"Naked Kiss" writer & director Sam Fuller's stark melodrama about a single-minded newspaper journalist who poses as a mental patient to expose a murderer is unforgettable. Mind you, you may experience a little Catatonic schizophrenia after watching this gripping mystery thriller. Reportedly, Fuller lensed "Shock Corridor" in ten days, and he plunges us into a psycho ward and all the ways that modern medicine had of helping the unhinged. The gallery of unusual characters that our protagonist encounters in this 101 minute masterpiece is stunning in its diversity. The cast is good, especially James Best of "Dukes of Hazzard" fame. Foremost, the African-American inmate (Hari Rhodes) who believes that he belongs to the Klu Kux Klan is truly memorable. The first time that we see him, he is carrying around a protest sign with the N-word on it. Undoubtedly, this was a controversial role to take at the time. You can see a laundry list of social ills as well as issues addressed in this opus. Ultimately, the beauty of this film lies in its utter simplicity. The surprise ending is the stuff that genuine horror chillers are made, but savvy viewers may be a step ahead of Fuller as he weaves his intricate tale with lots of symbolism and commentary to its inevitable conclusion. Aside from an office at a newspaper and back stage at a burlesque theater, "Shock Corridor" takes place entirely in a mental ward, primarily on the so-called 'street' or shock corridor where the patients hang out during the day when they are not confined to their rooms. Presumably, Fuller pared down the production budget to absolute essentials and the film has a bare-bones, efficient look. Nothing about "Shock Corridor" is remotely glamorous. This isn't an easy film to watch because it is so brutal. Of course, although it was produced back in 1963, the film still manages to pack a wallop.
Newspaper reporter Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck of ABC-TV's "The Big Valley") wants desperately to win a Pulitzer Prize, and he convinces everybody including his newspaper editor than he can masquerade as a nut-job and uncover the killer that the police could not find. Johnny's beautiful stripper girlfriend, Cathy (Constance Towers of "The Horse Soldiers"), is against the scheme. She doesn't like it because she thinks that Johnny will lose his mind while he is in the facility. Sure enough, nobody listens to her. Meanwhile, against her better judgment, she cooperates with Johnny and the newspaper. She informs the authorities that she is really Johnny's sister and that he has been harassing him about sex. Once the medical experts get their hands on Johnny, he has to survive only the electro-shock therapy that they dole out to him but also the loonies in the ward. Johnny struggles daily to extract the information from his fellow inmates. At one point, no doubt to give the picture dimension, Fuller stages an assault in the nympho ward where our hero tries to escape and finds himself mobbed by a group of desperate dames. Primarily, Johnny associates as possible with the patients who were present in the room when the other patient was killed.
"Shock Corridor" is unrelenting stuff! The irony is evident throughout.
Newspaper reporter Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck of ABC-TV's "The Big Valley") wants desperately to win a Pulitzer Prize, and he convinces everybody including his newspaper editor than he can masquerade as a nut-job and uncover the killer that the police could not find. Johnny's beautiful stripper girlfriend, Cathy (Constance Towers of "The Horse Soldiers"), is against the scheme. She doesn't like it because she thinks that Johnny will lose his mind while he is in the facility. Sure enough, nobody listens to her. Meanwhile, against her better judgment, she cooperates with Johnny and the newspaper. She informs the authorities that she is really Johnny's sister and that he has been harassing him about sex. Once the medical experts get their hands on Johnny, he has to survive only the electro-shock therapy that they dole out to him but also the loonies in the ward. Johnny struggles daily to extract the information from his fellow inmates. At one point, no doubt to give the picture dimension, Fuller stages an assault in the nympho ward where our hero tries to escape and finds himself mobbed by a group of desperate dames. Primarily, Johnny associates as possible with the patients who were present in the room when the other patient was killed.
"Shock Corridor" is unrelenting stuff! The irony is evident throughout.