Bethlehem

Bethlehem

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  • 主演:AnnaLeeBorisKarloff

 内容简介

In 18th century London, the headstrong protege (Anna Lee) of a wealthy lord (Billy House) learns about the horrors inflicted by a cruel asylum director (Boris Karloff) upon his inmates, and vows to intervene — only to find herself unjustly committed.Peary correctly labels this postwar RKO horror film by producer Val Lewton “his most underrated”, noting that it possesses “terrific performances by Lee and Karloff”, as well as an “intelligent, witty script, offbeat supporting characters, and classy direction by Mark Robson”. Inspired by Plate 8 in William Hogarth’s series of engravings known as “A Rake’s Progress” (and with several of his other engravings appearing as wordless “intertitles” throughout the film), Lewton’s team (including cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca) effectively recreates the shadowy, sinister aura of the notorious “Bethlehem” asylum, whose abbreviated nickname has gone down in etymological history.Karloff is perfectly cast here as “Master Sims” — an unspeakably evil psychopath whose desire to dominate those weaker than himself manifests in a hellish, sorry existence for the hapless souls trapped in Bedlam. His character’s depth of depravity is hinted at in one brief moment, as he strokes the cheek of a mute woman known simply as “The Dove”; his simple gesture implies an ongoing history of sexual molestation, though this is never made explicit. Indeed, Sims’ depravity seems to have no limits: in one of the film’s most eerily disturbing scenes, Sims allows a young boy (Glenn Vernon) painted entirely in gold to suffocate while reciting a poem, then casually asserts that the boy caused his own death.But it’s Anna Lee’s fiery courtesan Nell Bowen who this story is really about. As Peary notes, Lee is indeed “the most dynamic of Lewton’s remarkable women” — and her character’s transformation from self-absorbed mistress to selfless caretaker (without ever losing any of her spunk or vitality) drives the narrative. As noted in TCM’s analysis, the film could be seen in some ways as a “feminist horror film”, given that the intelligent, fearless Bowen is essentially being punished for speaking her mind. When Bowen makes the mistake of defiantly eating the money given to her by her former client (House is drolly amusing as the corpulent, well-meaning, yet fatally clueless Lord Mortimer), our hearts sink from the knowledge that Sims will inevitably twist its meaning and use it against her — as he does.Fortunately, Sims comes to an appropriately horrifying ending in the film’s satisfying, Poe-inspired denouement.

 参演明星

 明星可左右滑动
  • Anna
  • Lee
  • Boris
  • Karloff

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