Bent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.Bent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.Bent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 2 nominations
Bill Zuckert
- 'Swanee' Swanson
- (as William Zuckert)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBecause of the film's budget and the size of the sound stage, Samuel Fuller hired little people to walk around in the far section of the corridor to give audiences a greater sense of depth.
- GoofsWhen Cathy is visiting Johnny at the hospital, she kisses him passionately and he reacts wildly, telling her never to do that again. She is completely surprised and doesn't understand his strong reaction. Considering she was pretending to be his sister and had reported him for attempted incest which is what got him committed to the hospital, it made no sense that she would kiss him in front of hospital staff familiar with his case. Johnny's reaction was strong but correct.
- Quotes
Johnny Barrett: Nymphos!
- Crazy creditsThe quote "Whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad". Euripides 425 B.C." appears at the beginning and end.
- ConnectionsEdited from House of Bamboo (1955)
- Soundtracks(I Wish I Was in) Dixie's Land
(uncredited)
aka "Dixie"
Music by Daniel Decatur Emmett
Whistled by James Best (Stuart); also played on the piano during the dance therapy session.
Featured review
This is a political movie!
How we should read this movie?
Is it really important to know why a famous psychiatrist could have helped the journalist to get into the asylum? Is it really important to have a realistic, tied up scenario in this movie?
I don't think so, and what really comes out of it is a wild political message that ultimately depicts the madness of the outside, normal society, and how it deals with everything that is different. To me, the director's intent is to tell us how sick our society is (at least, "was", at his time) and, for that, he chose the metaphor of madness, and very specific characters to tell us the message. The main characters are the mad guys, and the journalist and the crime are only excuses to lead us into this outside world of rejected people. The scenario structure seems to be rather simple and rounded as any political speech, so after we enter the asylum, we are presented to the mad characters (the war veteran, the black guy, the physicist), one by one. The only exception to this straightforward scenario line is the journalist girlfriend, but her appearance shouldn't have a different direction (in the critical, political sense), and she gives us a really funny, sexy, and ridiculous scene where the hollywoodean love is ridiculized (she is performing her daily striptease, at the same time we know she's suffering from love, note how the scene is shown in a cold, distant and downward camera).
Definitely, it is a political-pulp-fiction. As such, a good movie.
Just don't try to see it as a standard Hollywood movie.
Is it really important to know why a famous psychiatrist could have helped the journalist to get into the asylum? Is it really important to have a realistic, tied up scenario in this movie?
I don't think so, and what really comes out of it is a wild political message that ultimately depicts the madness of the outside, normal society, and how it deals with everything that is different. To me, the director's intent is to tell us how sick our society is (at least, "was", at his time) and, for that, he chose the metaphor of madness, and very specific characters to tell us the message. The main characters are the mad guys, and the journalist and the crime are only excuses to lead us into this outside world of rejected people. The scenario structure seems to be rather simple and rounded as any political speech, so after we enter the asylum, we are presented to the mad characters (the war veteran, the black guy, the physicist), one by one. The only exception to this straightforward scenario line is the journalist girlfriend, but her appearance shouldn't have a different direction (in the critical, political sense), and she gives us a really funny, sexy, and ridiculous scene where the hollywoodean love is ridiculized (she is performing her daily striptease, at the same time we know she's suffering from love, note how the scene is shown in a cold, distant and downward camera).
Definitely, it is a political-pulp-fiction. As such, a good movie.
Just don't try to see it as a standard Hollywood movie.
helpful•62
- anguilla-4
- Feb 10, 2008
- How long is Shock Corridor?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Straightjacket
- Filming locations
- Kotoku-in, Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan(dream sequence: Great Buddha of Kamakura)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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