FilmPsychological Classic Monsters Gothic

The Mad Magician1954

Name: The Mad Magician
Genre: Psychological, Classic Monsters, Gothic
Released: 1954-05-19
Rating: 6.5

“3D THRILL! Fuel for the human bonfire!”

Directed by John Brahm

6.5

Crypt Score

Blended from 2 sources

IMDb 6.5TMDB 6.9

✍ Review

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Year

1954

Runtime

72 min

The premise

Don Gallico is an inventor of stage magic effects who aspires to become a star in his own right. Just before his first performance his act is shut down by capricious manager Ross Ormond who wants Gallico's brilliant buzz saw effect for the act of The Great Rinaldi, an established star. With this defeat, and the humiliation of having already lost his wife Claire to Ormond, Gallico decides it is time to take matters into his own hands.

Horror Vault's take

Vincent Price commands the screen as Don Gallico, a brilliant inventor of stage illusions whose dream of stardom is cruelly snatched away by those closest to him. Robbed of his big break and his wife in one fell swoop, Gallico's wounded pride curdles into something far darker. Set against the shadowy world of 1890s stage magic, the film blends murder-mystery intrigue with the unsettling spectacle of a man who knows exactly how to make people disappear. A police detective and a mystery writer neighbor close in, but Gallico's greatest trick may be staying one step ahead of them all.

Content: Depictions Of Murder, Implied Graphic Violence (Circular Saw), Crematorium Imagery, Brief Scenes Of Impersonation And Body Disposal