Corridors Of Blood (1958)

In 1840s London before the invention of anesthesia, a surgeon (Boris Karloff) experiments with anesthetic gases in the hope that surgery can be performed without the patients suffering horrific pain. But his good intentions go awry when he experiments on himself and finds himself becoming addicted to his chemicals and having blackouts. Directed by Robert Day (TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT), this is a fine entry in the horror canon and highly reminiscent (in a good way) of the Val Lewton RKO horrors of the 1940s like THE BODY SNATCHER and BEDLAM. Boris Karloff's film career faltered in the 1950s in inferior vehicles in which he seemed cast merely for his status as a horror icon. This British thriller offered him a juicy role that he could sink his teeth into and he delivers one of the best performances of his career. As to the film itself, it offers more than just "horror" but instead an engrossing look into the medical community of the mid 19th century. Curiously, the movie wasn't released in the U.S. until 1963, some 5 years after its European release. With Christopher Lee, Betta St. John, Nigel Green, Finlay Currie, Adrienne Corri, Francis De Wolff and Yvonne Romain.