The film begins some years ago in Hollywood, when the Doctor Death franchise was raking in loads of dough for actor Paul Toomes (Price). The film fiend is hosting a screening of his film on New Years Eve, and announces he will marry the pretty, young co-star of his next film. Toomes meets a Mr. Quayle who informs Paul that his fiancee Ellen used to be in "art films." Toomes ejects the smut peddler from his party, but Paul also breaks it off with Ellen. Come midnight Paul finds Ellen to make up with her, but he finds her with her head cut cleanly off. Paul doesn't even know if he did it or not which sends him on a one way trip to the funny farm.

Some years later Toomes is ready to work again to help out his friend Herbert (Cushing) who was the writer of the Dr. Death movies. The job is with now producer Oliver Quayle for a series of Dr. Death shows. They begin to work on a new series, but soon girls are dropping left and right, and all of them in ways that Dr. Death has dispatched of his victims. Paul is soon under suspicion, which he still suspects might be warranted. Soon the mark of the real Doctor turns to Toomes. Can he escape the silver screen slasher coming for him, or will he fall prey to the traps of the mind.

--During the costume party scene, Robert Quarry wore his costume for his starring role in

--This was the last mjor production for Vincent Price and ended his long relationship with American International pictures whom he had worked for since the days of the Roger Corman Poe movies,

--Vincent Price sings the song over the end credits,

--The movie is based on the book Devilday by Angus Hall.

I love it because it's Price and Cushing's steady pimpin' movie. From Price's huge fedora to Cushing rocking the hipster ascot, the clothes make these men. Playing a worn out horror icon, Price injected this final starring piece with a wise balance of the erudite actor with the typical broadly acted self caricature. The latter a style he used so well in The Pit and the Pendulum and the Doctor Goldfoot films. Madhouse also appeals to me because it has the feeling of a castrated giallo. Plenty of black gloves are on display, and the Toombs descent into

madness gave the plot sufficient thrills. The only really unfortunate thing about the film is the shots of the killer. Instead of the bad ass Dr. Death makeup Price sports in his film, the killer dons a skull mask that looks like Screams ugly brother. Since we never see Price's character really reek havoc, it is somewhat disappointing. The clips of Price's early career when he was in films like The Raven with Karloff and his work with Basil Rathbone in Tales of Terror added a new layer of realism to the narrative by allowing us to easily accept that Toombs "is" Vincent Price. It's got everything I want in a Vincent Price film, and yet it's still a bit of PG rated fluff. What saves it is that it gets transformed by the two venerable actors. It's a great movie to sit around and watch with a friend like Fran and I did today. The simple truth is this movie is here in number five because Halloween is Vincent Price.