The Mad Magician

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Michael C I was going to give "The Mad Magician" a two and-a-half star rating, but I upped my rating to three stars because I believe the cast did a very good job in their respective roles. They did not deserve to win Oscars, but at they also did not deserve to win Razzies either. When you have a movie with the late Vincent Price, you are ensured a very good performance from him and at least an entertaining movie. "The Mad Magician" is certainly no exception. As far as the story is concerned, it is basically a carbon copy of another more popular Vincent Price film "The House of Wax". That is the movie's biggest liability. Despite that I did like the movie and was interested to see how the story petered out. The climax of the movie was well staged also. Basically there is enough in "The Mad Magician" to at least warrant seeing it one time. A decent movie that will at least leave you entertained. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/13/24 Full Review CodyZamboni Z Just ok, Not very thrilling, Talky, Lots of unecessary characters, Wished movie focused more on magic tricks, like the very scary buzz saw and crematorium, Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/12/24 Full Review Ted B 3.0 stars; A young Vincent Price was well within his element in this film. He played a 'mad' magician with the emphasis on MAD. At first, he was "mad" as in irritated because they had taken away his license to perform his magic due to a constraining contract he had mistakenly signed. However, the more they took away the magic tricks he had created and gave them to a rival magician, his emotions turned to "MAD" as in insanity. His murderous revenge spree was very gothic and graphic. I'm sure this film was very shocking for its 1954 audience. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/11/24 Full Review Audience Member John Brahm directed two of Hollywood's finest gothic horrors in the 40s: The Lodger and Hangover Square. Good plots, glorious photography, and wonderfully tortured central performances by the great Laird Cregar. This very short (75 minutes) filler is a big come down. A rather stupid screenplay and overripe acting (not least from Vincent Price at his campest) is presented as if it's all taking place on a stage and the people at the back can't hear. Quite good fun, nevertheless, because of its hokiness. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Another great performance from Vincent Price in a suspenseful and chilling film. There are several great moments, good direction, and memorable scenes. The characters are nice and the story is overall interesting. There are some slow moments, but it's still one worth checking out. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Vincent Price followed his success in 1953's House of Wax with this horror thriller, reemphasizing his place as the king of hotror as a magician who loses his sanity and finds ingeneous wsys to dispose of those who have held back his career. Nobody in cinematic history does revenge like Vincent Price. This is essentially a variation on the plot presented in House Of Wax. Price is a designer of illusions for stage magicians who aspires to set out on a performing career of his own, only to be frustrated when another illusionist steals his ideas. When you watch it, you feel his anger and frustration, and you cheer him on when he wreaks vengeance on those who have wronged him. The props he devises for his stage act -- a buzz saw and a crematorium -- are used to dispose of his victims with true Hitchcockian irony. Even though he is a murderer, the viewer will find themself rooting for him as he is a sympathetic character who is driven mad by the people who keep taking advantage of him. Moral of the story: don't mess with Vincent Price. Mary Murphy and Patrick O'Neal are good as Price's assistant her police detective boyfriend; again these two are similar to the two young protagonists in House of Wax. Eva Gabor is skanky when she appears in a couple of scenes as Price's ex-wife, a gold digging serial divorcee (talk about type casting). Lenita Lane was very good as the snooping amateur crime novelist landlady who was integral to solving the string of murders. Jay Novello is typecast as her timid husband; he played a similar cameo role in an episode of I Love Lucy. The Mad Magician" is a solid B-movie melodrama; a crime movie more than a horror picture, and is enjoyable providing you're not expecting a masterpiece. Shot in black and white, it is low on gore, but high on irony. Price's fiery demise in his own crematorium is the ultimate irony, again harkens back to House of Wax. It is best seen as melodrama and enjoyed for the presence of Vincent Price giving an idiosyncratic performance. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Mad Magician

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