Main Cast: Vincent Price, Mary Murphy, Eva Gabor, John Emery, Don Randolph
Release Year: 1954
Country: US
Run Time: 72 minutes
Plot
Vincent Price turns on his usual terrifying charm in the role of a homicidal magician in The Mad Magician, a satisfying thriller that was originally shown in 3-D. The actor best known for the luster he brought to many horror films stars as Gallico the Great, an inventor of magic acts who yearns to be the star of his own show. On the night of his first performance, he is shut down by his cruel manager Ormond (Donald Randolph) -- who wants to use Gallico's ingenious buzzsaw act for the famed magician Rinaldi (John Emery). Added to the knowledge that the wealthy Ormond had already stolen his wife Claire (Eva Gabor), Gallico goes mad and decapitates his tormentor with the buzzsaw. After a great sequence in which Ormond's head takes a mistaken trip with Gallico's assistant Karen (Mary Murphy) and her detective boyfriend Bruce (Patrick O'Neal), Gallico disguises himself as Ormond and rents an apartment with a mystery author (Lenita Lane). He manages to dispose of the body in another amusing scene, but he must kill again when Claire confronts him in his Ormond disguise. The author identifies Ormond as her killer and Gallico appears to be off the hook -- until Rinaldi appears with designs on stealing Gallico's latest trick: a crematorium illusion. Naturally, the illusion becomes reality and Rinaldi is burned to a crisp. Disguising himself as Rinaldi and taking over the magician's successful show, Gallico continues to fool the law until Bruce matches fingerprints from Rinaldi (who is really Gallico) to those of Ormond. Meanwhile, the author, realizing that the Ormond who stayed in her house was really Gallico, gathers Karen and the detective for a fiery confrontation. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
Review
Lifting two primary elements from 1953's House of Wax -- Vincent Price and 3-D photography -- director John Brahm created a solid little thriller that overcame its gimmicky background. The story follows a talented aspiring magician (Price) who turns murderous after being snubbed one too many times. The exciting murder scenes smartly make use of the magician's fantastic illusions, which include a buzzsaw and a crematorium, the latter of which comes into play during a frightening finale. With the killings all occurring off-screen, there is no visible bloodshed although some could have been used after Price's Gallico decapitates a man with a buzzsaw and then answers the door perfectly clean. Price delivers a strong performance as the mad magician with a gentle side, a role that is practically identical to the one he played in House of Wax. Other cast notables include Eva Gabor as Gallico's money-hungry ex-wife, Donald Randolph as the buzzsaw victim, and Lenita Lane as the curious mystery writer who helps to solve the case. The screenplay by Crane Wilbur adds some subtle, but twisted depth to a film that was meant for young Saturday matinee audiences. In one sequence, Price's Gallico places a victim's head in his bag, which is then accidentally picked up by his assistant and recovered after a chase that is both funny and thrilling. The following scene finds Price disposing of the whole body -- disguised as a dummy -- by hefting it onto a bonfire during a football pep rally! ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide
F. Paul Sylos - Art Director, John Brahm - Director, Grant Whytock - Editor, Art Lange - Composer (Music Score), Emil Newman - Composer (Music Score), Bert Glennon - Cinematographer, Bryan Foy - Producer, Crane Wilbur - Screenwriter
The Mad Magician was a 1954 horror film starring Vincent Price and Eva Gabor. In 1987, it became the first movie shown in 3D on television.
Plot
Vincent Price plays Gallico the great, 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 Ormond (Donald Randolph), who wants Gallico's brilliant buzzsaw effect for the act of the Great Rinaldi (John Emery), an established star. With this defeat, and the humiliation of having already lost his wife Claire (Eva Gabor) to his rival, Gallico goes insane and uses the buzzsaw to decapitate his manager. His crime is almost revealed when Ormond's severed head is mistakenly taken for a trip with Gallico's assistant Karen (Mary Murphy) and her boyfriend Alan Bruce (Patrick O'Neal), a police officer.
Gallico then impersonates Ormond to rent an apartment from Alice Prentiss (Lenita Lane), an author of mystery novels. Gallico disposes of Ormond's body, but is again forced to murder when his ex-wife Claire discovers the impersonation. Prentiss comes forth as a witness to the crime, but identifies Ormond as Claire's murderer. The Great Rinaldi again schemes to steal a trick of Gallico's, an illusion involving a crematorium, and ultimately winds up burned to death in the process. Gallico begins impersonating Rinaldi to take over that magician's show.
Meanwhile, the detective Alan Bruce matches the fingerprints of Ormond with those of Rinaldi—since both sets of prints are actually Gallico's, and the novelist Prentiss realizes her boarder, and the murderer, was Gallico and not Ormond. The two, along with the assistant Karen, band together for an ultimate confrontation with Gallico.
