Don Gallico (his majesty, Vincent Price), after years spent expertly devising the illusions of magicians, attempts to establish his own stage show under the name Gallico the Great. It’s an interesting premise, where he dresses up as the magicians he is mimicking and performs their tricks as them when not performing his own bits. In the cutthroat world that is stage magic, it’s a show that could work. His attempt at magical celebrity is ruined when his seedy employer Ross Ormond puts a stop to his show via court injunction. Ya see, Gallico signed a contract with Mr. Ormond years ago and now any and all illusions Gallico the Great creates are the rightful property of Ormond. Adding salt to the wound is the fact that Don’s ex-wife Claire (oh my lord, it’s Eva Gabor) is now Mrs. Ormond (although she loves nothing but money) and Gallico’s illusions are given to Ormond’s partner The Great Ribaldi (a perfectly hammy turn from John Emery) to use for his own magic show. Luckily, it’s Vincent Price so he ain’t about to sit back and let these jerks get away with wronging him. The guilty dopes begin to turn up dead as things spiral out of control and a young(ish) New York detective (who happens to be an item with Gallico’s pretty assistant and befriends the magician rather quickly) begins using cutting-edge forensic technology (of the time) to uncover the culprit behind these murders. There’s also the operator of a boarding house who spends her time writing crime novels (the wonderful Lenita Lane) sticking her nose into things. A troublesome severed noggin, multiple disguises, memorable side characters and the proper use of a bonfire to cover one’s crimes. The obvious 3-D silliness stands out like sore thumb (minimal as it may be), but it always has and I’m a bit more forgiving when Vincent Price is on my screen… that’s just the way my momma raised me. A fun time filled with murders and scheming. “They’ll give me the same voltage for killing four as they would for killing three!”
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