A different way of telling a story

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Am I the only person who wonders why there are never any attendants around when all the unpleasantries take place? John being attacked by the women (after going through a door that's unlocked when he goes through, but locked when he tries to escape), the race riot in the hall, etc. Even in 1963, so many patients would not be left completely alone at any time, let alone most of the time as seems to be the case in this movie.

Bent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.I knew nothing of this film going in, and really had little idea of who Sam Fuller was. I saw "Pickup on South Street", but that by no means prepared me for this masterpiece. Anyone who wants to see life in the early 1960s, this is the film to see, because it tells it real and it tells it raw.The plot and characters have all the hallmarks of exploitation, and yet this was a mainstream film. Maybe it had no big actors and maybe it won few awards, but it should have. This film is a treasure, and one of the all-time greatest American movies ever made for its story alone.

In the hands of writer / producer / director Samuel Fuller, "Shock Corridor" is a good, stunning B movie with brains to match its lurid thrills. Shot in an amazingly stark manner by Stanley Cortez, it creates a true rogues' gallery of memorable characters. Extremely well performed all the way down the line, it touches upon subjects like racism while showing all of us how thin the dividing line between sanity and insanity can be. *Anyone* can crack if they're put under enough strain, or have to spend an extended amount of time among unbalanced individuals.The person who comes to understand this is reporter Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck). He's determined to solve a murder case, so he feigns insanity to earn admittance to a mental hospital where a person named Sloan was killed. Johnny already knows of three witnesses, so he must spend time with each of them, getting one more piece of the puzzle every time. Meanwhile, Johnnys' girlfriend Cathy (Constance Towers) is afraid that not only will Johnny lose his mind, but that she will, too, being party to his deception.There's a fair bit of character actor talent in small and supporting roles: corpulent Larry Tucker as opera singing Pagliacci, Paul Dubov and John Matthews as psychiatrists, Chuck Roberson and John Craig as attendants, and Philip Ahn as Dr. Fong. Three top actors appear as the patients whose confidence Johnny must earn: James Best as Stuart, Hari Rhodes as Trent, and Gene Evans as Boden. Trents' dilemma is particularly distressing: he's a black man who believes himself not only to be white, but a rabble rousing KKK member to boot.The atmosphere of this film is extremely effective, and Fullers' visual approach is also noteworthy: although this is mostly a black & white affair, there are a few colour sequences along the way.Striking entertainment from start to finish.Seven out of 10.

Shock Corridor is a film that Samuel Fuller made with limited sets and a tight budget. But out of these limitations Fuller made a truly great film. Yeah it's cheesy in some parts and some of the acting is pretty bad but it's a film that really get's under your skin. Johnny Barrett (Peter Breck) is a reporter for the paper who has himself committed to a mental hospital to solve a murder. I think this would actually be illegal but so on. Whilst there, Barrett befriends three main patients. Stuart (James Best) an ex soldier who underwent North Korean brainwashing, defected and returned and now believes himself to be General JEB Stuart of the American Civil War. Trent (Hari Rhodes) is an African American college student who was one of the first African Americans to integrate a Southern University, but was broken by racism and now believes himself to be a member of the Ku Klux Klan. Boden (Gene Evans) was a brilliant scientist who was driven insane by the knowledge of nuclear weapons and now has the mental capacity of a six year old. Martin Scorsese said that Stuart, Trent, and Boden represent the insanities of war, racism, and nuclear weapons respectively and I think that that's what Fuller's intentions were. Scorsese also pointed out that Fuller was showcasing in these characters that the United States had become like an insane asylum. I recommend Shock Corridor though I must point out. It is not for the faint hearted.