By 1963, Vincent Price was generally recognized as the heir apparent
to Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi as the undisputed king of the horror
film genre. Somewhat lost in discussion's of Price's work is the fact
that, until he starred in "House of Wax" in the mid-1950s, he had a long
career as a popular and respected supporting actor in mainstream
Hollywood productions. If there is a sad aspect to his international
success as a horror star, it's that his talents were rarely used
henceforth in films of other genres. Nonetheless, Price knew a good
thing when he saw it. His collaborations with producer Roger Corman on
cinematic versions of classic Edgar Allan Poe stories had proven to be
wildly successful. Price wasn't overly selective about working with
other producers who sought to capitalize on those films by making
blatant imitations of Corman's productions. One such title is "Diary of a
Madman", released in 1963 and based on a story by French writer Guy de
Maupassant. In some ways, the film is a worthy rival to a Corman/Price
collaboration in that it's intelligently scripted, well-cast and has a
relatively creative production design that somewhat masks the movie's
threadbare budget. As with the Corman flicks, Price is given a meaty
role and he makes the most of it. He plays Simon Cordier, a respected
French judge in the late 19th century. He has a reputation for fairness
and an obsession with studying the criminal mind in the hope of
understanding what motivates some men to commit horrendous crimes of
violence. The film opens with Cordier receiving a request to meet with a
prisoner who he has sentenced to die on the guillotine. The man is a
serial killer and Cordier is interested in taking the opportunity to
speak to the prisoner, whose behavior has left him baffled. The man was a
pillar-of-the-community type with no criminal background a stable
profession. Upon meeting the condemned prisoner in his cell, the doomed
convict informs Cordier that he welcomes his imminent execution because
he has been inexplicably possessed by an invisible being known as the
Horla. He relates an incredible story about this creature periodically
taking over control of his body and mind and forcing him to commit acts
of murder. As the incredulous Cordier tries to absorb this fanciful
tale, the man suddenly attacks him. In defending himself, Cordier hurls
the prisoner against a wall, killing him instantly.
Back in his chambers, Cordier is haunted by the experience but
doesn't think much more of it- until some strange occurrences leave him
disturbed. Seems that Cordier's irresponsible behavior had somehow been
responsible for the accidental death of his wife and young son years
before. Cordier has tried to block the bad memories from his mind by
locking away all mementos relating to them, including a large framed
photograph that had been stored in his attic. He is shocked to find it
hanging prominently on the wall of his study. His loyal butler (Ian
Wolfe) denies having placed it there. Other strange occurrences lead
Cordier to question his mental stability. A psychiatrist assures him
that he is suffering from fatigue and urges him to delve back into his
passion for sculpting, which he has ignored for years. Cordier follows
his advice and begins to feel more relaxed. Things only get better when
he has a chance encounter with a vivacious and flirtatious young woman
named Odette (Nancy Kovack), who agrees to be a paid model for him. She
begins a campaign to seduce Cordier, never telling him that she is
actually married to a financially-strapped artist, Paul (Chris
Warfield). When Paul objects to the amount of time that Odette is
spending in Cordier's studio, she assures him she is only trying to earn
money that they desperately need. In reality, she is a heartless gold
digger who is weighing the option of leaving Paul for the older man.
Oblivious to all this, Cordier is happy to have found love once again.
His mood, however, is rudely disrupted when he realizes the cause of the
strange things that have been going on in his house: it seems that the
Horla has chosen to possess him in retribution for killing the prisoner
whose body it once inhabited. Although Cordier can not see the Horla, he
discovers it is a physical presence who can not only speak to him, but
can also utilize a number of cruel witticisms that he uses to mock and
humiliate the esteemed jurist. From this point on, Cordier's life is a
living hell. In rational moments, he tries frantically to figure out
how to rid himself of this ghoulish presence, but the Horla retains
control of his mind and body at will. This leads to Cordier carrying out
a particularly gruesome murder, leaving him desperate to find a way out
of his tortured existence. He devises a last-ditch effort to lure the
Horla into his study where he hopes to kill him through use of his one
vulnerability: fire. The resulting consequences are dramatic but have
tragic results even for Cordier.
"Diary of a Madman" is mid-range Price fare from this period. The
entire enterprise rides on the actor shoulders, but they prove to be
broad enough to carry it off. Price looks dashing and, as always, puts
his best efforts into even a modest enterprise such as this. Nancy
Kovack also gives a fine performance as a bad girl who, refreshingly,
never learns to redeem herself as she cuckolds both of her lovers in
turn. The film is not exceptional on any level, but it is consistently
entertaining and reasonably engrossing.
"Diary of a Madman" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.