The Mad Magician

Director - John Brahm (The Twilight Zone, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour)

Starring - Vincent Price (Theater of Blood, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein), Mary Murphy (Circle of Fear, My Favorite Spy), and Eva Gabor (Green Acres, The Rescurers)

Release Date - 1954

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Astonishing!  Astounding! Amazing!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

    

     Vincent Price is one of my favorite actors from the black and white age of horror.  He never lets me down but there has been a few times where he was brilliant but the film was not as entertaining.  When Umbrella Entertainment announced the double feature of Price's The Tingler and The Mad Magician I was really excited to check it out.  The Tingler is one I've always enjoyed but I had never seen 1954's The Mad Magician before.  It was a fun flick but an easily forgettable one as well.  

     The film follows Don Callico (Price) who has spent his life creating illusions for several of the world's biggest names in stage magic.  However, after dedicating so many of his years doing this for other people he has decided to star in his own stage show.  Sadly, his big day is ruined when his boss stops the show and confiscates his newest act.  Heartbroken and destroyed, he sets out to kill all those people that has ruined his dreams and broke his heart.

     The Mad Magician is enjoyable but it's not as fun as other films he has been in.  You would think that I would enjoy this a lot more considering it was a proto-slasher but the way in which it was done distracts the viewer.  I wanted to love it as much as I do his other films but it wasn't as fun.  The acting in this one is actually pretty fun.  Price delivers a stellar performance as always while channeling different personalities.  Honestly, aside from the hallucination scene in The Tingler, this is probably his most ambitious performance that I had seen.  The supporting cast is entertaining but they don't touch Price.  The story for this one is similar to the classic slashers several decades before they were trendy.  We follow someone that was wronged as they seek out and murder those that did him ill.  The film works for the most part but I'm not much of a fan of the magic back drop.  Nothing about the film feels terrifying or menacing.  In fact, the only reason I enjoyed the film was because of how over the time Price was in the film.  Finally, like most films of the mid-50s, this one is not gruesome of bloody.  We get a few camera tricks and fun camera angles but The Mad Magician lacks atmosphere and bloodshed.  Overall, The Mad Magician is fun for a first time watch but it doesn't really hold up well nor does it deliver on the chills that other 50s classics starring Price does.  It's worth at least one watch but that's it.