CORRIDORS OF BLOOD (1958) – Episode 205 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

“Yes, most distressing, but, alas, inevitably, you can’t have operations without screams. Pain and the knife, they’re inseparable!” But apparently not that distressing as long as some strong blokes are there to hold folks down? Join this episode’s Grue-Crew – Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, Chad Hunt, Doc Rotten, and Jeff Mohr – as they walk the Corridors of Blood (1958) with Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee.

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 205 – Corridors of Blood (1958)

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ANNOUNCEMENT
Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL, THE CLASSIC HORROR MOVIE CHANNEL, and WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL
Which all now include video episodes of The Classic Era!
Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website.
Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
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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. 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.

• Director: Robert Day
• Writer: Jean Scott Rogers
• Selected Cast:
  • Boris Karloff as Dr. Bolton
  • Betta St. John as Susan
  • Christopher Lee as Resurrection Joe
  • Finlay Currie as Supt. Matheson
  • Adrienne Corri as Rachel
  • Francis De Wolff as Black Ben
  • Francis Matthews as Jonathan Bolton
  • Frank Pettingell as Mr. Blount
  • Basil Dignam as Chairman
  • Marian Spencer as Mrs Matheson
  • Carl Bernard as Ned, The Crow
  • John Gabriel as Dispenser
  • Nigel Green as Insp. Donovan
  • Yvonne Romain as Rosa (credited as Yvonne Warren)
  • Howard Lang as Chief Inspector
  • Julian D’Albie as Bald Man
  • Roddy Hughes as Man With Watch
  • Robert Raglan as Wilkes
  • Charles Lloyd Pack as Hardcastle
  • Anthea Holloway as Undetermined Role
  • Bernard Archard as Hospital Official
  • Frank Sieman as Evans, Hospital Night Porter
  • Charmian Eyre as Maid
  • Skip Martin as Dwarf eats Soup (uncredited)

On this episode, the Grue Crew enthusiastically welcomes back Doc Rotten with Corridors of Blood (1958), the back end of the double feature they began with Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory in Episode 204. Oh, what a strange pairing for a double bill! Corridors of Blood stars Boris Karloff and features Christopher Lee as Resurrection Joe, Francis Matthews, and Betta St. John in strong supporting roles. The rest of the cast is loaded with accomplished British character actors who elevate the picture. Set in 1840 London, the plot is centered around the development of anesthesia and is intertwined with stories of addiction, murder, and cadaver selling. Shades of Burke and Hare! There is much to talk about, and it probably goes without saying, but the Crew is very excited because… Doc is in the house!

At the time of this writing, Corridors of Blood (1958) is available to stream from Classic Horror Movie Channel, Wicked Horror TV, Tubi, Criterion Channel, several more subscription services, and PPV sources. It is also available on physical media as the four-DVD set Monsters and Madmen (The Haunted Strangler / Corridors of Blood / The Atomic Submarine / First Man into Space) from Criterion.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Next in their very flexible schedule – this one chosen by Jeff – is a Universal Classic, Werewolf of London (1935), starring Henry Hull, Warner Oland, and Valerie Hobson. 

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To each of you from each of them, “Thank you so much for watching and listening!”