Fanatic

The woman known for giving extravagant parties and answering door bells au natural in her youth plays an old, religious grande dame with no make-up and drab attire. Tallulah Bankhead, in her last screen performance, shows us one more time that she was a consumate actress when given the opportunity to perform. Every moment of hers is precious as she plays a woman that has driven her son from home by her excessive religious fanaticism and is now coping with his death. She is visited by a woman, played by Stephanie Powers, that was engaged to her son. The dialogue and interaction between Miss Bankhead and Miss Powers is wonderful as Bankhead cuts her speech off and hams it up almost in a sedate yet effective manner. Powers soon becomes a forced guest as Tallulah tries and "cleanse" her soul. Watching Tallulah read Biblical passages, sermonize on the evils of the flesh, and gently yet forcefully decay into a state of histrionics is delightful to watch. That woman could act! The rest of the cast is effective with Donald Sutherland in a satisfactory yet forgetable role as a dimwitted servant. Solid direction, claustrophobic settings, and good production values all add up to some good old-fashioned fun!

Bette and Joan got the ball rolling and, thankfully, Tallulah hopped on board and got in on the mid-'60's bandwagon of formerly glamorous mega-stars starring in exploitive suspense films. This film was made, literally, during Bankhead's last gasps of life and she gives it her ALL. She plays a fanatical widow, deeply devoted to her dead son and husband and steeped in literal Biblical translations and practices. When her late son's girlfriend (Powers) comes for a visit, she attempts to forge a spiritual bond with her and indoctrinate her into the rigid and fundamental ways of her life. However, worldly Powers will have none of it and soon has to pay for her transgressions. The thing kicks off with a symbolic, so-1960's credit sequence of a cat chasing a mouse (while blaring music blasts away.) Soon Powers arrives at Bankhead's rundown estate and the fun begins. Every glance, every nuance, every crackled, garbled word of Bankhead's performance is so interesting and right on, it is REQUIRED VIEWING to watch her a second time in order to catch all the hooty lines she spits out. Her inimitable growl of a voice ranges from blithely polite (as she spouts her platitudes on the simplicity of a clean life) to outright maniacal ("He died in a car accident!!") and she's a complete joy to behold. The woman was almost never seen without her smear of make-up and her shoulder length hair, but here she dissolves into character with almost no make-up and her hair in a sedate bun. Even though Powers often overacts certain reactions and intentions, she makes a good adversary for Bankhead. They square off against each other pretty well. Some decent British supporting actors round out the cast including a menacing and bothersome Vaughn and a barely recognizable Sutherland, quite convincing as a mentally handicapped odd job man. The film is dated in its hair/clothing and some of it's jerky camera work and music, but still manages to be quite creepy and suspenseful. It's Tallulah's show all the way, though. The relish with which she attacks this final screen role is a treasure to witness. Unforgettable.

This effectively creepy little Gothic horror tale is one of Hammer's finest psychological-thrillers, and a valiant attempt to duplicate the success of American thrillers like "WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?" and "HUSH..., HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE" featuring aging, flamboyant female stars in macabre, unusual roles. This film is a showcase for the talents of the great Tallulah Bankhead whose last film this was. She manages to be both amusing and terrifying at the same time. It's a blissful performance, and next to LIFEBOAT it's her finest hour on screen. A very young Stefanie Powers(then age 23) also comes through with a remarkably strong performance as the terrorized daughter-in-law. The movie also features Peter Vaughan as Bankhead's menacing handyman, and in an early role Donald Sutherland as an imbecile who also works at the place. The workman-like script was written by Richard Matheson, from the novel NIGHTMARE by Anne Blaisdell.

Ooh whee, is this thing a doozie. I seen it under the title Die Die My darling, which is a helluva lot more fun than Fanatic. Ole toodle loo Tallulah goes bonkers and torments Stefanie through out the picture, which is all you need to know. Seeing one of the worst thespians in cinema (that would be Miss Powers) being tortured by one of the campiest (that would be Ms. Bankhead) heck, there's your picture right there. Great laughs from beginning to end.

Two ways we enjoy movies are 1) to share the emotional life of characters in a great story, regardless of the performer, and 2) to watch a great performer, regardless of the story. "Die! Die My Darling" [or "Fanatic"] falls into the latter category; here, Tallulah Bankhead is the great performer. Bankhead was, it is popularly believed, in the depths of alcohol abuse when she made this classic melodramatic thriller. Yet, she turns-in a terr(or)ific performance. Alcohol abuse may have helped her to slur some lines in that unique drawl of hers, but the well-experienced actress that she is - underneath the numb - shines thru by having clearly planned ahead to alternate her episodes of sweetness and rage, and performs them with well-crafted notes. It's an absolute tour-de-force: That ET-like bourbon voice of hers croaking out commands to her servants; like a witch shrieking "Liar!" to Stefanie Powers (and slapping her silly!); and looking like a backsliding soul at her most pitiful digging in her closet for a secret stash. And my favorite image: force-feeding a sermon to Stefanie Powers at gunpoint (Bankhead holding the Bible *and* a gun in her hands!). The story that sets all this into motion: Bankhead receives a visit from her dead son's one-time fiance, played by Stefanie Powers. Bankhead, a religious fanatic [thus the other title to this movie], presumes her son's betrothal to Powers means that they *are* husband and wife - FOR ETERNITY! Powers plays along, at first, but reveals little truths that counter the religious Bankhead's plans for her son's eternal peace; Bankhead, then, turns determined to "save" her son's Grace by keeping Powers pure. And so it goes from that, with escalating animosity. Bankhead is great. The production design is great (sets and color), and Yootha Joyce as the housemaid Anna is also terrific. Powers, however, grossly overacts; but, to her credit, she lets Yootha Joyce really lay into her with obviously no stunt-doubles between them. That was fun. Oh, there's also a couple homage to PSYCHO: recall that scene in Psycho when Vera Miles screams and flails an arm to set swinging the overhead lamp upon entering the fruit cellar. There's an instance when Powers screams and does the same with an overhead lamp. At that moment, listen to the soundtrack: it shrieks for a measure or two like Psycho's shower scene shrieking violins. Cool. I'll let you find the second "borrowing" from Psycho; it's not as obvious. For some campy fun, definitely rent this'n. Powers is a snitty over-acter, and she'll annoy you, but you'll feel she gets what she deserves when the Ol' Lady smacks the stuffing out of her. Plus, Bankhead simply saying the line "Milk?!" will make it all worthwhile - and that's just at the beginning...!