Corridors of Blood

Corridors of Blood
Corridors of Blood
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Robert Day
Written by	Jean Scott Rogers
Produced by	John Croydon; Charles F. Vetter
Starring	Boris Karloff; Christopher Lee; Betta St. John; Finlay Currie; Francis Matthews
Cinematography	Geoffrey Faithfull
Edited by	Peter Mayhew
Music by	Buxton Orr
Production; company	Amalgamated Productions
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates	December 1958; (U.K.); 1962 (U.S. release)
Running time	86 min.
Countries	United Kingdom; United States
Language	English
Budget	£90,000 or £200,000

Corridors of Blood (aka Doctor from Seven Dials)^[3] is a 1958 British-American period drama film directed by Robert Day and starring Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee. The original music score was composed by Buxton Orr. The film was marketed with the tagline "Tops in Terror!" in the US where MGM only released it in 1962 as a double feature with an Italian import called Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory.^[5]

Plot

An 1840s British surgeon, Dr. Thomas Bolton (Boris Karloff) experiments with anesthetic gases in an effort to make surgery pain-free. While doing so, his demonstration before a panel of his peers ends in a horrific mishap with his patient awakening under the knife; he is forced to leave his position in disgrace. To complicate matters, he becomes addicted to the gases and gets involved with a gang of criminals, led by Black Ben (Francis de Wolff) and his henchman Resurrection Joe (Christopher Lee). Unfortunately, this shady partnership leads Bolton to further ruin, culminating in his unwitting participation in murder — for which he becomes the first victim of a blackmail scheme.

Cast

Actor	Role
Boris Karloff	Dr. Thomas Bolton
Betta St. John	Susan
Finlay Currie	Supt. Matheson
Christopher Lee	Resurrection Joe
Francis Matthews	Jonathan Bolton
Francis de Wolff	Black Ben
Adrienne Corri	Rachel
Basil Dignam	Chairman
Frank Pettingell	Mr. Blount
Nigel Green	Inspector Donovan
Yvonne Romain	Rosa
Howard Lang	Chief Inspector

Production

After the success of The Haunted Strangler, producer Richard Gordon looked at making a follow up with Boris Karloff. At one stage a colour remake of Dracula was discussed, as was an adaptation of The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. Eventually producer John Scott discovered a screenplay by Jean Scott Rogers based on the early days of anesthesia, originally called Doctor from Seven Dials.^[3]

Executive producer Richard Gordon and interviewer Tom Weaver talk about the making of Corridors of Blood on the audio commentary of the Criterion DVD, available as part of the 2007 set Monsters and Madmen.

Release and reception

The movie was made in 1958 but, because of upheavals at MGM at the time, was not released until 1962 on a double feature with an Italian import called Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory.^[3] According to MGM records, the film made a profit of $14,000.^[6] It was considered a commercial disappointment and was the last film from Amalgamated Productions.^[2]

Leonard Maltin awarded the film two and a half out of a possible four stars.^[7]

References

^ Criterion Collection
^ ^a ^b John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951–70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 42-47
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Tom Weaver, The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon, Bear Manor Media 2011 p 80-95
^ Stephen Jacobs, Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster, Tomahawk Press 2011 p 422
^ "Werewolf In A Girl's Dormitory". www.dvddrive-in.com.
^ The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
^ Leonard Maltin (2015). Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-14-751682-4.

External links

Corridors of Blood at IMDb
Corridors of Blood at the TCM Movie Database
Corridors of Blood at AllMovie
In Praise of Karloff the Uncanny an essay by Maitland McDonagh at the Criterion Collection

[1] Criterion Collection

[x_cert-2] John Hamilton, The British Independent Horror Film 1951–70 Hemlock Books 2013 p 42-47

[tom-3] Tom Weaver, The Horror Hits of Richard Gordon, Bear Manor Media 2011 p 80-95

[karloff-4] Stephen Jacobs, Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster, Tomahawk Press 2011 p 422

[5] "Werewolf In A Girl's Dormitory". www.dvddrive-in.com.

[Mannix-6] The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

[Maltin2015-7] Leonard Maltin (2015). Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era Through 1965. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-14-751682-4.

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