This early Vincent Price horror film, borrowed quite liberally from The Phantom Of The Opera, has Price playing the role of a master magician who for some reason is tied to a contract whereby he creates various tricks and illusions for other name magicians, but can't go out on his own. Sounds to me like he needed a good lawyer.
Set in the Gay Nineties, The Mad Magician has Price finally snapping with that insane arrangement and starting to reek some vengeance on those who are responsible for his predicament as he sees it. Several murders have the police baffled because Price is a master of illusion. He's also a master of masks, the kind that would not be really developed until a few generations passed, the kind that is used in Hollywood today.
Price gives his usual professional performance. I wonder why in his career he never did tackle The Phantom Of The Opera. I'm guessing he thought that between them Lon Chaney, Claude Rains, and Herbert Lom did just about all there could be done with the part.
Set in the Gay Nineties, The Mad Magician has Price finally snapping with that insane arrangement and starting to reek some vengeance on those who are responsible for his predicament as he sees it. Several murders have the police baffled because Price is a master of illusion. He's also a master of masks, the kind that would not be really developed until a few generations passed, the kind that is used in Hollywood today.
Price gives his usual professional performance. I wonder why in his career he never did tackle The Phantom Of The Opera. I'm guessing he thought that between them Lon Chaney, Claude Rains, and Herbert Lom did just about all there could be done with the part.