This movie interests me because....

I live near Fulton Mo the town that Bellaman was writing about. I actually lived in the town for several years too.

Being local means that you learn trivia about both the book and the movie. Both were banned in Fulton and Callaway County for many years. Bellaman changed the names of his characters but all the locals knew who he was writing about.Times change and now the book and movie are a source of pride.


The house where the sadistic Dr. lived still stands but in a different location. Westminister College needed the land for a parking lot. The old house was torn down, moved board by board, and reassembled at it's current location of 5th and Bluff streets. The Doctor in real life 'Got away with it" even though they could hear his patients screaming out on the street. That house in it's old location sat very far away from the street so a patient had to scream very loudly to be heard. Yes the real life Doctor always found an excuse to not use ether on patients he or his wife did not like.

I watch this movie and where they mention certain locations like the train Depot, the Ice House, or the state hospital I remember where those places were. The grain elevator by the railroad tracks looks almost like the elevator there today. The depot still stands but is abandoned. There has not been a train in Fulton for many years now but the old tracks are still there. All of the old buildings except for a barn at the State hospital were torn down 20 some years ago. They'd have been a perfect place to film a movie.

Many of the old homes from Bellaman's time still stand on Court street.

I've read the book twice. I highly recommend it but don't look for the happy ending of the movie. Many of the things Bellaman mentioned in the book existed or still exist today. The book caused a big stir locally and nationally back in the day.