Strait-Jacket
by William Castle
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DVD details
Actor: Diane Baker, Howard St. John, Joan Crawford, John Anthony Hayes, Leif EricksonDirector: William Castle
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 93 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-03-12
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Reviews of Strait-Jacket
DVD Review: Joan's last good movie after Baby Jane
Summary: 4 Stars
After the success of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, Bette's career was revived, and she had several good roles after that film and continued to work until her death. Joan...eh, not so much. But this one is the most memorable and entertaining. Bette Davis who had filmed Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte and Dead Ringer the same year called this film "tacky," and I have to agree. However it is still enjoyable on a more campy level. Joan Crawford had cast and script approval on Strait-Jacket and there is even a "Pepsi" product placement shot in a kitchen scene because Joan was once married to a Pepsi Cola executive until his death. It is actually very fun watching Joan Crawford trying to get back to a "normal" life after being locked up in an asylum for 20 years for beheading her husband and his mistress with an ax. There is even an uncomfortable scene where she puts the moves on her daughter's boyfriend right in front of her after woofing down some booze. Directorial duties were handled by William Castle (an inferior compared to Hitchcock) who made several B-movie horror pictures through the years. I gave Strait-Jacket four stars because I consider Bette's films superior and worthy of 5 stars. DVD Review: A Really Swinging Performance by Ms. Crawford
Summary: 4 Stars
Ms. Crawford turns in a rather eccentric performance as Lucy Harbin in a movie made during the downward arc of her career. The movie opens with the axe murder of Lucy's philandering husband (played by a very young Lee Majors)and his lover. After spending around twenty years in an asylum for the criminally insane, Lucy is released and moves in with her brother and his wife at their farm. Lucy is also reunited with her daughter, played by Diane Baker, whom she hasn't seen since the double homicide.
Soon after Lucy arrives at the farm, she starts having nightmares about the double murder. A doctor from the asylum who has travelled to check on Joan disappears soon after visiting her. A creepy handyman, played by Lee Marvin, is brutally murdered on her brother's farm. Is Lucy the one responsible for the doctor's disappearance and the handyman's murder, or is she being set up? And what is with her daughter getting her mom to dress up in the tarty clothes, complete with black wig, that she used to wear twenty years ago?
While the performances by Ms. Crawford and Ms. Baker may be overwrought at times, they never descend to the level of camp. The movie evokes suspense and chills without being gory or excessively frightening. The ending evokes a sense of "Whoa! I didn't see that coming!" While this movie cannot be called a horror classic on the level of "Psycho", it is an entertaining way to spend an evening with friends. There is also some commentary about the making of the film which includes an interview with a much older Diane Baker along with some film of Joan doing some practice swings with an axe - I found that to be more bizarre than the movie.
DVD Review: strait jacket
Summary: 5 Stars
when joan crawford became old she found the thrillers as bette davis and both of them,did it well,a fine example is whatever happened to baby jane,a real classicDVD Review: This is Joan Crawford, I urge you to see my new motion picture Strait-Jacket, from the beginning
Summary: 5 Stars
Lucy Harbin took an axe
She gave her husband 40 whacks
And when she saw what he had done
She gave his girlfriend 41
This movie is so incredibly over-the-top. I love how, in the beginning they just have to say that Lucy is "7 years older than her husband."
"Strait-Jacket " was one of the very first movies that I ever saw with Joan so there's a special place in my heart for it. When I first saw this movie I knew very little about Joan and just assumed that it was one of her movies from her MGM days. And of course it didn't help that the picture on the DVD was one of Joan's Lucy Harbin dressed up with that "Mildred Pierce" looking wig. I also loved that bangle bracelet that Joan wore. Didn't she look like such a sexy mama? It totally reminded me of the way Joan looked as Sadie Thompson. Although, I don't think Lucy had any tricks up her sleeve!
I still love this movie though. Much like the ever-strong and powerful Joan, "Strait-Jacket" has totally withstood the test of time. Yes, it's a ludicrous story that would never have seen the light of day if Joan weren't in it but I can't get enough of it. The story is so dramatic and theatrical, not to mention over-the-top and incredibly foolish.
The tagline for this movie was: HER HUSBAND...HER ROOM... ......AND ANOTHER WOMAN. That really describes the beginning but it also leaves a lot to be desired because this is not a love story, at all. Joan plays Lucy Harbin, an axe murderer, who paid her dues and is now released in the care of her brother. Unfortunately once Lucy gets out murder still seems to follow her! This certainly isn't an Alfred Hitchcock type of suspense (maybe "Murder She Wrote?") But that doesn't matter because all of the performers give strong support to Joan.
Some of Joan's costars include:
Diane Baker (who was also in "Della" and "The Best of Everything" with Joan) played Carol (Lucy's daughter)
Leif Erickson played Bill Cutler (Lucy's brother)
Rochelle Hudson played Emily Cutler (Lucy's sister-in-law)
This black and white movie was released by Columbia on January 19, 1964 and is a total of 89 minutes long. It was actually filmed the prior year and Joan started promoting it from the following spring when she appeared on "I've Got A Secret" with Betsy Palmer (her costar from, "Queen Bee.") I enjoy this movie very much because it's a fine example of a 60's horror movie. There's no blood or violence but that didn't stop the producers from claiming that: Strait-Jacket vividly depicts axe murders! It certainly wasn't done vividly, it looked more like Barbie's head getting popped off.
Joan made "Strait-Jacket" right after her 1963 picture "The Caretakers." She also appeared in a slew of other fine suspense and horror projects throughout the 60s and into the 70s which are pretty good. Joan enjoyed acting in movies and later on television. But I think she also chose this particular genre because she always enjoyed science fiction and the supernatural. In 1972 during one of her final interviews Joan said, "it's interesting how many people have had experiences they're convinced are ESP." If you're interested in some more of Joan's later projects, I recommend both I Saw What You Did and "Dear Joan: We're Going To Scare you to Death."
I found Joan's performance in this movie (like all of her films) to be perfect. Incidentally, many years later, when asked about this movie Joan refused to comment. Only saying, "they were all terrible [referring to all of the movies she made after What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? ], even the few that I thought might be good. I made them because I needed the money or because I was bored or both. I hope they have been exhibited and are never heard from again. If I weren't a Christian Scientist, and I saw Trog advertised on a marquee across the street, I think I'd contemplate suicide."
Joan was a perfectionist who was always a constant professional that never gave anyone anything less than all of herself. Joan must have had a natural ability to act because she is one of the most compelling actresses of the twentieth century, however she received no formal training or education in this field. Joan always knew how to make lemonade out of lemons. There are 2 qualities about her that I really respect. First, she always played such versatile roles, running the gambit of high society to street walker. From westerns to comedy to silents to musicals and horror. But what I also appreciate about Joan is that she knew how to bring an otherwise dead script to life. Let's see Bette Davis do that! Sure, Bette Davis and Greta Garbo are much more respected. But they always got the best scripts and best directors and best of everything else. Poor Joan had to make due with what she had. And I think she did pretty well.
If you haven't seen this movie yet, what are you waiting for? Go out and get the DVD or wait for it to come on TCM. Remember, don't reveal the surprise shock ending. Don't reveal the surprise shock ending. Don't reveal the surprise shock ending...
DVD Review: Castle+Bloch+Crawford=Entertainment!!
Summary: 4 Stars
After delving into more Robert Bloch-ish territory with Homicidal, William Castle has another go at that type of film, and who does he get to script it? Why none other than Robert Bloch! Bloch's style is all over this and I'm sure I would have guessed he wrote it even if I hadn't seen his name in the credits. Joan Crawford is let outta the looney bin 20 years after hacking her husband(Lee friggin Majors!) and his lover to pieces. She goes to live with her daughter who has been living with her aunt and uncle all these years. She tries to rebuild her relationship with daughter and start a new life, but in the immortal words of Judas Priest, "Some heads are gonna roll". And they do! Folks are mysteriously getting decapitated. Has Joan gone back to her old ways while trying to turn back the clock 20 years?
What we got is another fun William Castle production, and it's a bit different from his past films. Here he seems to be trying to break the schlockmeister reputation and try for a legitimate suspense film. While he may not have succeeded in making the A list, this movie isn't less entertaining for it. Aside from a few grisly murders here and there this plays out more dramatically than you'd expect as it explores the relationship between Crawford and her daughter. It also paints an interesting picture of a "rehabilitated" person trying to function in society again while still battling demons of a murderous past. Wow, I sounded kinda like I knew what I was talking about there for a second, didn't I?
Definitely another winner from William Castle, and much better than that silly Hannah Montana dvd you were thinking of renting.
Description of Strait-Jacket
Poor Joan Crawford just can't get a break. She hacks her husband to pieces and is sent away to a mental hospital; then after she comes back and tries to adjust to a normal life, there's more ax-swinging and more noggins rolling. Her pretty sculptress daughter (Diane Baker) just wants Mom to return to society and a happy, well-adjusted life... or does she? The plot is a little trite and predictable, the direction a bit staid, but it's all Joan's show anyway. Obviously director William Castle told her to play up her character's insanity, and Crawford turns the knob on the acting meter up to 10, then breaks it off and throws it away. She spectacularly mugs her way through the whole film, abruptly changing from severe schoolmarm to trampy vamp and back again several times. The scene where Mom meets her daughter's fianc?e for the first time is particularly memorable; Mom guzzles half an iced-tea glass full of bourbon, then crawls all over the boyfriend while the viewer squirms uncomfortably. Back in '64, lucky moviegoers were given little cardboard axes when this feature made its run in the theaters. Sadly, the cardboard axes are long gone, but this is still highly recommended for fans of Crawford, Castle, and high-powered thespianism in general. --Jerry RenshawGeneral DVDs
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