Boris Karloff made horror film respectable. He probably terrified countless children and many adults, playing the Frankenstein monster. There were even members of the cast, who found him scary in makeup. He is, in Bedlam, a different kind of scary. Karloff plays Master George Sims. He is a very creepy man on the fringes of society, who runs an insane asylum, called Bedlam. Sims entertains the upper class by putting on shows, starring the inmates. It is a cruel thing, because Karloff’s character treats these mentally ill people like circus animals.
Lord Mortimer,(Billy House), hosts parties with the Bedlam inmates as the star attraction. This amuses everyone, but Nell Bowen, (Anna Lee), Lord Mortimer’s paramour. She is appalled. She argues with Mortimer, in front of Master Sims. He suggests to Mortimer, that he should take stern measures to teach her a lesson. Nell is called before a council for a sanity hearing. They decide she is qualified to reside in Bedlam. She is terrified, until she meets a trio of men, who are not quite insane.
One of these men is Sidney Long,(Ian Wolfe). He claims to be a judge. Long states that he’s been locked away,because he knew too much. Long and his two friends don’t make waves, so their stay is comfortable. Nell despises Master Sims, and doesn’t hide her feelings. She complains about not having a room. Sims gleefully takes her to what he claims is her room. It is a cage that houses a violent inmate. Nell manages to soothe him. She also is aided by her new friend in planning her escape. Nell’s determination and her strength get the other inmates to stop fearing the wicked Sims.
Bedlam has a strong script, and its heroine is a woman. This was slightly unusual for a horror movie of this era. Val Lewton not only produced this film, but wrote it as well. He was assisted by Paul Robson, who later directed many dramas. Karloff’s character has a great speech about how he is needed by the upper class. Anna Lee has some good lines as well. Her and Karloff do very well with the material. The studio gives the artist William Hogarth, a writing credit. His painting, The Rake’s Progress, was the inspiration for the film.
This movie,is classified as horror. It certainly qualifies with its depiction of the terrible treatment of the mentally ill in the eighteenth century. The beginning gives a glimpse of what is to come. An inmate tries to escape. He is hanging on a ledge. A guard gleefully steps on his fingers. The man loses his grip and falls to his death. The inmate was formally a servant in Lord Mortimer’s house. Another scene shows Karloff torturing an inmate, mentally and physically. The young man has forgotten his speech. This shows Simms in a bad light to upper crust society. Bedlam is first and foremost a horror film. Paul Robson manages to show the difference in upper class society and The inmates world. British society is pampered and all of the scenes are well lit.The inmates world is dark with no hope. This is terrifying to Nell. Her presence and kindness brings light to the inmates world. The underlying message is that those who are mentally ill deserve to be treated with dignity. Hollywood would later pick up on social messages, and make many films involving them.