I had fairly high hopes that "Bedlam" would be the coolest and most fiendish of all the films Val Lewton produced during the 1940's
Just look at the potential! Set in a 19th century asylum and starring the great Boris Karloff as the sadistic head warden who exploits and abuses his patients in order to entertain the higher social class of England. Eventually, it turned out that "Bedlam" actually is the least interesting Lewton film (in my humble opinion, of course) but I must still acknowledge that it is an intelligently written and truly ambitious shock-drama. Indeed, as multiple reviewers already stated, it's not really a horror film but more a compelling drama about the abuse of power. The story continues with a young girl standing up for the asylum patients' rights and, since she's becoming a large threat to Sims' (Karloff) position, he has her committed. Especially the first half disappoints, with overly pretentious dialogues and some very dull moments. Also conspicuous during this first half is the complete lack of tension! Films like "Cat People" or "The Body Snatcher" entirely bath in creepiness while "Bedlam" only becomes suspenseful and involving near the end. The second half is remarkably better, thanks to the atmospherically filmed scenes inside the nut-house and the malicious portrayal of Karloff's character. One sequence really is pure cinema-gold, namely the one where Nell Bowen is declared insane by a board of relentless judges. Although this already was Mark Robson's fourth film under Val Lewton, his directing is still weak compared to Jacques Tourneur and Robert Wise. Robson can't emphasize the poetry of the scripts and doesn't make fully use of the sophisticated set pieces. And, oh yes, the exaggerated use "thee" and "thou" was really getting on my nerves
