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The Mad Magician

178 statements
34 feature instances
23 referencing feature instances

The Mad Magician	type	TVTItem
The Mad Magician	label	The Mad Magician
The Mad Magician	page	TheMadMagician
The Mad Magician	comment	The Mad Magician is a 1954 American horror film in 3D, directed by John Brahm and starring Vincent Price, Mary Murphy and Eva Gabor.In the late 19th century, Don Gallico (Price) is a master at devising magicians' illusions who attempts to break out on his own as Gallico the Great. His first performance is interrupted mid-show by his employer Ross Ormond (Donald Randolph). When starting out, Gallico had signed an exclusive contract with Ormond to provide him with any illusions he created. Ormond has a court order forbidding Gallico from using any illusions he created in his own act. This pushes the already unstable Gallico over the edge and he sets out to get his revenge against those who have wronged him, including Ormond; his ex-wife Claire (Gabor), who is now married to Ormond; and rival magician The Great Rinaldi (John Emery), who is Ormond's business partner and the main beneficiary of Gallico's illusions. A clever young police detective, Lt. Alan Bruce (Patrick O'Neal), uses a new identification technique, fingerprints, to identify the killer.
The Mad Magician	fetched	2023-08-20T01:44:22Z
The Mad Magician	parsed	2023-08-20T01:44:22Z
The Mad Magician	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Mad Magician / int_17d9043d	type	Read the Fine Print
The Mad Magician / int_17d9043d	comment	Read the Fine Print: Gallico discovers that the contract he signed with Ormond means that all illusions he designs—even those he creates on his own time—are the property of Ormond. Losing the rights to 'The Lady and the Buzzsaw'—the signature illusion he developed to launch his own career as a Stage Magician—is what drives him to snap and murder Ormond.
The Mad Magician / int_17d9043d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_17d9043d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_17d9043d
The Mad Magician / int_1f268108	type	Mystery Writer Detective
The Mad Magician / int_1f268108	comment	Mystery Writer Detective: Alice Prentiss writes murder mysteries. When a murder happens in her own house, she sets out to solve it. She does a very creditable job, and contributes at least as much to the solution of the crime as Lt. Bruce.
The Mad Magician / int_1f268108	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_1f268108	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_1f268108
The Mad Magician / int_33987735	type	Disposing of a Body
The Mad Magician / int_33987735	comment	Disposing of a Body: Gallico gets rid of Ormond's body disguising it as an effigy dressed in the opposing team's football uniform and placing it on the bonfire the university is constructing to celebrate their victory. The next day Frank Prentiss reads in the paper how only the shinbones and a section of spine were found in the ashes.
The Mad Magician / int_33987735	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_33987735	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_33987735
The Mad Magician / int_4143f84f	type	Leg Focus
The Mad Magician / int_4143f84f	comment	Leg Focus: When Lt. Bruce calls first calls for Karen Lee at the theatre, the doorman describes her as "the pretty little thing with the legs. And don't act like you haven't noticed them". Her legs are on display in her role as Gallico the Great's Lovely Assistant.
The Mad Magician / int_4143f84f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_4143f84f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_4143f84f
The Mad Magician / int_443b78cd	type	Tranquil Fury
The Mad Magician / int_443b78cd	comment	Tranquil Fury: Whenever Don Gallico is pushed to the point of murdering someone, he becomes, very, very calm.
The Mad Magician / int_443b78cd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_443b78cd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_443b78cd
The Mad Magician / int_47325888	type	Latex Perfection
The Mad Magician / int_47325888	comment	Latex Perfection: Gallico is an expert mask maker and is able to create masks that allow him to impersonate both Ormond and Rinaldi. Only Claire is able to see through the disguise when he is posing as Ormand, and she has the advantage of having been married to both Gallico and Ormond.
The Mad Magician / int_47325888	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_47325888	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_47325888
The Mad Magician / int_611a1a5e	type	Nosy Neighbor
The Mad Magician / int_611a1a5e	comment	Nosy Neighbor: Gallico rents the upper floor of the Prentiss house under the guise of Ormond. Unfortunately for him, Alice Prentiss writes murder mysteries and fancies herself as a Mystery Writer Detective. Her snooping brings Ormond's wife Claire on to the scene, causing Gallico to murder her and abandon his refuge at the Prentiss house.
The Mad Magician / int_611a1a5e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_611a1a5e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_611a1a5e
The Mad Magician / int_7e6c0522	type	Off with His Head!
The Mad Magician / int_7e6c0522	comment	Off with His Head!: Gallico murders Ormond by using 'The Lady and the Buzzsaw' illusion to decapitate him.
The Mad Magician / int_7e6c0522	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_7e6c0522	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_7e6c0522
The Mad Magician / int_7ec94d53	type	Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds
The Mad Magician / int_7ec94d53	comment	Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Don Gallico. A quiet and peaceful man, his driving ambition is to become a successful Stage Magician. Just as he is in on the cusp of seeing his dream comes true (as in literally standing on stage about to perform his greatest trick for an audience on the edge of their seats), his Mean Boss shuts down the show with an injunction that essentially means Gallico can never perform again, steals his greatest illusion and sells it to Gallico's greatest rival. Then his Gold Digger wife leaves him for the boss. Small wonder he snaps and starts murdering everyone who has wronged him. However, by the end, he is trying to murder his friend Lt. Bruce who is merely doing his job and trying to apprehend a murderer, and admits to Bruce that he now can't stop killing.
The Mad Magician / int_7ec94d53	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_7ec94d53	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_7ec94d53
The Mad Magician / int_86b21114	type	Badass Boast
The Mad Magician / int_86b21114	comment	Badass Boast: Don Gallico gives one for the furnace in which he intends to dispose of one of his victims (and in which the Great Rinaldi had already met a well-deserved end):
The Mad Magician / int_86b21114	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_86b21114	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_86b21114
The Mad Magician / int_8ec5beed	type	Forging Scene
The Mad Magician / int_8ec5beed	comment	Forging Scene: There is a scene where Gallico (a young and surprisingly buff Vincent Price) is working at the forge in his workshop; his shirt open to the waist. His ex-wife Claire (Eva Gabor) finds the sight quite a turn-on.
The Mad Magician / int_8ec5beed	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_8ec5beed	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_8ec5beed
The Mad Magician / int_946f6c22	type	Stolen Credit Backfire
The Mad Magician / int_946f6c22	comment	Stolen Credit Backfire: The Great Rinaldi plagiarizes Don Gallico's sensational new illusion which involves a fiery furnace and gets himself burned to death. Ironically, Gallico had warned Rinaldi against plagiarizing this illusion.
The Mad Magician / int_946f6c22	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_946f6c22	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_946f6c22
The Mad Magician / int_a10775b7	type	Mean Boss
The Mad Magician / int_a10775b7	comment	Mean Boss: Ross Ormond has Don Gallico locked into an ironclad contract that means that any illusion Gallico invents belongs to Ormond, even if Gallico develops it on his own time. When Gallico tries to break out on his own as a Stage Magician — a long held dream of his — Ormond takes out an injunction preventing from performing because all of the illusions are his intellectual property. This effectively prevents Gallico from ever performing as a magician. That he waited until Gallico was about to perform his greatest illusion before ringing down the curtain seems to be an act of pure spite. He also stole Gallico's wife Claire away from him.
The Mad Magician / int_a10775b7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_a10775b7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_a10775b7
The Mad Magician / int_a195379b	type	Murder by Cremation
The Mad Magician / int_a195379b	comment	Murder by Cremation: Gallico creates a miniature crematorium to us in one of his illusions. He later attempts to kill Lt. Bruce by feeding him into it.
The Mad Magician / int_a195379b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_a195379b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_a195379b
The Mad Magician / int_a1b0c1c2	type	Revealing Cover-Up
The Mad Magician / int_a1b0c1c2	comment	Revealing Cover-Up: This exchange concerning the murder of Ormond, though at this point The Great Rinaldi merely suspects Don Gallico's involvement:
The Mad Magician / int_a1b0c1c2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_a1b0c1c2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_a1b0c1c2
The Mad Magician / int_a4a43fd	type	Saw a Woman in Half
The Mad Magician / int_a4a43fd	comment	Saw a Woman in Half: Gallico the Great's trademark illusion 'The Lady and the Buzzsaw' is a variation of this, in which he appears to decapitate his Lovely Assistant.
The Mad Magician / int_a4a43fd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_a4a43fd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_a4a43fd
The Mad Magician / int_acecb17d	type	Chekhov's Skill
The Mad Magician / int_acecb17d	comment	Chekhov's Skill: During his magic act at the start of the film, Gallico the Great does his own tricks in the style of The Great Rinaldi—a rival Stage Magician—while dressed as, and sounding like, Rinaldi. This hints at the Master of Disguise abilities he will later use to impersonate Ormond and Rinaldi.
The Mad Magician / int_acecb17d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_acecb17d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_acecb17d
The Mad Magician / int_ae3d6438	type	Deadpan Snarker
The Mad Magician / int_ae3d6438	comment	Deadpan Snarker: During discussion of the realism and safety mechanisms involving the furnace Gallico uses for The Crematorium, the question of what would happen if the Lovely Assistant had fallen out with the performer comes up, and Rinaldi responds in a faux-sinister method:
The Mad Magician / int_ae3d6438	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_ae3d6438	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_ae3d6438
The Mad Magician / int_b41b9606	type	Never One Murder
The Mad Magician / int_b41b9606	comment	Never One Murder: Foreshadowed when Gallico and Frank Prentiss are discussing Alice's murder mystery novels, in a conversation that takes place after Gallico's first murder but before his subsequent ones:
The Mad Magician / int_b41b9606	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_b41b9606	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_b41b9606
The Mad Magician / int_bb49a7a	type	I've Come Too Far
The Mad Magician / int_bb49a7a	comment	I've Come Too Far: Gallico acknowledges that he's beyond all saving as he prepares to murder Bruce and that when the time comes for the legal system to come down hard on him, he'd rather be electrocuted since he'll be going to hell anyway.
The Mad Magician / int_bb49a7a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_bb49a7a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_bb49a7a
The Mad Magician / int_c439078a	type	Life's Work Ruined
The Mad Magician / int_c439078a	comment	Life's Work Ruined: Ormond rings down the curtain on Don Gallico's debut performance as Stage Magician Gallico the Great. Ormond reveals that the contract Gallico signed means that all of the illusions he create belong to Ormond; even the ones Gallico created on his own time. This means Gallico can never appear on stage and, to add insult to injury, Ormondo sells 'The Lady and the Buzzsaw' illusions—a trick Gallico had spent years perfecting to be the climax of his act—to The Great Rinaldi; a magician Gallico hates.
The Mad Magician / int_c439078a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_c439078a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_c439078a
The Mad Magician / int_c4db6423	type	Yank the Dog's Chain
The Mad Magician / int_c4db6423	comment	Yank the Dog's Chain: Despite being pushed close to the edge of madness by his corrupt contractor Ross Ormond, Don Gallico is perfectly willing to let the legal system handle their dispute over the rights to his illusions. Then, Ormond decides to taunt Gallico once more about Claire leaving him...
The Mad Magician / int_c4db6423	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_c4db6423	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_c4db6423
The Mad Magician / int_c9eb478e	type	Satchel Switcheroo
The Mad Magician / int_c9eb478e	comment	Satchel Switcheroo: Karen visits Gallico in his workshop after he has murdered Ormond. She moves his bag off his desk while they are talking. When she leaves, she picks up his bag instead of hers. Unfortunately, Gallico's bag contains Ormond's head. Gallico takes off after her to retrieve his bag, only to discover she has left it in the cab.
The Mad Magician / int_c9eb478e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_c9eb478e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_c9eb478e
The Mad Magician / int_d129e13e	type	"Eureka!" Moment
The Mad Magician / int_d129e13e	comment	"Eureka!" Moment: Alice Prentiss experiences her Eureka Moment when her husband is reading her details of an unrelated murder in Fall River, and says that a neighbour saw the killer but he was masked. This makes her realize that the man she thought was Ormond could have been Gallico wearing a Latex Perfection mask.
The Mad Magician / int_d129e13e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_d129e13e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_d129e13e
The Mad Magician / int_d397657d	type	Hoist by His Own Petard
The Mad Magician / int_d397657d	comment	Hoist by His Own Petard: Gallico falls victim to the crematorium he tries to feed Lt. Bruce into.
The Mad Magician / int_d397657d	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_d397657d	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_d397657d
The Mad Magician / int_d7ecbd57	type	You're Insane!
The Mad Magician / int_d7ecbd57	comment	You're Insane!: Lt. Bruce calls Gallico mad after Gallico tries to feed him into the crematorium. Gallico agrees, but says he would rather go to the electric chair than spend the rest of his life in a straitjacket and a padded cell in an insane asylum.
The Mad Magician / int_d7ecbd57	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_d7ecbd57	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_d7ecbd57
The Mad Magician / int_d9d864e2	type	Stage Magician
The Mad Magician / int_d9d864e2	comment	Stage Magician: Gallico attempts to move on from creating illusions for others to start his own career as a stage magician under the name 'Gallico the Great'. After his dream his ruined, he murders rival magician The Great Rinaldi (one of the people responsible for his downfall) and takes over his career.
The Mad Magician / int_d9d864e2	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_d9d864e2	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_d9d864e2
The Mad Magician / int_e90b789a	type	Lovely Assistant
The Mad Magician / int_e90b789a	comment	Lovely Assistant: Karen works as Gallico the Great's lovely assistant, and is the 'lady' in 'The Lady and the Buzzsaw' illusion. Even after his stage career is derailed, she continues to help him develop new illusions.
The Mad Magician / int_e90b789a	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_e90b789a	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_e90b789a
The Mad Magician / int_ece27800	type	Kill and Replace
The Mad Magician / int_ece27800	comment	Kill and Replace: Gallico murders Ormond in a fit of rage, and then uses his Master of Disguise abilities to impersonate Ormond so no one will know he is dead. However, after he murders his ex-wife Claire while disguised as Ormond, he has to abandon the Ormond identity as the police now want Ormond for Claire's murder. He then murders The Great Rinaldi and assumes his identity; even performing magic shows in Rinaldi's stead.
The Mad Magician / int_ece27800	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_ece27800	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_ece27800
The Mad Magician / int_f42f96fa	type	Would Hit a Girl
The Mad Magician / int_f42f96fa	comment	Would Hit a Girl: Gallico responds to his ex-wife's goading by slapping her across the face; albeit very lightly.
The Mad Magician / int_f42f96fa	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_f42f96fa	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Mad Magician / int_f6b2bfb7	type	Gold Digger
The Mad Magician / int_f6b2bfb7	comment	Gold Digger: Claire Ormond. She was originally married to Don Gallico, but divorced him and married his boss Ross Ormond when she realized he could furnish her with the wealthy lifestyle she craved. Subsequently, she spends half of each year gallivanting around Europe spending her husband's money. After Gallico murders Ormond, she tries to make up with him again, knowing that she will inherit Ormond's money.
The Mad Magician / int_f6b2bfb7	featureApplicability	1.0
The Mad Magician / int_f6b2bfb7	featureConfidence	1.0
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	The Mad Magician / int_f6b2bfb7
The Mad Magician / int_f70710ae	type	Blackmail Backfire
The Mad Magician / int_f70710ae	comment	Blackmail Backfire: Rinaldi thinks he can blackmail Gallico into continuing to construct illusions for him by threatening to go to the police with his suspicions that Gallico murdered Ormond. It seems he didn't take into account the depth of Gallico's hate for him, or the implications of Gallico having already murdered once. As Gallico later admits to Lt. Bruce, he'll get the same voltage in the electric chair whether he committed one murder or four.
The Mad Magician / int_f70710ae	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Mad Magician / int_fd7267dd	type	Master of Disguise
The Mad Magician / int_fd7267dd	comment	Master of Disguise: He has developed Latex Perfection masks which, along with his skill at mimicry that allows him to imitate their voices, allow him to assume the identities of Ormond and Rinaldi after he murders them; fooling even those who know them.
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The Mad Magician / int_name	type	ItemName
The Mad Magician / int_name	comment
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The Mad Magician / int_name	itemName	The Mad Magician

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Blackmail Backfire / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Devilish Hair Horns / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Disposing of a Body / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Forging Scene / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	I've Come Too Far / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Kill and Replace / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Latex Perfection / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Leg Focus / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Life's Work Ruined / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Master of Disguise / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Mean Boss / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Murder by Cremation / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Mystery Writer Detective / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Nosy Neighbor / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Off with His Head! / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Read the Fine Print / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Revealing Cover-Up / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Satchel Switcheroo / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Stage Magician / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Stolen Credit Backfire / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Thriller / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	Yank the Dog's Chain / int_ccb7cfc2
The Mad Magician	hasFeature	You're Insane! / int_ccb7cfc2

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