Bedlam

Starring: Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, Billy House, Richard Fraser, Glen Vernon, Ian Wolfe, Jason Robards Sr., Leyland Hodgson, Elizabeth Russell
Directed by: Mark Robson
Rating: Approved
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
1946

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Anna Lee) wants to improve the conditions of the notorious Bedlam mental hospital, but her enemies conspire to have her admitted.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit, I didn't particularly like Bedlam. I think Mark Robson's movie is okay, but it felt unsatisfactory. There's interesting ideas to explore here, but the characters left me cold and I felt strangely uninterested in anything happening on screen. I'm certainly not a fan.

The premise itself is the most interesting thing about the film. The movie takes places at Bethlem Royal Hospital, nicknamed Bedlam, a notorious mental asylum that's come to represent some of the worst treatment of the mentally ill. Learning about this was fascinating- I never knew the word "bedlam" comes from the name of this asylum. I wish the movie had explored more of the real history, been more informative in this regard. As is, it spends too much time on uninteresting drama. This is obviously a fiction story, although it takes some minor cues from real-life events. I wish the film leaned more into the realistic aspects.

I had pretty big problems with the story- it's told in a clunky manner, and I felt confused as to what the movie wanted from me. It starts out feeling like it's going in one direction, and then it shifts focus into something else. The characters aren't especially compelling, either. They don't have a clear voice and vision. Boris Karloff is the exception, as he revels in playing a dastardly, unlikable character. It's always fun to see him embrace the darker side of humanity, especially without heavy makeup. He gives a chilling performance, one that absolutely elicits a range of emotions from the audience. Karloff looms large over this film. The rest of the cast, markedly less so. Anna Lee plays the real protagonist of the film, but her character feels badly written. Nell Bowen never seems like a truly compelling character. She's complicated, but not interesting. When she finds herself in harm's way, I felt oddly ambivalent about her story. Some of this is due to Lee's average, forgettable performance, but much more of it is due to lackluster writing. The same can be said for Richard Fraser, who plays one of the dullest, more forgettable characters I've seen in a long time. He's the strong, heroic male in the film and I wanted to go to sleep every time he came on screen. Fraser is supposed to play him as a restrained, stoic religious man, but my goodness, he's such a bland, uninteresting character. I never cared about him for a second, and it's the same issue- bad writing combined with a dull performance. So, our two heroes, played by Lee and Fraser, are both hopelessly underwhelming. Billy House is definitely better, as a larger-than-life character. He's purposely unlikable, but that's the point. I don't think it's a good plan when the most interesting characters are the two bad guys, when our protagonists elicit nothing but yawns. That's a major flaw in this film.

The story seems to bumble along and it takes a long while for it to get going. I wasn't sure what kind of movie this wanted to be until very late in the run time. Mark Robson is at least a decent director, but he's not good enough to save this movie from its bad script. It does feel like the movie never establishes a clear vision for what it wants to be, and I do blame Robson for that. Now, Bedlam is never an outright bad movie- it's mildly interesting to try and figure out where the story is going. However, the emotional impact felt nonexistent. The biggest engagement I felt was the desire for the movie to wrap up. I recognize that others have liked the movie more than I did, and point to the atmosphere of the film. I admit, yes, the atmosphere is good- there's something intriguing about a movie set in the midst of a notorious insane asylum, and there's righteous outrage at the treatment of many of the patients (including the ones who aren't actually insane). That part of the film is worthwhile, even if it doesn't save the overall movie from its flaws.

I didn't hate Bedlam, but I was still disappointed in it. The elements were here for a better movie- one with a clearer vision and voice, one that engaged our emotions at a deeper level, one that compelled us to pay attention. Unfortunately, Robson doesn't achieve any of that with this film- it's not really worth our time.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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