not particularly crazy about that film either)and at least gives the two actors time to thrust and parry against each other. In this film they have little to do. Such a shame!