Bedlam (1946)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:15
Fresh:13
Rotten:2
Average Rating:6.5/10
Runtime: 79 mins
Genre: Horror/Suspense
Synopsis: An intriguing change of pace from chillmaster Val Lewton about an innocent girl imprisoned in a ghastly 18th-century insane asylum. Nell, an aspiring young actress, rejects the patronage of a... [More]
Reviews for Bedlam
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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Robson's notably unpoetic direction doesn't help, either; yet few Hollywood films ever had such ambition. Full Review |
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The film's single most resonant image -- that of the grasping arms of the Bedlam inmates straining to reach through the bars of their cells -- has inspired countless other movies. Full Review |
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 1.5/4 |
Lewton had something to say. Perhaps inevitably, he found less interesting ways of saying it over the course of nine films in a short four years. Full Review |
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The feminist-political fable is couched in absorbing grey zones Full Review |
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3/4 |
Another strong chiller from brilliant producer Val Lewton. Full Review |
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Nicholas Musaraca's excellent cinematography contributes a number of fine effects, and there's a strange and witty aside on the invention of movies. Full Review |
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B- |
As a sociological tract it's right on the money, as a psychological thriller it wanders at times too far away from the money. Full Review |
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2.5/5 |
Notable only for a nuanced performance by Boris Karloff. Full Review |
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3/5 |
While the film has a tendency to wander into unadulterated Hollywoodisms in spots, it is a generally straight-forward and imaginative estimate of a two-century-old sociological theme. Full Review |
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3/5 |
A fine feature in the Val Lewton series for RKO is not so much a horror film, though it does contain one of Karloff's more deliciously sadistic performances.
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3.5/5 |
One of Val Lewton's final films, this collaboration with Boris Karloff is also one of his most tragically underrated. Full Review |
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3/5 |
No review available.
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3/5 |
Creepy doings with Karloff amok in asylum.
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3/5 |
Last gasp in the famed Lewton horrors. Frankly, pretty dull.
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4/5 |
Creepy, atmospheric, yet underrated Val Lewton thriller.
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