Madhouse

There is a nasty streak to Madhouse. We get a side of Hollywood—the biz—that is mean-spirited and volatile, where stardom produces its share of deep rooted jealousy from those who crave what a popular star has (success, women, money) and the desire to exploit him for how he can profit others. There's also a nefarious twist involving a contract stipulation that critiques how the demise of one star could open the door for another. Plus, you have a investigation by Scotland Yard's finest, on the set and trying to determine whether or not the star of the series could be a killer.

This is Scotland Yard, you know, not a blasted picture palace.

If you will pardon the pun (or not, I don’t care..), I thought Madhouse was a nice, firm stab at Hollywood, or the business in general. Vincent Price’s Paul Toombs (nice last name) was admired and reviled because of his status as a star. Someone had successfully implicated him (although, the film tries to create enough doubt in our minds that he just might be the murderer, I think we all have enough sense to know he isn’t the one..) for the beheading of his young fiancé (a former adult film star, her potential marriage to Paul revoked when he learns of her past because he thinks she’s a gold-digger). After a nervous breakdown (after finding her head in his bedroom), twelve years absent a screen, Paul, after the encouragement of loyal, long-term pal, Herbert (Peter Cushing, having to play second fiddle to Price, even in his own country since this is a British film) to return to England to portray his old, infamous role as Dr. Death in a television series, produced by Robert Quarry’s Quayle. Quayle found a new niche in television, far more lucrative and profitable (and respectable) than the porn industry, hoping obviously to exploit Toombs’ notoriety to gain ratings then bump him off after he can somehow establish a new face, a new star. The film casts a suspicious eye towards him, also, but I think he’s too sleazy and corrupt a character to be the culprit, the perfect red herring. 

There is one performer often conspicuous of his absence, a bit too transparent not to be the candidate behind a series of implicating events plaguing Toombs. This becomes even more apparent that a few suspects are left once a couple (the surrogate parents of the murdered Linda Hayden, wanting to be paid to keep their silence about a locket watch of Toombs’) get a sword through them inside Herbert’s mansion (Toombs’ temporary dwelling while shooting the series, often retreating there after numerous incidents regarding murders involving him and his character). Price plays Toombs often under a siege of anxiety, inner anguish (is he or is he not responsible for the murders happening around him?), and bewilderment (Why is this happening to him? What is going on?).

What pissed me off about this movie was the disservice done to Cushing. He’s stuck with little more than a cameo, and even here it is underwritten and a poor role. To be quite honest his part is shit. At least he disguises himself as a vampire during their television show’s costume party (Quarry is also a Count, another nice wink to us horror fans) for Halloween. It was humorous to me considering he’s normally the man who kills vampires. He’s, for most of the film, there for Toombs’ moral support when his career seems to fizzling.

The moment where Toombs pulls the knife from the throat of his lone ally, (..who had discovered a delicate secret about Toombs’ contract and was silenced because of it (or so we are led to believe..)), I had to shake my head in disbelief. These are moments that stretch credibility in favor of continuing to place a cloud of suspicion over the hero of the film that drives me bat-shit crazy.

Doctor  Death. Who is Dr. Death? Well, I will tell you. Herbert and I created him between us. No, we didn’t create him, he was there. We found him in ourselves. We looked into the depths of our souls…and he was there. He was already there. And he will always be there.

Lights. Camera. Action. Now I must play the final scene, the death of Doctor Death.

The whole final fifteen minutes, Vincent Price just lets it all hang out, his character completely over the deep end, all of the events, as a collective, pushing him into insanity. Adrienne Corri’s part, as a former Dr. Death actress who thought she was on the verge of a promising career, cut short thanks to a marriage to Herbert and a car crash, now living pretty much in the basement of Herbert’s mansion, all alone with her spiders and cobwebs, is bonkers. The film, ultimately, is catered specially to Price’s horror career, a celebration of sorts to his iconic status: the tongue-in-cheek script and over-the-top performance sending up the genre and clichés within the genre and Price’s career are on display and for our entertainment. Plenty of the films from Price's Corman career are here.

While I’m rather perturbed with Cushing’s role overall, there’s this moment of exhilaration where he’s watching the “final performance of Toombs as Dr. Death” that recalls that ole devious Frankenstein evil. There’s also a rather unsettling (but rather captivating because it is so bizarre) moment where “Price and Cushing become one” thanks to a make-up job. While the film has moments that I consider mightily poor (the obvious mannequins replacing the corpses of actresses after their murders), Quarry has a fine performance as the producer who understands the cutthroat, diabolical nature of making it in the movie business and the skull-faced make up, long, black cape, and the black hat that formulate the character of Dr. Death are cool in creating a memorable creation that embodies the Grand Guignol style human monster that butchers pretty young things in imaginatively ghoulish ways that made this character popular to audiences in Madhouse. I’m not that wild and crazy about this movie but Price to me, even when totally hammy, eyes bulging, going full tilt boogie with his speech about ridding the world once and for all of the character that made Toombs famous, while setting fire to a Dr. Death set was still rather fun to watch. If anything the bed device that crushes people is a nifty set piece.