Corridors of Blood (1958)

Dr. Thomas Bolton fights for the use of anesthetic in surgery and uses himself as a guinea pig but soon finds himself addicted.

Director:

Robert Day

Writer:

Jean Scott Rogers (screenplay)

Stars:

Boris Karloff, Betta St. John, Christopher Lee

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Boris Karloff	...	Dr. Thomas Bolton
Betta St. John	...	Susan
Christopher Lee	...	Resurrection Joe
Finlay Currie	...	Supt. Charles Matheson
Adrienne Corri	...	Rachel
Francis De Wolff	...	Black Ben (as Francis de Wolff)
Francis Matthews	...	Jonathan Bolton
Frank Pettingell	...	Mr Blount
Basil Dignam	...	Hospital chairman
Marian Spencer	...	Mrs Matheson
Carl Bernard	...	Ned, The Crow
John Gabriel	...	Baker
Nigel Green	...	Insp. Donovan
Yvonne Romain	...	Rosa (as Yvonne Warren)
Howard Lang	...	Chief Inspector

Storyline

In an effort to relieve the suffering of surgery patients, Dr. Thomas Bolton painstakingly develops an opium-based anesthetic, to which he gradually becomes addicted. In order to provide a continual supply of chemicals to continue his experiments and support his addiction, he falls in with a den of murderers who use his signature to sell cadavers to the local hospital.

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Plot Keywords:

experiment | surgery | tavern | death certificate | 1840s | 

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Taglines:

Tops in Terror!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 September 1962 (UK)

Also Known As:

Corredores de Sangue

Filming Locations:

MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£90,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amalgamated Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The censors successfully lobbied to have three scenes omitted: (1) The close-up of the leg amputation. (2) Lee's stabbing the night watchman in the back. (3) Karloff's throwing acid in Lee's face.

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Goofs

The light used on Lee's entrance varies from shot to shot.

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Quotes

Rachel: Some day you'll wiggle that bottom of yours just once too often.

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Connections

Referenced in Corridor Gossip (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Luverly Gin"
(uncredited)
Music by Buxton Orr
Lyrics by Francis O'Grady

User Reviews

Fantastic little horror gem

Any film featuring both Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff is an instant must-see for any horror fan. Alone, either one of these can carry a film; but together they make a force to be reckoned with indeed!

Karloff stars as the central character; a doctor who, through trying to find a way to separate pain from the knife (create an anaesthetic), becomes addicted to the chemicals he is working with. The character that Karloff portrays here is a world away from his most famous role; that of Frankenstein's Monster, but Karloff has proved time and time again throughout his illustrious career that he can handle all sorts of different roles, and he handles this one brilliantly. Karloff draws you into his character and really makes you believe that his ultimate, and only goal is to create something to ease the pain of his patients. When his character takes a more sinister turn after becoming addicted to his chemicals, Karloff impresses more. The way his eyes look and the atmosphere of weakness that he portrays is fantastic and just by looking at the man you can tell that he is extremely unwell. Karloff is one of horror's finest assets, and he more than proves himself with his role here. Of course, he doesn't need to prove anything to anybody; it's well known that he is one of the masters of the genre. As mentioned, starring alongside Karloff is another horror master; Christopher Lee. Lee doesn't have a great deal of screentime in the movie; but, as Lee would go on to show time and time again in his later career; with just his presence, Lee can create a foreboding atmosphere about his character that is unmatched by almost every other actor out there.

The film isn't so much a horror as a thriller charting a man's decent into addiction, but the movie still features a lot of horror moments; most notably the screams of the patients on the operating table and every scene with Christopher Lee in it. Director Robert Day manages to create a foreboding atmosphere that firmly places the viewer in 1860's London. I didn't doubt it for a second, and that is very admirable; especially when the budget is considered. Corridors of Blood isn't a very well distributed film, and that is a shame as there is much to enjoy about it. However, if you do ever get the chance to see it; be sure to take it. You'll be glad you did.