Shock Corridor (1963)

Director: Samuel Fuller

Writer: Samuel Fuller

Composer: Paul Dunlap

Starring: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans, James Best, Hari Rhodes, Larry Tucker, Paul Duboy, Chuck Roberson, Neyle Morrow, John Matthews, Bill Zuckert, John Craig, Philip Ahn, Frank Gerstle

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Medical Jungle Doctors Don't Talk About!

Plot: Bent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

I've gotta tell ya, this Sumuel Fuller kid is going to go places.  Having just watched the great THE NAKED KISS (1964) and now this one.  Wow.  I've seen a few of his pictures and liked them but he really knocked these two out of the park.  The performances are outstanding.  Peter Breck as Johnny, the reporter who goes undercover, is acting his ass off.  James Best has a monologue that hit me deep.  Hari Rhodes has some great scenes, too.  And here's something cool, Larry Tucker, who played Pagliacci (the really heavy fella), went on to write I LOVE YOU, ALICE B. TOKLAS! (1968) and BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE (1969).  And this picture has some great moments that aren't acting showcases like that brief scene with the shock treatment.  Yikes!  Fuller wrote and directed one hell of a interesting flick which gets better as it goes along.  Nearly the entire film is shot on the hospital set but the film is so riveting that the staleness doesn't enter into it.  It probably helps it since the audience is stuck in the same environment as Johnny and everyone else.  Don't read any spoilers about this.  Right now the full movie is on YouTube.  Watch it while you can (below).  And one more thing, how the hell did this not get recognized by the awards folks?