Bedlam 1946 Val Lewton’s Shadow Play of Madness: A Golden Boy, A Mistress Trapped, and Bars That Will Not Keep.

Directed by Mark Robson, one of Val Lewton’s masterpieces of cinematic impressionism. Anna Lee as Nell Bowen, thrown into Bedlam by the sadistic Master George Sims uncharacteristically portrayed by the great Boris Karloff who usually bears his soul in more sympathetic roles. Bedlam has a sweet justice that is enforced as they say ” the inmates have taken over the asylum” with an ending that is quite powerful.

Here is my song Wash Away from Hunting Down The Ceremony Volume II. Featuring The Cricket Chance in his first vocal performance. ( he sneaked inside the vocal room with me while I was laying down the track for Wash Away. I left him in there, because it seemed relevant and the right thing to do, since he sang in key!)

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MonsterGirl (jogabriel)

Val Lewton’s “I Walked With A Zombie” (1943) Elements of Jane Eyre, Colonialism and The Synergy of Sound

Val Lewton’s Masterpiece on a low budget for RKO. Directed by Jacques Tourneur and story by Curt Siodmak

Jo Gabriel’s “Sway” appears on my album The Amber Sessions

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I will be doing a major feature on the work of Val Lewton in the coming months, his masterworks in shadow are some of the most evocative films ever screened.

MonsterGirl (JoGabriel)