Set in 1761 in London, the film focuses on events at St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum, a fictionalized version of Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as "Bedlam." After an acquaintance of aristocrat Lord Mortimer dies in an attempt to escape from the asylum, apothecary general Master George Sims (played by Karloff, a fictionalized version of an infamous head physician at Bethlem, John Monro) appeases Mortimer by having his "loonies" put on a show for him. Mortified by the treatment of the patients, Mortimer's protégé Nell Bowen (Lee) seeks the help of Whig politician John Wilkes to reform the asylum. Mortimer and Sims conspire to commit Nell to the asylum, where her initial fears of the fellow inmates do not sway her sympathetic commitment to improving their conditions. Frustrated by Nell's progress with the inmates, Sims threatens her with his strongest "cure" but his attempt is thwarted by the very inmates that Nell helped. Ultimately, Sims is literally "deposed" and Nell is rescued by her Quaker friend who had counselled her through the whole process.
The album had its genesis in a conceptual story apparently written for Johnny Cash. Costello himself states:
The album features guest vocals by Lucinda Williams and Emmylou Harris. "Monkey to Man" derived from a 1950s rhythm and blues hit "The Monkey" by Dave Bartholomew, and a song written by Costello and his then-wife Cait O'Riordan, "The Judgement," had been previously recorded by Solomon Burke on his 2002 release Don't Give Up on Me. The vinyl and United Kingdom compact disc pressings of the album included an additional track, "She's Pulling Out the Pin." The album was issued the same day as Il Sogno.
Shortly after its release, Lost Highway issued a deluxe edition of the album, including a bonus disc containing seven tracks from the Clarksdale Sessions ten-inch vinyl record, a collection of songs recorded live at Delta Recording in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The Clarksdale Sessions, subtitled "Delivery Man Companion," contained new versions of tracks from the proper album as well as an unreleased Costello original "In Another Room," and covers of the Bartholomew original "The Monkey" and "Dark End of the Street." Tom Waits has named it one of his favourite albums.
The film's title appears in the opening credits only in the form of a giant character, as would be used in a sign, being transported by a crane.
Plot
Set in Hamburg, West Germany, several criminals take advantage of the German bank privacy laws to use safe deposit boxes in a German bank to store large amounts of illicit cash. These include a Las Vegas mobster as well as a ruthless drug smuggler known as the Candy Man and a crooked overbearing U.S. Army sergeant and his meek-mannered partner the Major, who conspire on a big heroin and LSD smuggling score. Joe Collins (Warren Beatty), an American bank security consultant, has been spying on them and makes mysterious and elaborate preparations to steal their money (totaling more than $1.5 million) with the help of Dawn Divine (Goldie Hawn), a hooker with a heart of gold.
Film is a 1965 film written by Samuel Beckett, his only screenplay. It was commissioned by Barney Rosset of Grove Press. Writing began on 5 April 1963 with a first draft completed within four days. A second draft was produced by 22 May and a forty-leaf shooting script followed thereafter. It was filmed in New York in July 1964.
Beckett’s original choice for the lead – referred to only as “O” – was Charlie Chaplin, but his script never reached him. Both Beckett and the director Alan Schneider were interested in Zero Mostel and Jack MacGowran. However, the former was unavailable and the latter, who accepted at first, became unavailable due to his role in a "Hollywood epic." Beckett then suggested Buster Keaton. Schneider promptly flew to Los Angeles and persuaded Keaton to accept the role along with "a handsome fee for less than three weeks' work."James Karen, who was to have a small part in the film, also encouraged Schneider to contact Keaton.
The filmed version differs from Beckett's original script but with his approval since he was on set all the time, this being his only visit to the United States. The script printed in Collected Shorter Plays of Samuel Beckett (Faber and Faber, 1984) states:
He passed away after giving up on the set of the film O Bedlam! O Bedlam! And on a personal history note, was written about because he left his actress wife, and took up with a married member of English royalty.
... Harauld Hughes, in which he trundles around interviewing such associates of the late playwright as will agree to talk, and goes in quest of a copy of O Bedlam! O Bedlam!, Hughes’s last, lost film.
Asking a horror aficionado to program a 24-hour horror film marathon that readers can enjoy at home... Eggers selected 13 films, all of which were released before 1962 and most of which run less than 90 minutes ... Bedlam (1946).
The legendary actor recalls his most chaotic film experience (Picture... While the bedlam that ensues on The Franchise might be fictional, Richard has personally experienced what happens when a film descends into disarray.
... Brits everywhere seemed to feel that, like the proverbial popular film you are assured would soon come to a theatre near you, this dreadful bedlam would equally soon be visited upon their own.
Carly Burd, a 44-year-old mother-of-three, filmed TikTok videos of herself growing vegetables and giving them to needy locals affected by the cost of living crisis ...Bedlam ensued ... Then Carly's tearful TikTok film went viral.
Nonetheless, the specter of a forthcoming Trumpian takeover and the bedlam it might inspire is everywhere in Garland’s film, and the subtlety with which the writer/director evokes connections between ...
The only fuchsia on display was musician Mark Ronson (who co-wrote and co-produced five "Barbie" songs and co-wrote the film's score) sporting a vintage pink Led Zeppelin T-shirt under his navy jacket ... Bring on the bedlam.
As for the Worcester locales in the film, none is more prominent than BedlamBookCafé, 138 Green St., which was chosen as a backdrop for the family’s visit to Santa, as well as the cheerful old man presenting the magic pen to Sam and Izzy.
As Segaloff puts it, when the film opened, “the bedlam began.” ... One critic, StuartByron, wrote in his review that “the film had made him sick.” ... Fifty years later, millions have seen the film, now considered a classic.
But Caple and the visual effects team appear to have understood that clarity makes for a better moviegoing experience, and so even as bedlam reigns, there’s a level of focus to the film that other films in the series have not had.
Sitting on the panel were Phil Hunt, co-managing director of Bankside Films, Gareth Ellis-Unwin, the CEO of BedlamFilm Productions, Meg Thomson, executive vp of worldwide content at Globalgate ...
Filmed over five years, “Bedlam” delves into one of America’s busiest psychiatric emergency rooms, into jails where psychiatric patients are warehoused, and to the homes — and homeless encampments — of people affected by serious mental illness.
Hastings Tribune
29 Nov 2023
Hastings Tribune
29 Nov 2023