Madhouse (1974 film)

Paul Toombes is a successful horror actor whose trademark role is Dr. Death, a skull-faced serial killer. During a party in Hollywood marking his fifth Dr. Death film, Paul announces his engagement to Ellen Mason, who gives him an engraved watch as an engagement gift. However, adult film producer Oliver Quayle reveals to Paul that Ellen previously performed in his movies and had also slept with him. Distraught at Paul's angry reaction, Ellen returns to her room, where a masked man in a Dr. Death costume approaches her with a knife. An apologetic Paul enters the room shortly after, only for her severed head to fall from her shoulders when he touches her. Although he is acquitted, Paul isn't sure whether he was the killer. His career is destroyed as he spends several years in a mental hospital.

Twelve years later, Paul is called to London by his friend, screenwriter Herbert Flay, who has partnered with Quayle to produce a Dr. Death television series for the BBC. While on the cruise en route to England, Paul encounters a persistent young actress, Elizabeth Peters, who steals his watch and follows him through London and eventually to Flay's house. In the spider-infested basement, Paul discovers Faye Carstairs, Flay's wife and a former Dr. Death co-star, who was driven mad after being disfigured in a car accident. Outside Flay's house, Elizabeth sees the costumed figure stalking the grounds; believing it to be Paul, she approaches him and is killed with a pitchfork. When her body is discovered, Scotland Yard suspects Paul, as the killing resembles a scene from one of the Dr. Death films.

Unimpressed to find that Quayle has given Dr. Death a female "assistant" for the series, which he never had in the films, Paul berates his co-star on set; she is soon found hanged by her hair, resembling another Dr. Death scene. Scotland Yard questions Paul but finds no conclusive evidence. Paul is also harassed by Elizabeth's parents, who have found the watch she had stolen and threaten to deliver the watch to the police unless he pays a ransom. However, the killer lures the parents into the house and impales them both with a broadsword. On set, the series director is crushed by a descending bed canopy in a trap intended for Paul. Later, Paul is chased through the studio by the killer while on his way to an interview. Julia Wilson, Quayle's public relations chief, discovers a contract in his files but is murdered by the killer; Paul discovers her body in a replication of Ellen's death, seated in front of her dressing table. A distraught Paul carries her body to the set, turns on the camera on and sets the place ablaze.

Believing Paul to have died in the fire, Flay signs a contract to take his place as Dr. Death. Later he watches the reel of film from Paul's "death" in his home – only to see Paul seemingly walk out of the screen, burned but alive. When Paul demands to know why Flay wishes to destroy him, Flay rages that he had written the Dr. Death role for himself, but was passed over in favour of Paul; he murdered Ellen to frame Paul in the hopes of destroying his career but was still not given the role. He then reveals that the contract that Julia had discovered stipulated that if Paul died, Flay would take over the role by right. The two struggle into the basement, where Faye enters and stabs Flay in the back. He falls into a tank of spiders and they devour his flesh. Paul applies makeup to his burn-scarred face, now looking similar to Flay, and sits down to dinner with Faye. Faye says she has made Paul his favourite meal—sour cream and "red herrings"—and they both laugh.

The title credits mention "special participation" by Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff, who had died in 1967 and 1969, respectively; the film included scenes in which they had appeared with Vincent Price from previous AIP films (Rathbone from Tales of Terror [1962], Karloff from The Raven [1963]). Other AIP films starring Price that had scenes played in the film include The Haunted Palace, The Pit and the Pendulum, Scream and Scream Again, and House of Usher.^[6]

American International Pictures purchased the rights to Angus Hall's novel Devilday in 1970. Although Robert Fuest was originally named as director, in 1973 Jim Clark was signed to direct; more known for his editing, this ended up being Clark's fourth and final feature film as a director.^[7] Filming began at London's Twickenham Studios.^[8]

In his autobiography, Clark referred to the film as "stillborn", reflecting that the edits imposed by Milton Subotsky was the final nail of the coffin of a film that had its script worked on (by Ken Levison) during the actual production because of its quality. It was the last film to feature Price for American International, as his contract was not renewed (the feeling was mutual, as he once referred to Arkoff and his colleagues as "those cocksuckers!"^[9][10]