The last of the atmospheric RKO thrillers made under Val Lewton's supervision was this relatively lux production set in 18th-century London with Boris Karloff (in good form) as supervisor of the infamous/eponymous insane asylum. (Working in Hollywood, Lewton must have known the feeling all too well.) Anna Lee plays a carefree favorite of some arrogant aristos who finds herself railroaded inside the asylum when a handsome Quaker friend goads her into questioning the horrible conditions there. But, like Daniel in the lion's den, she make friends by helping the inmates and, once freed, contrives to keep Karloff's well-earned fate a secret from the authorities. Nicholas Musuraca's lensing & an ominous Roy Webb score help smooth over helmer Mark Robson 's bluntness and the typically uneven acting Lewton always got stuck with. But the film has little of the absurd & fanciful creepiness of the best Lewton productions. It's worthy and not much fun.
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