Showing posts with label William Castle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William Castle. Show all posts
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| An intense Joan Crawford |
"We have to remember that we can't expect everyone to be perfect." -- Diane Baker.
This is an entertaining, if brief, look behind the scenes of the William Castle production of Strait-Jacket, starring the inimitable Joan Crawford. The title refers to the weapon of choice in the movie -- which "realistically depicts axe murders" -- and not to Crawford, who is basically handled sympathetically and whose performance in the black and white B shocker is deservedly praised. Joan Blondell was supposed to play the lead but she was injured in an accident. The part of Joan's daughter, played by Diane Baker, was originally essayed by a more voluptuous but apparently less talented and unnamed actress whom Crawford wanted replaced. There are interesting observations from film historian David Del Valle, as well as comments from Baker, who tells -- not unkindly -- that Crawford drank a bit and had the ending changed so that it would focus on her and not Baker [well, she was the star, after all]. Baker says at one point that the makers of horror films, such as William Castle, are actually "lovable," but apparently she didn't feel that way about Alfred Psycho Hitchcock, whom she doesn't exactly depict as lovable in Donald Spoto's book Spellbound by Beauty [Baker appeared in Hitchcock's Marnie].
Verdict: Interesting featurette on a minor horror classic. ***.
Larry O'Brien (Richard Conte) is a producer who becomes fascinated by an old Hollywood mystery, the still-unsolved 1929 murder of silent film director Franklin Farrara. Larry decides to make a film about the murder, and hires an old screenwriter named Vincent St. Clair (Henry Hull of Werewolf of London), who once worked with the victim. When someone takes a shot at Larry, he realizes the killer is still alive and doesn't want even a chance of the truth coming out. Richard Egan is cast as a police lieutenant, and Jim Backus is Larry's agent, Mitch. An uncredited Paul Cavanaugh [he's not even listed in the cast on imdb.com] plays aging actor Roland Paul, who was always one of the suspects, along with Sam Collyer (Fred Clark). William Farnum, Francis X. Bushman [The Phantom Planet], and Joel McCrea play themselves in cameos. The best performance is given by Julia/Julie Adams, who apparently knows more than she's saying and may have some unknown connection to the crime. This movie is of interest primarily because it was directed by William Castle [Strait-Jacket], but even with that distinction it has still been forgotten. The trouble is that it has very little suspense, a dull mystery, and plays like nothing so much as a TV pilot. However, the cast may hold your attention.
Verdict: One mystery that doesn't need solving. **.
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| Neil Hamilton confers with Robert Mitchum |
Mildred Baxter (Kim Hunter) marries in haste and then has reason to worry. Her new husband, Paul (Dean Jagger) is [unnecessarily] secretive and she comes to suspect that he may be the notorious silk tie strangler. Fred Grahm (Robert Mitchum), who has always loved Millie, tries to be supportive and also has meetings with Lieutenant Blake (Neil Hamilton), who suggests he knows more than he's saying. When Strangers Marry is a pretty dull alleged suspense film whose twist comes as little surprise. The only lively scene takes place in a black jazz club, supposedly in Harlem. Hunter [The Seventh Victim] is good, Mitchum is very good, Jagger [The Brotherhood of the Bell] is hamstrung by his role, and Hamilton is Hamilton. When Millie moves into her new apartment there's a photo of director William Castle [Macabre] on the mantle.
Verdict: A Monogram cheapie and it shows. *1/2.