Corridors of Blood
In 1840s London, Dr. Thomas Bolton, portrayed by Boris Karloff, dares to pursue the unthinkable: anesthesia gases to render surgery pain-free. His demonstration before a panel of peers ends in catastrophe as the patient awakens on the operating table, forcing him to resign in disgrace. He then spirals into addiction to his own chemical experiments and falls in with a criminal gang led by Black Ben and the ruthless killer Resurrection Joe. This perilous alliance drives Bolton toward ruin, culminating in his unwitting participation in murder and making him the first victim of a blackmail scheme.
Director(s)
Robert Day
Peter Bolton
Michael Stevenson
Susan Dyson
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Details
Reviews
talisencrw
A lot of fun watching two great horror icons together like Boris Karloff and Sir Christopher Lee. I'm so glad The Criterion Collection bothered putting this foursome out in their 'Monsters and Madmen' boxed set. Such a guilty pleasure to behold, in its intriguing period-piece script of a well-meaning doctor trying to discover anesthesia yet getting drug-addicted in the process. Great stuff.
John Chard
I'm so close to surgery without pain. Dr. Thomas Bolton is one of London's top surgeons, brilliant and fast, he is however constantly troubled by the amount of pain his patients go through, for this be a time before anaesthesia. Painstakingly working on a formula to put patients to sleep during surgery, Bolton is convinced he has found a breakthrough, but upon trialling it in front of the board it goes terribly wrong. He continues undaunted, but as he keeps testing the formula out on himself he becomes badly addicted, unable to get the hospital board to sanction his research, he gets involved with a dastardly group of murderers who kill and then sell off corpse's to a suspect doctor. Make no (saw) bones about it, this is a wonderful Boris Karloff performance, the amount of sympathy and earthy fortitude he puts into Dr. Bolton is very impressive. The plot isn't up to much and fans of staple horror requirements will hardly get any titillation from it, but as a crime picture and a character study it comes out smiling and delivers the goods. The sets are very good, check out the frontal entry into the Seven Dials area, and now with better digital transfers the picture's black and white texture ripens the watching experience. It's a film that I suppose is easily forgotten quickly after the viewing, but it's well worth watching for Karloff's turn and an ending that is strangely sad but uplifting at the same time. 6/10
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Corridors of Blood FAQs
The directors of Corridors of Blood are Robert Day, Peter Bolton, Michael Stevenson, and Susan Dyson.
The cast of Corridors of Blood includes Desmond Llewelyn as Operations Assistant (uncredited), Francis de Wolff as Black Ben, Marianne Stone as Arrested Woman (uncredited), Francis Matthews as Jonathan Bolton, Charles Lloyd Pack as Hardcastle, Bernard Archard as Hospital Official, Finlay Currie as Supt. Charles Matheson, Boris Karloff as Dr. Thomas Bolton, Nigel Green as Insp. Donovan, Frank Pettingell as Mr. Blount, Basil Dignam as Hospital Chairman, Betta St. John as Susan, and more.
The duration of Corridors of Blood is 1h 26 mins.
You can watch Corridors of Blood on Artiflix (Subscription), Plex (Ads), and Plex Channel (Ads). Check this Fanbiz page for the latest platforms.
Corridors of Blood was released on 01 Dec 1958.
Corridors of Blood is listed under Drama, Horror, and Crime on Fanbiz.
Corridors of Blood has 2 reviews on Fanziz, with an average rating of 7.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "A lot of fun watching two great horror icons together like Boris Karloff and Sir Christopher Lee. I'm so glad The Criterion Collection bothered putting this foursome out in thei..."
