Starring: Vincent Price, Mary Murphy, Eva Gabor, John Emery, Donald Randolph, Lenita Lane, Patrick O'Neal, Jay Novello
Review: Don Gallico (Vincent Price) is a master at designing magical illusions who dreams of becoming the greatest illusionist to ever grace the stage. When his employer, Mr. Ormond (Donald Randolph), sells off his creations to famous magician Rinaldi (John Emery), Don uses his unique talents to go on a revenge spree that is filled with murder, mayhem, and misdirection.
I'm a mark for anything starring one of the greatest film actors of all-time, Vincent Price. Price can do no wrong and The Mad Magician is no exception. Here he starts out as a brilliant inventor and engineer of some of those most shocking illusions to ever be performed, but he's under the cruel thumb of the greedy Mr. Ormond. Out of sheer frustration and rage, Price's Gallico murders his boss, but to fulfill his dream he must conceal his crime, and literary fool his friends, ex-wife, competitors, and the police into believing that Ormond is alive and well. As the fear of getting caught escalates Gallico becomes for maniacal and murderous. To watch Price go from docile to deranged as only he could totally makes The Mad Magician worth a watch.
In this picture you can definitely see that Vincent Price was destined to become an icon of horror and suspenseful films alike. And Eva Gabor's turn as Gallico's ex-wife adds to the overall tension with her particularly cruel and wicked character. Plus, the special makeup effects are quite impressive to say the least. They certainly appear to be quite clever and possibly beyond state of the art.
If you're a fan of Vincent Price, murderous magicians, or masterful makeup effects, then buy a ticket to see The Mad Magician.