InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Leofwine_draca
A near-forgotten film, consigned to the depths of history due to the fact it's in black and white and is low budget. If there ever had to be a film that was worth seeking out, this is it, not least for Karloff's brilliant and winning performance as a drug addict. The title makes it sound like some lurid chiller, but in fact it's more akin to a melodrama, with horror elements added in. If you've ever seen THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS, you'll find the setting and characters in this film very similar, from the devious criminals and cut-throats to the doctors who turn a blind eye to the cadavers they receive on their operating tables.Modern audiences might find this a bit taxing, mainly because there is very little action or suspense; the film is like a character study of Karloff's Dr Bolton, showing that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Karloff is so good and moving in this film that I found it difficult to watch, his portrayal of drug addiction is really spot on, and true to life, I'm sure he researched the role carefully. Karloff here is more sympathetic than Cushing in the above film, because he doesn't knowingly consort with thieves and murderers, but instead is blackmailed by them into helping. For much of the film Karloff is beset by health problems; he's always on the receiving end of trouble, and this makes us feel very sorry for his character. I actually think this is the best acting performance of Karloff's career.He's surrounded by an exceptional British cast, nearly every face on screen is a famous actor or actress. I'm happy to report that all of the acting in this film is of a high standard, think of the actors and actresses in Hammer films and you'll be there. Christopher Lee plays a very human monster, Resurrection Joe, and it's one of his meanest, cruellest and most frightening films, because it's a man who's doing the murdering, not a monster. He also always sports a very realistic cockney accent. Francis Matthews also pops up as Karloff's son and assistant, and it's almost exactly the same role he played in THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, strangely enough. A youthful-looking Nigel Green is a police inspector, obviously gearing up for later roles like Nayland Smith in THE FACE OF FU MANCHU.The film is at it's best when we see glimpses inside Karloff's drugged mind, where he is continually taunted by the failure of his work to discover an effective anaesthetic, "knives and pain are one and the same" type dialogue fills his head. He also hears patients screaming, and sees blood running. Although Lee has a small role in this film, there is a wonderful finale where he attacks Karloff and gets a jar of vitriol thrown in his face, eating the skin and eyes like acid. Plus a man climbing up a rooftop and collapsing, breaking his body when he hits the ground. Don't be fooled by the title, CORRIDORS OF BLOOD is drama, not horror, but it's a very good psychological insight into a dedicated scientist's mind and his slow degradation and collapse.
callanvass
(Credit IMDb) In an effort to relieve the suffering of surgery patients, Dr. Thomas Bolton painstakingly develops an opium-based anesthetic, to which he gradually becomes addicted. In order to provide a continual supply of chemicals to continue his experiments and support his addiction, he falls in with a den of murderers who use his signature to sell cadavers to the local hospital. I found this online the other day, and decided to watch it. I'm a big Boris Karloff fan, and will watch almost anything he stars in. Apparently, this wasn't released until 1962, and I can see why. It has a heavy message going for it. It was back around the time where surgery wasn't nearly as advanced as it is these days, so they did some pretty ballsy stuff. Back then, you didn't have anesthesia like you do now. It was not only painful, but often frightening. The thought of surgery is scary enough as it is, even with anesthesia, but it's even more terrifying without it. My problem with this movie is that it failed to maintain my interest. In fact, it's almost lifeless at times. Boris Karloff's drug addiction was somewhat riveting at certain points, don't get me wrong. But it was a bit too bland, despite how deeply they delved into it. Boris Karloff gives a bravura performance. He is by far the best thing about this movie. I felt for him. I just wish they gave him more to work with. Many of the films he made as he got older, didn't deserve a man of his talents. This movie is one of them. Christopher Lee is quite chilling as well, I just wished he and Karloff had more screen time together. Overall, I don't grasp why this movie is well liked. It's boring, rather depressing, and hard to get into. I respect people's opinions, so maybe you'll get more out of it than I did4.6/10
drumax-759-417828
Karloff is great in this tale of a compassionate surgeon who is looking to relieve the pain and suffering that he inflicts through his life-saving surgery. In the process of developing an anesthetic, he becomes addicted to his formula and is used as a pawn of criminals.This is not a horror film at all but a good story about the historical problems facing surgery before anesthetic. There are murders for profit, there is the suggestion of painful bloody surgery but they do not really show it. There are no real disturbing scenes. This movie was billed as horror but most horror fans would probably object to this classification. It is, however, a good solid movie about a very real problem, surgery before anesthetic and a man who looked to find the secret to painless surgery.If you are looking for a horror movie, you wont find it here...but you will find a pretty good movie with the bonus of Christopher Lee as a ruthless criminal killer called Resurrection Joe.
Paul Andrews
Corridors of Blood is set in 'London 1840 before the discovery of anaesthesia' where prominent surgeon Dr. Thomas Bolton (Boris Karloff) is convinced that 'operations without pain' are possible as having your leg sawn off without any anaesthesia is rather painful. Bolton feels that by experimenting with different combinations of drugs he can create a gas which will render the patient numb & not able to feel a thing as the sharp steel of the saw & knife slices through flesh... Not everyone is convinced about his ideas though & after a terrible demonstration which fails Bolton finds lots of resistance to his idea but he carries on with his experiments & becomes addicted to the drugs he creates, after he is forced to take a 'holiday' & his privilege's are revoked he has to turn to local thugs to acquire the drugs he needs...This British production sat on the self & remain unreleased for 4 years was directed Robert Day & to be fair to it it's a pretty decent film. The first thing to say is that the inappropriate & unjustly exploitative title is very misleading & that Corridors of Blood is more a historic drama than a horror film, in fact apart from some uneasy surgery scenes there is no horror in this film. The script by Jean Scott Rogers chronicles the invention of anaesthesia in an entirely fictional story, it's a fairly interesting & watchable film but I felt it was a bit dull & not much stood out for me. It has a leisurely pace, I'm not sure whether it was conceived as a horror film & I get the impression that anyone going 'blind' into this film on the back of it having Boris Karloff & Christopher Lee in it along with it's attention grabbing title will be disappointed. The character's are OK, the dialogue is alright although I didn't think that much of the overly sentimental ending. It's a decent enough film but that's it.Director Day does OK but it suffers from the limitations you think a black and white film of this vintage would. The sets are cosy enough, the period recreation looks good but it's all rather static & a bit bland. The couple of surgery scenes are pretty grim even though they're not graphic a it's more the thought of what's going on than what is actually seen. Forget about any scares as it's just not that sort of film, there's no exploitation either.Technically Corridors of Blood is fine, it's a reasonably well crafted film with good production values. The acting is good, Karloff puts in his usual commanding performance & a young up & coming actor named Christopher Lee makes for an effective villain in an early role.Corridors of Blood is a perfectly watchable film although I'm not really sure who it's meant to appeal to, for me I was hoping for a horror film because of the title & instead I got a fictional historic drama & frankly I'd rather had spent the time watching a horror film. Worth a watch but nothing that special.
