John Brahm made a handful of the best films in Hollywood. ' The Lodger, ' ' Hangover Square ' and ' The Locket. ' After this dreadfully badly made film he made ' The Mad Magician ' made in 3-D and touted as a good follow up to the much better ' House of Wax ' not directed by him but by Andre de Toth. So what went wrong? It is sad to see good directors go astray like this. The film begins in Paris and a jewel made for for a King is ruined and Fernando Lamas has to go in search of another. Most of the reviewers have told the details of the story but I want to concentrate on the tawdry sets and the appalling acting. Lamas goes to India and saves a certain Queen there to both fall in love with and to get him a more precious gem. The version I saw had bad colour but it certainly could not be better even if it was restored. Gilbert Roland accompanies Lamas to see he gets another diamond and he seems to laugh his way through the film. Avoid as it is truly a very bad film without one redeeming feature. The sets fall apart as you watch the film.
Review of The Diamond Queen
