Story of movie Corridors Of Blood :
Corridors of Blood is a 1958 horror film directed by Robert Day. It starred 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.
| Corridors of Blood | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Robert Day |
| Produced by | John Croydon Charles F. Vetter |
| Written by | Jean Scott Rogers |
| Starring | Boris Karloff Christopher Lee Betta St. John Finlay Currie Francis Matthews |
| Music by | Buxton Orr |
| Cinematography | Geoffrey Faithfull |
| Edited by | Peter Mayhew |
Production company | Amalgamated Productions |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ?90,000 or £200,000 |
Screenplay
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 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.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Boris Karloff | Dr. Thomas Bolton |
| Betta St. John | Susan |
| Finlay Currie | Supt. Matheson |
| Francis Matthews | Jonathan Bolton |
| Adrienne Corri | Rachel |
| Francis de Wolff | Black Ben |
| Basil Dignam | Chairman |
| Frank Pettingell | Mr. Blount |
| Christopher Lee | Resurrection Joe |
| Nigel Green | Inspector Donovan |
| Yvonne Romain | Rosa |
| Howard Lang | Chief Inspector |
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.
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.
Theatrical release
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. According to MGM records, the film made a profit of $14,000. It was considered a commercial disappointment and was the last film from Amalgamated Productions.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2017) |
Leonard Maltin awarded the film two and a half out of a possible four stars.
