Della

Joan Crawford plays a reclusive millionaire named Della Chappell. She lives with her grown daughter (Diane Baker) in their mansion. They never leave the house and stay up at night. No, this is not a vampire movie but that would have been cool. It actually starts out as a fairly interesting story. Ambitious lawyer Barney Stafford (Paul Burke) tries to broker a land deal between Della and a big company, only to be met with resistance from her. Then Barney decides Della must be keeping her daughter against her will so he has to help her. There's a great deal of tension here and everybody keeps telling Barney he doesn't want to challenge Della. All of this sounds like it could have been a good thriller.

Unfortunately, the movie backs off of this and begins to portray Della in a sympathetic light. It loses all of the tension and intrigue it had built up. What we wind up with then is a rather boring soaper with a disjointed plot. I wondered when watching the opening titles if this was made for TV and, sure enough, it originally was a pilot for a TV series. A car chase towards the end reminded me of the old "Toonces the driving cat" sketches from Saturday Night Live. Not a bad way to spend 70 minutes but no great shakes, either.

This had originally been made for the small screen and had a cast to match - with the exception of Joan Crawford. But if the movies had got smaller, Joan Crawford hadn't - this is certainly no less than a full wattage star performance, even perhaps her best. It was a vehicle for a reprise of her earlier roles and a powerful demonstration of her ability to command the best for herself - best role, best dialogue, best costume, best sets, and, just possibly, no hint of competition from the rest of the cast. While she interacted with credibly, her performance utterly dominated. Even the story which was somewhat ramshackle nevertheless became coherent around the Joan Crawford character. Her bit of the ship at least would be ship-shape - or she'd damned well see that it was. It perhaps suggests that a troublesome, demanding star can be right and the audience the lasting gainer from the targeted exercise of star-power.

Saw this yesterday on Talking Pictures TV a new UK free to air terrestial TV station on Freeview ch81, dedicated to old, mainly British, movies.

I wish it was a little longer, something is missing. Anyway, the beautiful Diane Baker is excellent embodying a mentally unbalanced young woman. Joan Crawford, a top expert on the characters of very strong women, here she manages to make you shiver only with the force of her steel eyes. Paul Burke and Charles Bickford, as son and father, are good. Worth seeing!

Not terribly involving drama but worth catching for some of the cast. It might be a minor film but it's a major star vehicle for Joan.

Unlike the low grade horror films she finished her career in where everything including her wardrobe was on the cheap every effort is made to make her look as glamorous as possible. In every instance the walls and surrounding decor compliment Crawford's hair, make up and clothing making sure she dominates the scene. As befits a grande dame of a certain age there are scenes where the soft focus on her is so strong she actually appears hazy! With gravity defying hair and a total command of the screen she is never less than compelling treating the script's absurdities as if they were masterworks.

The inverse of Joan's powerful star presence is provided by the real sore spot of the picture, the male lead Paul Burke. An attractive but mechanical and stiff blank slate Crawford steamrolls right over him any time they occupy the same scene. It does almost irreparable damage to the film but Joan's professionalism saves it. As far as the rest of the cast goes the only member who even approaches Joan's charisma level is Charles Bickford but his part is small. Diane Baker is likewise handed little to work with though she does get a scene or two of anguish.

Even though it did get a European release the film betrays its TV movie origins in its choppy editing style. However the production design is a kaleidescope of 60's fashions and for any vintage car aficionado this will be heaven, all the characters drive fantastic automobiles in vibrant colors.

It may be a standard drama but for any fan of latter day Joan Crawford this little known item is a must see.

This was produced after Crawford's camp Whatever Happened to Baby Jane comeback. 1965? It appears it was on the shelf for at least a year and a half.

As a Crawford vehicle, this is pretty dull. For the most part, Joan Crawford films after 1950 were pure camp. This one is not so unintentionally funny unless you count all these scenes with Vaseline on the lens, her overly dramatic poses or her 1963 Oscars hair. I kept waiting for a Pepsi bottle to appear.

The bright spot is Diane Baker. This was made during her studio contract years where she was properly groomed and given parts commensurate with her looks and talent. Well, except this part. She would go on to one more good film, Mirage, before being kicked to the TV movie curb.