Starring Boris Karloff, Betta St. John, Christopher Lee, Finlay Currie, Adrienne Corri
Directed by Robert Day
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A surgeon tries to develop a gas to eliminate pain during surgery, but when his first demonstration of the gas fails, his desperate attempts to perfect the gas lead him down the road to ruin.
One of a pair of films producer Richard Gordon made with Karloff in Britain in the 1950s, it's a really well done docudrama with horrific elements, although my research on Wikipedia seems to indicate Jean Scott Rogers' screenplay fashions Karloff's character as not any one historical figure, but as an amalgam of scientists who all played a role in the development of anesthesia. Karloff is excellent, and what a supporting cast! Fans of the Hammer studio will be glad to see so many actors who worked on their films including Lee, Francis De Wolff, Francis Matthews, and Yvonne Romain, among a stable of other respected British character actors. The film is well paced and staged with a number of impactful dramatic scenes, and convincing period sets add to an authentic feel. This was the first appearance of horror icons Karloff and Lee together on film, although Lee's horror career was really just getting started.
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