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Stream Isle of the Dead / Bedlam Online.
Movie Title: Isle of the Dead / Bedlam Isle of the Dead / Bedlam is available for streaming or downloading. |
A great double-feature DVD offering two greats from famed genre producer Val Lewton.
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ISLE OF THE DEAD (1945)
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A staid, low-key Val Lewton chiller that stars Boris Karloff as a tyrannical Greek general during the Balkan war. Due to an outbreak of a mysterious plague, the General is quarantined with a small group of people on an island cemetery. As members begin to meet their doom one by one, an old Greek woman among them claims that a vampiric spirit actually responsible for the “affliction” and thusly opens the debate of reason vs. superstition. Karloff’s subtle performance perfectly compliments the film’s eerie atmosphere, and the rest of the outstanding cast delivers strong support. Genre fans will recognize supporting actor Alan Napier, who would later gain television fame as Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred Pennyworth, on the classic but campy 1960s series BATMAN.
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BEDLAM (1946)
This creepy melodrama isn’t really a horror film as much as it is a period-piece thriller. Set in and around a London insane asylum during the 18th Century, the film stars Anna Lee as an upper-crust sycophant who is wrongfully committed to the asylum when she interferes in the affairs of the institution’s cruel director, Master George Sims. Boris Karloff’s portrayal of Sims is devilishly delicious, yet he still manages to avoid upstaging the wonderful Lee and the rest of the strong, talented cast (a cast that includes Jason Robards, Sr., Billy House, and a young Ellen Corby, among many others). The atmosphere and mood of the setting are adeptly evoked, and the use of William Hogarth engravings–which Lewton claimed inspired the script–as transitional devices is an aesthetic masterstroke that adds even more to the high production quality and helps the film belie its meager budget. The last flick that legendary B-movie producer Lewton would develop for RKO Studios, it’s also one of the best.
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As with the other double-feature discs in Warner’s VAL LEWTON series, the films presented here do not appear to have undergone any restoration, though both are in pretty good shape considering their age. BEDLAM is accompanied by an optional feature-length commentary from film historian Tom Weaver, but no other extras are offered on this disc. Still, these two films are some of the best examples of Lewton’s efforts, and they also feature outstanding performances from genre great Boris Karloff. So this disc is well worth the reasonable price of admission and is a must-have for any serious film collector or Karloff fan.
Val Lewton (1904-1951) was brought to RKO when that studio decided to compete with Universal in the horror genre. As it happened, RKO was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy at the time–and Lewton was given the audience-tested title CAT PEOPLE and ordered to create an inexpensive movie to fit it. Without the budget to create “a monster movie,” Lewton responded with a remarkably artful film that relied on suggestion and implication. He would go on to produce nine such films in all, three of them starring Boris Karloff.
Released in 1945, ISLE OF THE DEAD was inspired by a celebrated Brocklin painting. The film had a troubled production; Karloff collapsed mid-way through the shoot due to back problems and was unable to work for several weeks. When he was able to return, other members of the cast were tied up with other projects–so the film sat half finished while Karloff worked in Lewton’s memorable THE BODY SNATCHER. It was quite some time before the ISLE cast could be reassembled.
This may account for the fact that ISLE is by far and way the single weakest title in Lewton’s films. Whatever the case, the script is certainly no help. Credited to Josef Mischel and
Ardel Wray, the story lacks focus and the dialogue is remarkably awkward. The story concerns a 19th century Greek military commander (Karloff) who visits his wife’s grave, located on an island described as a cemetery. But plague breaks out–and in order to prevent its spread the commander quarantines the island. Even as various residents fall ill and die, others attribute the deaths to a Greek-style vampire; to further complicate the story a premature burial leaves the prematurely buried considerably annoyed, to say the least.
The performances are equally weak. Karloff, having just given the performance of his career in the earlier THE BODY SNATCHER, now gives what may be his weakest performance of the 1940s with this film–and frankly he looks incredibly ridiculous with curly hair. But Karloff is not alone: the entire cast is truly at sea, their performances clashing at every possible stylistic level, and director Mark Robson is unable to chart any direction that might give these issues any interest.
True enough, the film does pick up steam in the last fifteen minutes or so, but it all proves too little to late. ISLE OF THE DEAD is a film that only a Lewton, Karloff, or classic film horror fan would care to see–and even they are unlikely to find much to admire in it.
On the other hand, BEDLAM is a remarkably strong film, and many feel that it challenges the very memorable THE BODY SNATCHER in terms of power and style. Released in 1946, BEDLAM was suggested by several engravings by English artist Hogarth, and the film itself echoes both the content and style of Hogarth’s work. Set in the 1700s, the story concerns the infamous English asylum Bedlam, which is governed by George Sims–who uses his control of the asylum for personal pleasure, monetary gain, and in order to curry favor with the aristocracy.
When spirited Nell Bowen (Anna Lee) has a falling out with her mentor Lord Mortimer (Billy House), Sims convinces Mortimer to commit her to Bedlam–a process that was unexpectedly easy at the time. But Anna proves resourceful: although she is now at Sim’s mercy, her growing sense of responsibility toward the horribly mistreated inmates provides her with an unexpected and unlooked-for powerbase, and she is able to turn the tables with horrific consequences.
Although I myself do not quite class BEDLAM alongside THE BODY SNATCHER, it is nonetheless a powerful, beautifully made film. Mark Robson’s direction is equal to his cast, which finds both Karloff and Anna Lee at the top of their form, and the supporting roles give equally memorable turns. The style of the film is classic Lewton, a memorable mixture of dark and light. When all is said and done, it is easy to see why BEDLAM is so highly regarded.
Unfortunately this was not actually the case when the film was released. Although reviews were good-to-excellent, BEDLAM ran into significant censorship problems and was even banned from England, and post-World War II audiences were not in the mood for such a singularly dark story. The film lost money. BEDLAM would be Lewton’s last film for RKO, and although he would produce three more films none would equal his earlier successes.
Neither ISLE nor BEDLAM is offered in a pristine print, but in truth the picture and sound quality probably represent a “best case” scenario short of digital restoration, and in any event the quality is more than adequate, easily the best print I have seen of either film. There are no extras relating to ISLE OF THE DEAD, but film historian Tom Weaver offers a memorable commentary for BEDLAM in which ISLE is also discussed to some degree.
BEDLAM is certainly a film worth having, and if it were offered as a stand-alone DVD I would certainly give it five stars. ISLE is an entirely different matter, and if it were offered as a stand-alone DVD I would give it three stars for historical interest–and consider that generous. I split the difference for a four-star final.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
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