The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
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Corridors of Blood
Drama · Horror · Crime · 1958
In 1840s London, Dr. Thomas Bolton [Boris Karloff] dares to dream the unthinkable: experimenting with anesthesia gases to make surgery pain-free. While doing so, his demonstration before a panel of his peers ends in a horrific mishap with his patient awakening under the knife; he is forced to leave his position in disgrace. To complicate matters, he becomes addicted to his own chemical experiments and gets involved with a criminal gang led by Black Ben [Francis de Wolff], and a ruthless killer Resurrection Joe [Christopher Lee]. Unfortunately, this shady partnership leads Dr. Bolton to further ruin, culminating in his unwitting participation in murder — for which he becomes the first victim of a blackmail scheme.
Movie details
Corridors of Blood
“Tops in Terror!”
1958 Drama · Horror · Crime 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.4 / 10
2.4K votes
TMDB
6.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
In 1840s London, Dr. Thomas Bolton [Boris Karloff] dares to dream the unthinkable: experimenting with anesthesia gases to make surgery pain-free. While doing so, his demonstration before a panel of his peers ends in a horrific mishap with his patient awakening under the knife; he is forced to leave his position in disgrace. To complicate matters, he becomes addicted to his own chemical experiments and gets involved with a criminal gang led by Black Ben [Francis de Wolff], and a ruthless killer Resurrection Joe [Christopher Lee]. Unfortunately, this shady partnership leads Dr. Bolton to further ruin, culminating in his unwitting participation in murder — for which he becomes the first victim of a blackmail scheme.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Corridors of Blood?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Robert Day
Written by
Jean Scott Rogers
Boris Karloff
Dr. Thomas Bolton
Betta St. John
Susan
Christopher Lee
Resurrection Joe
Finlay Currie
Supt. Charles Matheson
Adrienne Corri
Rachel
Francis de Wolff
Black Ben
Francis Matthews
Jonathan Bolton
Court is in session
Put Corridors of Blood on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.