The Mad Magician – Twilight Time (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1954
Director: John Brahm
Writer: Crane Wilbur
Cast: Vincent Price, Mary Murphy, Patrick O’Neal, Eva Gabor, John Emery, Lenita Lane, Donald Randolph, Jay Novello

Release Date: January 11th, 2017
Approximate Running Time: 72 Minutes 47 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English SDH
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: OOP

"The Mad Magician (1954) stars Vincent Price in a trademark role as a round-the-bend illusionist bent on revenge." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video:  4/5

The Mad Magician comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 34.4 GB

Feature: 23.1 GB

For this release, both the 3-D and 2-D versions of the film have been included. It should be noted that no 3-D glasses are included, and you will need the required equipment to watch this film in 3-D.

The source used for this transfer looks great, and it is free of any print debris. Image clarity, contrast, and black levels are solid, and there are no issues with compression.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles. Though the audio sounds clean, clear, and balanced, it has a limited range.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 9 seconds, DTS-HD mono English, no subtitles), a featurette titled The Master of Fright Conjuring the Mad Magician (19 minutes 49 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), two Three Stooges shorts, Spooks (15 minutes 44 seconds, DTS-HD mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), and Pardon my Backfire (15 minutes 56 seconds, DTS-HD mono English with removable English SDH subtitles), an option to listen to a Isolated music track, an audio commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Steven Peros, and an eight-page booklet with an essay written by Julie Kirgo.

Summary:

Shortly after the box office success of House of Wax, producer Brian Foy would quickly start another similar-themed film. And that film in question was The Mad Magician. Besides borrowing elements from the aforementioned House of Wax, another area where these two films have similarities is the carryover of key cast members, including screenwriter Crane Wilbur and cinematographer Bert Glennon, and Vincent Price once again being cast in the lead role.

From a production standpoint, The Mad Magician features a solid premise, a strong narrative that is wonderfully paced, and well-defined characters that are all superbly portrayed by the cast. Another strength of The Mad Magician are its striking visuals, and when it comes to the use of 3-D, this film far exceeds expectations.

Standout moments visually include a sequence of moments where the protagonist has just severed off the head of his employer and the bag he put the head in has been mistakenly taken by a young woman who works for him, and the scene where the protagonist's ex-wife discovers that he has been impersonating a dead man.

When discussing The Mad Magician, one must not overlook the contributions from Vincent Price (Theatre of Blood) in the role of this film’s protagonist, Professor Henry Jarrod. He delivers a rock-solid performance, which allows him to take on many personas. Other notable cast members include Eva Gabor ("Green Acres") in the role of Jarrod’s ex-wife, John Emery (Spellbound) in the role of a magician named The Great Rinaldi, and Lenita Lane in the role of Alice Prentiss, an inquisitive novelist who writes murder mysteries.

Though not as well-remembered as House of Wax, The Mad Magician is a highly entertaining film that makes an excellent companion piece to the aforementioned film.

Note: This Blu-Ray release was limited-edition release of 3,000 copies and it is now OOP.

Written by Michael Den Boer