The 60s are a mysterious decade to me in a lot of genres. I know what the 50s were about. It’s the golden age of the studio system. The Hays code was in full swing. The studios enjoyed the post-war economic boom in a system that gave them full control over their stars. The 70s had the full swing of The New Hollywood. The studios learned how to work with the auteurs and even turn their experimentation into box office smashes. The 60s, however are an in between period where nothing seems to fit. There are still classic epics and big musicals, but they have the feeling of the studios trying to hold onto something; not a demonstration of their power. At the same time, there are films from auteurs pushing the envelope, but they only hit the mainstream by accident. The shorter way to say it is that most films from the 60s feel like they belong in the 50s or the 70s.
Shock Corridor is an extreme example of this. It’s a 1963 movie that feels more comfortable in the 1970s. It’s part-One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, part-70s psychological thriller; only with the veneer of a 50s B-Movie. I suppose I could lump this in with what Hitchcock was still doing at the time, but it’s a different kind of thriller than that. I really liked this movie, partly because I had so much trouble placing it. I just plain didn’t think people were making movies like this in 1963.
Obviously the movie is sensationalized. Every generation has some problematic ways of depicting patients at a mental hospital. And the way Pater Breck gets himself admitted feels quaint by today’s standards. Breck’s descent into madness is great though. His own obsession with his work bleeds into the condition he’s faking until he loses track of what’s driving him. Towards the end, I like that he’s able to hold things together long enough to write his story then declines again. Mental deterioration is a roller coaster, not a linear decline.
Verdict: Weakly Recommend
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