Am I Missing Something?

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

The last of several films Mark Robson directed under Val Lewton in the 1940s (a crop which included the standout "The Seventh Victim"), "Bedlam" bases itself on a fictionalized version of the Bethlem Royal Hospital where a cruel overlord (played by Boris Karloff) governs his madhouse where a young heroine finds herself imprisoned.As other reviewers have noted, this is not so much a "horror" film in the standard sense of the word-but then again, neither are several of the Lewton films of this period. "Bedlam" is a drama first, with shades of horror and suspense folded in. It's somewhat plot-heavy, though not as convoluted as some of the Robson-Lewton efforts, and does boast some memorable cinematography and a significant sense of unease and claustrophobia.It at times reminded me somewhat of the 1964 film "Shock Treatment" starring Lauren Bacall, which seems to have taken its cues from "Bedlam" and transposed them in the twentieth century. The cast is rather large, with Anna Lee leading as the formidable heroine, and Karloff giving a deranged performance that is noteworthy. The film's climax is a definite selling point here, and the last act is particularly interesting, outshining what comes before it by leaps and bounds.All in all, "Bedlam" is a solid film that offers Robson's signature atmosphere with the eighteenth century period-piece finishings. For a picture about madness, it is appropriately mad, and though not a cutthroat horror epic by any means, it is fairly unsettling at moments and relentlessly atmospheric. Not a flawless film by any means-it is somewhat tonally uneven-but worthwhile no less. 7/10.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".The Same could be said of "Horror". The Fact that so Many Commentators tend to the "Opinion" that "this is Not a Horror Film" makes the case.It's a "Horror" Film if "Horrifying" Things Happen. One is Hard Pressed to say that 'Horrifying" Things do not occur in this Val Lewton/Boris Karloff Movie. "Man's Inhumanity to Man" is the "Horror" here.Compared with the other 8 Lewton Productions that are Now All Considered B-Movie Classics/Masterpieces, it could be Called one of the Least Popular and Not as Offbeat as most of the Lewton Legacy, but to Rank the Films as Better or Worse is a Non-Starter. All of the Movies are Individually "Great".It's a Matter of Taste and Opinion beyond that. Although it is Fun to List and Rank, Critique and Comment and this one gets its Share of Ho-Hum.It has Horrifying Scenes that Startle and the Atmosphere is Atrophied. The Inmates are in Misery and Wallow in various forms of Violence, either Psychological or Physical. The Ones Karloff, as the Caretaker, doesn't Beat or Torment are the "Pretty" Ones and it is left to the Imagination (although hinted at) a Lewton Trademark, what He does with Them.Anna Lee is another Strong Leading Woman that Val Lewton Showcases and She Highlights the Gloomy Proceeding Battling Wits with Anyone On Screen and Shows a Strikingly Complex Character Performance.The Literate and Fanciful Dialog and the Period Production Detail also a Highlight (this time the Script was actually written by Lewton under a pseudonym). As far as the overall Production, Val Lewton was Always In Charge.All 9 Lewton Films are more than Worth a Watch, they are Essential for Film Scholars or Anyone Interested in Film as Art.

Director Mark Robson's fifth film, "Bedlam," drew its title from the infamous St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum in London in the 18th century. This polished, period piece ranks as one of "Cat People" producer Val Lewton's finest productions with nothing to detract from it. Although it isn't strictly horror, this atmospheric character-driven melodrama derives its impact from by its asylum setting. Reportedly, William Hogarth's painting Bedlam Plate #8 "The Rake's Progress" inspired this witty suspense yarn. What is truly creepy about "Bedlam" is Master George Sims' callous treatment of his unfortunate patients and the way he exploits them for the amusement of the upper classes. He charges a tuppence for visitor to turn the asylum as if it were a zoo. When Sims isn't ruling his patients like a tyrant, he flatters an obese nobleman Lord Mortimer (Billy House of "The Stranger") so he can maintain his support. Each character is skillfully written, and drama galore unfolds in this enthralling RKO Picture."Bedlam" takes places in 1761. Lord Mortimer (Billy House of "The Stranger") and his protégé, actress Nell Bowen (Anna Lee of "Seven Sinners"), stop at St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum, an infamous mental institute nicknamed "Bedlam," where a crowd has gathered. One of the inmates died trying to escape, his driver tells him, and then adds that Mortimer knew the gentleman. Sure enough, Mortimer recognizes the corpse as his friend the poet Colby. Earlier, director Robson showed the feeble poet struggling to hoist himself onto the roof, hanging onto the gutter for dear life. Another man arrived and promptly ground Colby's fingers with his boot. Inevitably, Colby loses his grip and plunges to his death.Lord Mortimer blames Apothecary General Master George Sims (Boris Karloff of "Frankenstein") for Colby's ill-timed demise. Apparently, Mortimer had paid Colby the sum of 20 guineas to pen him a masque for his fete. Not only does Mortimer lose the money but now also the evening's entertainment that Colby was hired to furnish. Sims argues that Colby's death was accidental. "This was a misadventure contrived by the victim and executed by Nature's law that all who lose their grip on gutters must fall." Furthermore, he adds Colby came to visit him at St. Mary's to discuss poetry while he—Sims--was absent. The guards thought Colby was a lunatic and locked him up. Colby escaped, but he didn't get away. Sims announces that he will make Lord Mortimer's fete "a frolic you will remember." He convinces Mortimer to all him to stage the entertainment at St. Mary's, and everybody will be overjoyed.Nell Bowen is a woman of opportunity. Starving as a theatrical actress, she won over Lord Mortimer, and he has her around to amuse him. Dressed in the height of fashion, she accompanies him everywhere. Nevertheless, she ridicules Mortimer with qualm at every opportunity. She has trained her parrot to describe Lord Mortimer as a sloth. The moment that she encounters Sims, she hates the head warden with a virulent passion. She criticizes every word he utters, and she snaps at Mortimer, too! The loathsome Sims knows how to bring people around to his way of thinking. He butters up the bumptious Mortimer and slyly outfoxes Nell. At one point, Nell allows her contempt for Lord Mortimer to run rampant and he reprimands her. Later, she tries to sell her parrot in the open market. Actually, she wants the bird to sing the farcical jingle about Lord Mortimer. When Mortimer dispatches a representative to buy the parrot for the princely sum of 100 guineas, she refuses to sell him.Everything that Nell does is steeped in humor. She relies on the power of the jest, but her jesting comes back to haunt her when she has to face a lunacy hearing. Nell appears before a panel of obtuse men who don't appreciate her sense of humor, and they vote to confine her in St. Mary's. Our heroine has talked her way into the asylum and now she must fend for herself! Meantime, the stone mason looks for a way to visit it.Robson doesn't squander a second in this intelligent period piece set during the Age of Reason. He stages every scene so that it appears natural, and nothing seems out of place in this carefully crafted film. At seventy-nine minutes, it never wears out its welcome. The Quakes get fair treatment, and stone mason William Hannay (Richard Fraser) believes in himself and his God. The court room at the end is ironic, but it is also fitting. Our dastardly villain Sims looks as if he is going to save his skin when the unexpected happens from the least thought of source. "Bedlam" qualifies as an excellent, black & white, melodrama, with Karloff giving a tour de force interpretation of shear evil and avarice. Billy House is splendid as the vacuous nobleman who is oblivious to all the barbs that both Sims and Nell heap upon him.

Unlike most horror films of 1940's, this movie, written by producer Val Lewton and director Mark Robson, does not show escapist monster rally - like atmospheric and well-made films from Universal - but something truly disturbing: human's cruelty to other humans. It is 18th century England and Bedlam, real-life institution for mentally ill, is hell on Earth (a bit like concentration camp in North Korea, minus human experiments). Quick-tempered actress (Anna Lee) opposes mercilessly sadistic warden (Boris Karloff) and depraved treatment of mentally ill, and she is soon endangered herself. Nice costumes, sets and props and (unfortunately) timeless and powerful message for need of human treatment for people with mental health problems, even if they are violent.