Bedlam

"Beauty at the mercy of madmen!"

1946 1h 16m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 87

DramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

London, 1761. St. Mary's of Bethlehem, a sinister madhouse, is visited by wealthy people who enjoy watching the patients confined there as if they were caged animals. Nell Bowen, one of the visitors, is horrified by the deplorable living conditions of the unfortunate inhabitants of this godforsaken place, better known as Bedlam.

“Beauty at the mercy of madmen!”

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Cast

Boris Karloff
George Sims
Anna Lee
Nell Bowen
Billy House
Lord Mortimer
Richard Fraser
The Stonemason
Glen Vernon
The Gilded Boy
Ian Wolfe
Sidney Long
Jason Robards Sr.
Oliver Todd
Leyland Hodgson
'That Devil' Wilkes

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mark Robson
Writers: Val Lewton, Mark Robson
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 76-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

80 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mark Robson, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lyle Boyer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Boris Karloff and Anna Lee and Billy House carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Beauty at the mercy of madmen!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mark Robson directs. Nicholas Musuraca behind the camera. Roy Webb scores. Lyle Boyer cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 76-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
380 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Mark Robson, shot by Nicholas Musuraca. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Roy Webb. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Lyle Boyer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Boris Karloff and Anna Lee and Billy House carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Beauty at the mercy of madmen!".
9IMDB entry: tt0038343 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 87 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 9 themes, including "london, england", "insane asylum", "class differences", "mental illness".