Review: The Mad Magician

Don Gallico (Vincent Price) has been creating magic illusion contraptions for his employer Ormond (Donald Randolph), but wants to become a star magician himself: Gallico the Great. However, when Gallico (a master of disguise and mimicry) impersonates rival magician The Great Rinaldi and performs a new buzzsaw illusion with his lovely assistant (Mary Murphy), Ormond (and his legal representative) shut the performance down. Legally, Ormond owns all of Gallico’s creations, regardless of whether they are produced for his company or not. Further boiling Gallico’s blood is the fact that his spoiled ex (Eva Gabor) ran off with Ormond. When Ormond pushes Gallico too far one night, Gallico allows Ormond to get up close and personal with the buzzsaw…now fully operational and non-illusionary. This is only step one in Gallico’s descent into madness and murder. Patrick O’Neal plays Murphy’s sympathetic police lieutenant boyfriend who tries to help Gallico out at first. Jay Novello turns up as the mild-mannered husband of crime novelist Lenita Lane, the latter of who rents a room to Gallico at one point (disguised as Ormond).

 

After the success of Andre De Toth’s “House of Wax”, Vincent Price starred in several horror films where he’d be carrying out his macabre revenge in some kind of disguise or disfigurement. This 1954 B-picture from director John Brahm (“Hot Rods to Hell”) and screenwriter Crane Wilbur was the first and most obviously derivative (Which is perhaps not surprising given Wilbur was the writer of “House of Wax”). It was even originally shown in 3D just like “House of Wax” (though this one’s in B&W), and we get another paddle ball barker showing off the 3D, this time played by C-movie veteran Lyle Talbot (the best actor Edward D. Wood Jr. ever worked with in my view). This one holds a bit of a special place in my heart, as along with “House of Wax” and “The House on Haunted Hill”, it was my introduction to Price as a horror star. Whilst the other two have become favourites of mine, this is one that I’ve not revisited in maybe 25 years.

 

The big attraction here is obviously Price, he’s far and away the best thing in it (though the cheap dubbing of his character when impersonating someone is a slight drawback). His character has a pretty interesting trajectory, starting off relatively sympathetic and Price gives a good, modulated performance. This poor guy worked damn hard and gets screwed over by the big star magician. It’s kind of like he’s a prop master crossed with an understudy. Even when he turns to murder, at first you feel the despicable ‘victim’ almost deserved it. However, that sympathy drains away fairly quickly to where he cannot be defended. It’s quite amazing how far the character descends into murderous evil here and you ultimately can’t rationalise it.

 

It’s a shame that the rest of the cast tends to be hit-and-miss. A perfectly-cast Eva Gabor steals her few scenes through sheer force of personality, and Jay Novello is fun too in support. I was less impressed by character actor Patrick O’Neal in his film debut. It’s far from his best work and his role is rather odd too: A mixture of police detective and quasi-lawyer, which never quite convinces.

 

Plot-wise, while the basics will remind you of “House of Wax”, it’s just different enough to avoid being a complete re-tread. Best of all, it’s in and out in just over an hour. It doesn’t muck about, this one. Is this of the standard of some of Price’s other vehicles? No, but it’s still fun on the B-grade level and Price is in terrific, Machiavellian form. One for the Vincent Price fans, this one delivers enough of the goods.

 

Rating: B-