Review of Horrors of the Black Museum (1959) by Michael T — 23 Apr 2012

Directed by Arthur Crabtree (Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945) and Fiend Without a Face (1958)), this is a creepy and unsettling horror film cut from similar cloth to what Hammer was doing at the time, (this was done by Anglo-Amalgamated), but it has a good cast in it, and some good scares for it's day, it manages to be quite effective.

It's primarily about crippled writer Edmond Bancroft (Michael Gough) assisting the police in their enquiries about murders taking place in London. Something that Police Superintendent Graham (Geoffrey Keen) doesn't like is that whenever there's a murder, Bancroft just happens to write a grisly accurate fictionalisation in his books, but Graham is unable to convict Bancroft, as he has nothing to convict him with.

But, Bancroft has a Black Museum under his house, inspired by Scotland Yard's own Black Museum of macabre evidence, Bancroft and his assistant Rick (Graham Curnow) collect old torture weapons for the collection, but there's darker work afoot, and Bancroft has been using Rick, via hypnotism for his own wicked needs and urges.

It's a good horror film with some gory set pieces for their day, including a grand finale on a fairground when it all comes out. Gough is brilliant as the wicked old writer, and even though it's plot has no doubt been done before this film and afterwards, it doesn't matter, it's still a good watch.