An early dream pairing between Boris Karloff & Christopher Lee appears in this 1958 thriller. It is the early days of surgery in England & viewing theaters are the rage as spectators fill the seats to see the master cutter of his day, Karloff, work his magic & show his prowess, especially in his quick amputations. The only niggling problem; anesthetics still hasn't been invented so patients tend to struggle in pain when they're undergoing procedures. Karloff hopes to end that by synthesizing an anesthesia but after coming up w/a formula, which he naturally tries first on himself & it works, his first trial w/a patient goes horribly wrong as the patient bolts from the table in fear. As Karloff's experiments continue, we see the establishment at the hospital has been using nefarious types, which Lee is a member of, to procure cadavers for teaching purposes. Karloff, already developing an addiction to his chemical mixtures, comes in contact w/the same shady bunch when he's suspended from the school (due to a botched surgery) to help him get more serums in order for his trials to continue. As the authorities close in on the shenanigans, the head of the crime ring would rather cut all ties, which include Karloff, before he's apprehended. Pretty good for its time on the cusp of being a Hammer film when it was not (almost a precursor to those productions which were very frank about its use of gore in its subject matter) w/Karloff quite effecting as a good man led down an evil path only to be saved (?) by film's end.
Review of Corridors of Blood
