Qu'est-il arrivé à tante Alice?

The original ads for this movie read, "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? was more terrifying than what happened to Baby Jane", and to my way of thinking, they weren't far off. The brilliant Geraldine Page heads the cast of this ultra-stylish shocker as Mrs. Marrable, a not-so grieving widow whose husband left her only a stamp album. Unable(and unwilling) to cope with poverty, Mrs. Marrable solves the problem of living up to her station by inviting a succession of women into her home to work as housekeepers, and later murders them for their private incomes. Mrs. Marrable's plan works quite well until she makes the mistake of eliminating Miss Tinsley(Mildred Dunnock) whose suspicious friend, Mrs. Dimmock(the delightful Ruth Gordon), promptly arrives at the Marrable residence to apply for a position as the next housekeeper and potential victim. It's a spine-tingling tale of suspense with some dark humor and unforgettable performances by Page and Gordon. Highly recommended!

Geraldine Page gives a stellar performance as a whacked-out nutzo who delights in making compost out of her housekeepers and then stealing their money. Alas, along comes Ruth Gordon (at her snoopiest, sneakiest best) to investigate her friend's death, and then the gray hair flies. The scene in which these two senior citizens duke it out makes you see that adrenaline still pumps after age 60 (see Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck in the climax of "The Boys from Brazil" if you don't believe me). Ruth Gordon's character reminds me of a sweet yet feisty grandma who wouldn't hesitate to deck you with a right hook if her words didn't get to you. I actually wanted to jump in there and help her kick butt since I liked her character so much. If you like the kind of film that startles you to attention, check this one out. It's very much worth a look.

Geraldine Page and a lively script lift this otherwise b-grade film to the status of cult classic. With her unique voice and mannered style of method acting, Page has never disappointed me in any of her many performances. And in this thriller, Theodore Apstein's clever screenplay gives the inimitable Page ample opportunity to portray a woman who, although inwardly venomous, amuses viewers in a stylized, aristocratic sort of way. In a major support role, feisty Ruth Gordon adds spunk. All of which adds up to 101 minutes of viewing fun, despite a grating, fingernails-on-the-blackboard music score, and dubious production values which, toward the film's end, have a black Lincoln turning yellow, then black, then yellow again, and back to black, in the span of 43 seconds. Charming.

What's a poor widow to do when her husband dies and leaves her penniless? Move to the Arizona desert, start a pine tree garden, and fertilize it with human mulch? Well.wouldn't you?? Geraldine Page has quite the green thumb as Mrs. Claire Marrable--the wicked widow with the pine tree fetish--in the chilling thriller "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?"

Grand dame Bette Davis once quipped: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy night!" Bette, you are so right! If you remember Geraldine Page as the sweet li'l ol' lady from `Trip to Bountiful'.FUGETABOWTIT! Page does a 180 as she transmogrifies from helpless Southern widow to cool, calculating murderess with money and murder on the brain--and a means to achieve both. Page hits the bulls-eye with each scene. All of her nervous ticks are appropriately timed. She is at her best when putting on airs and verbally sparring with unarmed opponents. What a stellar performance! Geraldine, girlfriend, you is flawless!!

Many deliciously diabolical scenes abound, like when pesky canine Chloe threatens to dig up the dirt on her murderous past-time, Page as Marrable barks back: "I have not taken loving and diligent care of my garden to have it wrecked by this vagrant bitch!" Page's character is equally disenchanted with her new next door neighbor, Ms. Vaughn, whom she refers to as "crabgrass, never really quelled, only cropping up secretly and victoriously in another spot". The only one Page can stomach is Ruth Gordon as the inquisitive Aunt Alice--an undercover housekeeper on a mission to get to the root (haha) of all evil and discover the whereabouts of a friend last seen in Page's employ. But when she's tardy serving up cocktails, an impatient Geraldine rips her a new one: `Punctuality is essential to a gracious way of life, which I do not intend to give up on account of you.' Ruth returns fire: `If you wanna live like some Dutchess of Maharati, you better learn how to behave like one!' Geraldine shakes furiously from head to toe after a fiesty Ruth flat-out inquires: "How MANY women have you killed?" Try to suppress a snicker as you watch a pint-sized Ruthie scamper away from Page, who smugly stalks her throughout her secluded desert home to the beat of bongos and a psychotic musical score. Page's wicked laughter is sprinkled spuriously throughout the film to the backdrop of swaying pine trees-how ingenious! Not even Bette Davis cackled with such nefarious mirth as Baby Jane Hudson!

Praise be the master of psycho-shrews on film, Robert Aldrich--who directed the cult smash "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"--for producing this special gem, and a hearty kudos to Lee Katzin for his superlative directing skills. This movie will make you bow down and pray to the Church of Geraldine Page. So what are you waiting for? Rent it tonight.and START PRAYING!!

Not-so-grieving widow Claire Marrable is horrified to hear that her supposedly wealthy husband has apparently left her penniless. But, being a practical (and resourceful) type, she hits on a scheme to keep her in the comfort to which she wishes to become accustomed. Relocating to the Arizona desert, she hires elderly housekeepers with no known relatives (but tidy nest eggs) and sends them to their rewards a bit sooner than they planned. And their remains become mulch for the widow's growing garden as each is buried under a quickly flourishing sapling. This later entry in the "horror hag" sweepstakes features absolutely wonderful performances from Geraldine Page, who has a high old time as the haughty, demented and thoroughly relentless Mrs. Marrable, and Ruth Gordon, as Alice Dimmock, her new housekeeper, who isn't quite what she seems to be. On the sidelines are Rosemary Forsyth, herself a (young) widow with a nephew, Robert Fuller as Miss Gordon's nephew, and Joan Huntington as the scheming wife of Page's nephew. With a cast made up of widows and nephews, how scary can "Aunt Alice" be? Not very. But it's a delicious black comedy which allows Page and Gordon the opportunity to give the performances of their lives. There's also a neat cameo from Mildred Dunnock ("Death Of A Salesman") as the luckless servant who precedes Miss Gordon. One of the best "Grand Guignol" films ever made!