In the hands of writer / producer / director Samuel Fuller, "Shock Corridor" is a good, stunning B movie with brains to match its lurid thrills. Shot in an amazingly stark manner by Stanley Cortez, it creates a true rogues' gallery of memorable characters. Extremely well performed all the way down the line, it touches upon subjects like racism while showing all of us how thin the dividing line between sanity and insanity can be. *Anyone* can crack if they're put under enough strain, or have to spend an extended amount of time among unbalanced individuals.
The person who comes to understand this is reporter Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck). He's determined to solve a murder case, so he feigns insanity to earn admittance to a mental hospital where a person named Sloan was killed. Johnny already knows of three witnesses, so he must spend time with each of them, getting one more piece of the puzzle every time. Meanwhile, Johnnys' girlfriend Cathy (Constance Towers) is afraid that not only will Johnny lose his mind, but that she will, too, being party to his deception.
There's a fair bit of character actor talent in small and supporting roles: corpulent Larry Tucker as opera singing Pagliacci, Paul Dubov and John Matthews as psychiatrists, Chuck Roberson and John Craig as attendants, and Philip Ahn as Dr. Fong. Three top actors appear as the patients whose confidence Johnny must earn: James Best as Stuart, Hari Rhodes as Trent, and Gene Evans as Boden. Trents' dilemma is particularly distressing: he's a black man who believes himself not only to be white, but a rabble rousing KKK member to boot.
The atmosphere of this film is extremely effective, and Fullers' visual approach is also noteworthy: although this is mostly a black & white affair, there are a few colour sequences along the way.
Striking entertainment from start to finish.
Seven out of 10.
The person who comes to understand this is reporter Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck). He's determined to solve a murder case, so he feigns insanity to earn admittance to a mental hospital where a person named Sloan was killed. Johnny already knows of three witnesses, so he must spend time with each of them, getting one more piece of the puzzle every time. Meanwhile, Johnnys' girlfriend Cathy (Constance Towers) is afraid that not only will Johnny lose his mind, but that she will, too, being party to his deception.
There's a fair bit of character actor talent in small and supporting roles: corpulent Larry Tucker as opera singing Pagliacci, Paul Dubov and John Matthews as psychiatrists, Chuck Roberson and John Craig as attendants, and Philip Ahn as Dr. Fong. Three top actors appear as the patients whose confidence Johnny must earn: James Best as Stuart, Hari Rhodes as Trent, and Gene Evans as Boden. Trents' dilemma is particularly distressing: he's a black man who believes himself not only to be white, but a rabble rousing KKK member to boot.
The atmosphere of this film is extremely effective, and Fullers' visual approach is also noteworthy: although this is mostly a black & white affair, there are a few colour sequences along the way.
Striking entertainment from start to finish.
Seven out of 10.