IMDb RATING
6.5/10
2.4K
YOUR RATING
An illusionist becomes homicidal when his best kept magic secrets are stolen by his rival.An illusionist becomes homicidal when his best kept magic secrets are stolen by his rival.An illusionist becomes homicidal when his best kept magic secrets are stolen by his rival.
Corey Allen
- Gus
- (uncredited)
Conrad Brooks
- Bonfire Extra
- (uncredited)
Roy Damron
- Rally Spectator
- (uncredited)
George Eldredge
- Theatre Manager
- (uncredited)
Al Haskell
- Carriage Driver
- (uncredited)
Pete Kellett
- Stagehand
- (uncredited)
Jack Kenney
- Stagehand
- (uncredited)
Charles Perry
- Stagehand
- (uncredited)
Murray Pollack
- Theatre Patron
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe first movie to be broadcast on television in 3-D.
- GoofsGallico places Ormond's body at the very top of the stack of crates being used for the bonfire. In subsequent long shots, the body appears to be about halfway up. When the bonfire is lit, the body is back on top.
- Quotes
Alice Prentiss: I'm convinced of it, so convinced that I'm going to Lieutenant Bruce right now!
Frank Prentiss: Alice, I forbid it.
Alice Prentiss: My dear, don't be ridiculous.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Weirdo with Wadman: The Mad Magician (1964)
Featured review
The Vigorous Vincent! The Phenomenal Price!
Basically the exact same movie as "House of Wax" - Vincent Price's first genuine horror hit released the previous year - but seriously who cares, because "The Mad Magician" offers just as many sheer thrills, delightful period set-pieces, joyous 3-D effects, sublime acting performances and macabre horror gimmicks as its predecessor! "Never change a winning team" is exactly what writer Crane Wilbur must have thought when he penned down Price's character Don Gallico, another tormented soul besieged by fate and out for vengeance against those who wronged him. Don Gallico is about to perform his very first own illusionist show as Gallico the Great and plans to exhibit the greatest magic trick in history; entitled "The Girl and the Buzz Saw". Gallico's promising solo career is abruptly ruined before it even begins when his previous employer Ross Ormond appears on stage and shoves a contract under his nose, stating that all of Gallico's inventions are the rightful property of the company. The sleazy and relentless Ormond, who by the way also ransacked Gallico's once beloved wife, takes off with the buzz saw trick and programs it in the show of Gallico's rival The Great Rinaldi. Inevitably Gallico snaps and sadistically butchers Ormond, but also being a master of creating disguises recreates his victim's image and even starts leading a double life. "The Mad Magician" is an amusing and thoroughly unpretentious 50's horror movie in Grand Guignol style, with a whole lot of improbably plot twists (the landlady turns out a brilliant crime novelist?) and a handful of fantastically grotesque gross-out moments (although they obviously remain suggestive for most part). The 3-D delights near the beginning of the film, like a yo-yo player and a goofy trick with water fountains, merely just serve as time-filler and contemporary 50's hype, but it's still fun to watch even now and without the means to properly behold them. "The Mad Magician" is also interesting from a periodical setting point of view, as the events take place around the time fingerprints were starting to get used as evidence material and the character of Alice Prentiss is an obvious reference towards famous crime authors of that era. Needless to state that Vincent Price remains the absolute most essential element of triumph in this film, as well as from nearly every other horror movie this legendary man ever starred in. Like no other actor could ever accomplish, Price depicts the tormented protagonist who gradually descends further and further into mental madness in such an indescribably mesmerizing way. You pity Don Gallico, yet at the same time you fear him enormously. You support his vile acts of retaliation and yet simultaneously you realize his murderous rampage must end in death. Vincent Price simply was a genius actor and, in my humble opinion, the embodiment of the horror genre.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- El mago asesino
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 12 minutes
- Color
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