Rate And Review

Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer
Step 2 of 2

How did you buy your ticket?

Let's get your review verified.
Fandango

AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew

Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info

Cinemark Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Regal Coming Soon

We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.

Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket.
Super Reviewer

Rate this movie

Oof, that was Rotten.

Meh, it passed the time.

It’s good – I’d recommend it.

Awesome!

So Fresh: Absolute Must See!

What did you think of the movie? (optional)
How did you buy your ticket?
- Fandango
- AMCTheatres.com or AMC AppNew
  
  Enter your Ticket Confirmation# located in your email.More Info
- Cinemark Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Regal Coming Soon
  
  We won’t be able to verify your ticket today, but it’s great to know for the future.
- Theater box office or somewhere else
By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
You haven’t finished your review yet, want to submit as-is?

You can always edit your review after.
Are you sure?

Verified reviews are considered more trustworthy by fellow moviegoers.
Want to submit changes to your review before closing?

Bedlam Photos

View All Photos (9)

Movie Info

After getting a glimpse of the conditions at the St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum, known as "Bedlam," Nell Bowen (Anna Lee) is concerned that the patients are being mistreated. When she seeks to better the situation, the head of St. Mary's, George Sims (Boris Karloff), uses his political savvy to have Nell committed. Being within St. Mary's does not deter Nell, however, and she starts to turn the patients against Sims in a bid to violently oust him from power.

Genre:

horror
Original Language:

English
Director:

Mark Robson
Producer:

Val Lewton
Writer:

Val Lewton, Mark Robson
Release Date (Theaters):

May 10, 1946 wide
Release Date (Streaming):

Oct 9, 2012
Runtime:

1h 19m
Production Co:

RKO Radio Pictures Inc.

Cast & Crew

Boris Karloff
Master George Sims

Anna Lee
Nell Bowen

Billy House
Lord Mortimer

Glenn Vernon
The Gilded Boy

Jason Robards
Oliver Todd

Joan Newton
Dorothea the Dove

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Bedlam

All Critics (19) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (2)

Nicholas Musaraca's excellent cinematography contributes a number of fine effects, and there's a strange and witty aside on the invention of movies.

November 14, 2007 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
While the film has a tendency to wander into unadulterated Hollywoodisms in spots, it is a generally straight-forward and imaginative estimate of a two-century-old sociological theme.

March 25, 2006 | Full Review…

Bosley Crowther
New York Times
Robson's notably unpoetic direction doesn't help, either; yet few Hollywood films ever had such ambition.

January 26, 2006 | Full Review…

Tony Rayns
Time Out
...Mark Robson's film finally rolls over to reveal a modern heart in the right place...

February 20, 2021 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
Was there ever a star who played sadistic men with as much relish as Boris Karloff?

October 17, 2016 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

Robert Sellers
Radio Times
Why the Brits banned this creepily effective Boris Karloff thriller for fifty years is unclear.

January 17, 2016 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews
A weak end to a great career [for producer Val Lewton], but not, in and of itself, a bad movie.

November 4, 2012 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review…

Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
Lewton had something to say. Perhaps inevitably, he found less interesting ways of saying it over the course of nine films in a short four years.

October 22, 2009 | Rating: 1.5/4 | Full Review…

Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
The feminist-political fable is couched in absorbing grey zones

September 5, 2009 | Full Review…

Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
Another strong chiller from brilliant producer Val Lewton.

November 14, 2007 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

TV Guide
As a sociological tract it's right on the money, as a psychological thriller it wanders at times too far away from the money.

October 31, 2006 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Notable only for a nuanced performance by Boris Karloff.

September 30, 2006 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

View All Critic Reviews (19)

Audience Reviews for Bedlam

Jun 25, 2016

Some good ideas, but ultimately it doesn't work.

Marcus W Super Reviewer
Feb 22, 2011

an interesting film, more a gothic costume drama than horror and producer val lewton's last film for rko. the story takes place in st mary bethlehem in london, a notorious madhouse. in the 18th century people were allowed to visit 'the loonies' as they were known and the hospital was a popular tourist attraction. anna lee plays an opinionated woman who objects to boris karloff's treatment of his patients and ends by being committed herself. the story was inspired by william hogarth's paintings of bedlam in the rake's progress and some of his works are used in the film. altho not nearly as lurid as it could have been it was banned in britain for many years. conditions for the mentally ill improved in the following century due to the efforts of the quakers and reaction to the madness of king george III

Stella D Super Reviewer
Feb 22, 2011

A very poor story executed decently. Tries to be a horror film at times and tries to be a politcal statement at times, while shoehorning in a love story. It fails at becoming any of these, but it does have some pretty decent scenes - mostly the ones with Karloff (of course).

Tim S Super Reviewer
Sep 05, 2010

Although it sounds like a good story, it isn't such a good movie. The only good actor is Karloff, and the movie is somewhat strange and somewhat boring.

Aj V Super Reviewer