{"id":27388,"date":"2012-09-20T13:43:53","date_gmt":"2012-09-20T20:43:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27388"},"modified":"2020-12-29T10:01:43","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T17:01:43","slug":"shock-corridor-1963","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27388","title":{"rendered":"Shock Corridor (1963)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Tell me about her braids.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Poster-202x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"202\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-27391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Poster-202x300.jpg 202w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Poster-86x128.jpg 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 202px) 100vw, 202px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn ambitious journalist (Peter Breck) persuades his reluctant girlfriend (Constance Towers) to pose as his sister in order to convince a mental hospital that he&#8217;s acting in an incestuous manner and needs to be committed. Once there, he&#8217;s determined to uncover the truth behind a recent murder by interrogating the three inmates (James Best, Hari Rhodes, and Gene Evans) who witnessed it. But can he maintain his own sanity in such a challenging environment?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Journalists<\/li>\n<li>Mental Breakdown<\/li>\n<li>Mental Illness<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Sam Fuller Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary notes that &#8220;more than any other film, Sam Fuller&#8217;s cult favorite&#8221; &#8212; about an &#8220;immature, dishonest, self-serving crime reporter&#8230; who attempts to win the Pulitzer Prize by solving a murder that occurred in an insane asylum&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;treads a fine line between art and trash&#8221;, given that despite the &#8220;stilted&#8221; dialogue, &#8220;every few minutes one of the characters says something more honest and brave and moving than we are used to in American cinema&#8221; of this era. He argues that the &#8220;film thrives on sensationalism&#8221;, with &#8220;all the sexual content&#8230; solely intended to make the picture lurid&#8221;, but &#8220;beneath the sleaze is a mature, sad-eyed view of America, where people are encouraged to strive beyond their capacities for accomplishment and to do their country proud even if they can&#8217;t accept responsibility or fame&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Peary&#8217;s review nicely highlights the unexpectedly hard-hitting nature of Fuller&#8217;s screenplay, which is all the more surprising given its obvious B-movie context and production values. Many viewers will find themselves groaning during the heavy-handed opening sequence between Breck and Towers (his &#8220;stripper girlfriend&#8221;), as Towers laments Breck&#8217;s &#8220;self-serving&#8221; motives for feigning insanity, and shrills some humorously hysterical dialogue: &#8220;You&#8217;re on a hopped up, lunatic stage &#8212; get off it! Don&#8217;t be Moses leading your lunatics to the Pulitzer Prize!&#8221; However, once Breck actually enters the asylum and begins encountering his fellow inmates, the tone immediately becomes at once more serious and more bizarre. <\/p>\n<p>The three witnesses Breck is specifically interested in interrogating are all deeply damaged souls, indicative of all that&#8217;s most secretly corrupt about American society. The most memorable is undoubtedly the character played by Hari Rhodes &#8212; an African-American who, after a failed attempt to integrate into an all-white university, has internalized extremist racist attitudes to the point where he believes he&#8217;s white; he dons a Klan hood, harasses a fellow African-American who he claims is &#8220;after his daughter&#8221;, and carries around an inflammatory sign saying, &#8220;Go Home Nigger&#8221;. Best and Evans are also haunting in their portrayals as (respectively) a brainwashed Korean War vet and a guilt-ridden nuclear scientist, and Breck&#8217;s roommate &#8212; the overweight &#8220;Pagliacci&#8221; (Larry Towers) &#8212; adds yet another bizarrely damaged character to the milieu. <\/p>\n<p>Further highlighting the surreal nature of Breck&#8217;s experience is Stanley Cortez&#8217;s &#8220;shadowy cinematography&#8221;, as well as the strategic use of special effects, including Towers appearing superimposed over Breck&#8217;s resting head (taunting him in her stripper outfit), and the photographing of &#8220;midgets at the end of the corridor set so that it would appear to be longer than it was&#8221;; close inspection quickly reveals that the same sequence of the midgets pacing back and forth was looped many, many times, but it&#8217;s still effective. This utterly unique cult favorite is one film fanatics won&#8217;t want to miss seeing at least once. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stanley Cortez&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"336\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography3.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography3-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography3-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"336\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography2.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography2-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Cinematography2-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fuller&#8217;s surprisingly hard-hitting screenplay<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"336\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay2.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay2-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay2-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"336\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay3.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay3-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Screenplay3-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine supporting performances by Best, Rhodes, and others<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Best.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Best.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"336\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27396\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Best.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Best-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Best-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Rhodes.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Rhodes.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"624\" height=\"336\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Rhodes.png 624w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Rhodes-128x68.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Shock-Corridor-Rhodes-300x161.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a unique cult classic by an iconclastic director. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0057495\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s3414corr.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/fantasticmoviemusings.com\/2019\/02\/10\/shock-corridor-1963\/\">SciFilm Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/shockcorr.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/89962\/shock-corridor#articles-reviews?articleId=308976\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/shock-corridor\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Tell me about her braids.&#8221; Synopsis: An ambitious journalist (Peter Breck) persuades his reluctant girlfriend (Constance Towers) to pose as his sister in order to convince a mental hospital that he&#8217;s acting in an incestuous manner and needs to be committed. Once there, he&#8217;s determined to uncover the truth behind a recent murder by interrogating the three inmates (James Best, Hari Rhodes, and Gene Evans) who witnessed it. But can he maintain his own sanity in such a challenging environment?&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=27388\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27388","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27388"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60324,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27388\/revisions\/60324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27388"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27388"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}