Shock Treatment

This is a very unusual role for Stuart Whitman, who was more at home as cowboys, western heroes and partners with John Wayne, but here he has for once a very interesting role, as an actor who is paid to act a lunatic at an asylum to investigate murky business there, like hiding a million dollars, which the doctor, Lauren Bacall in one of her best parts ever, suspects one of the patients to have hidden away. That patient is Roddy McDowall, and the best scenes are with him and Stuart Whitman together, one really mad and the other acting mad just to get the right information, which finally the doctor (Bacall) finally succeeds in extorting by her medicines and psychiatric tricks, all three are at their very best in acting, but Lauren Bacall actually takes the prize. I have seldom laughed so heartily as at her grand finale, while this actually is a very serious and moral tale, about the vainglory and futility of money. All three are magnificent, and although there are some really revolting scenes hard to digest, the actor does get the better of the actor (Whitman), while that million dollars finally actually is found, exactly in the very condition which Roddy McDowall all the time has insisted, and yet not in quite the expected form.

Funny that I watched SHOCK CORRIDOR last week and read ONE FLEW OVER A COCKOO NEST again two days ago. I did not foresee this program. The two best stories ever about mental institutions; but I am sure there are some more, unknown, from Eastern Europe countries for instance. Anyway, this film starring Stu Whitman and Lauren Bacall, is very good too. Bacall is excellent in this role of the evil woman, she is effective at one hundred percent, but her character - AND NOT HER PERFORMANCE - is not as powerful as Louise Fletcher's one in Milos Forman's masterpiece. The role of the female master, the Devil's sidekick in charge of the lead actor and the mental institution. Yes, this film, though not being on the same scale of the other two is worth watching, even less depressing and gloomy too. I don't know if it was released in France. Not sure. You can prefer THE SNAKE PIT, from director Anatole Litvak, psychiatric institutions shown from another angle.

Stuart Whitman is seen in a classical acting role and recruited to play a very rough part: He is to be paid for feigning insanity and being committed to psychiatric hospital. The goal is to learn more about a character played by Roddy McDowell, who is confined there.

Whitman is excellent, as is McDowell. The latter develops a bit of an unstated crush on the former. So does Carol Lynley, who has a very small role for the major billing she gets.

The plot revolves around psychiatrist and researcher Lauren Bacall. This character could give Dr. Caligari a run for his money.

It's not hough art but i's exciting and suspenseful. And the acting is excellent all around.

This movie is one of those that's great to watch in the dark with popcorn, on a rainy night, or come to think of it, pretty much anytime. The actors are great, and the mood is very intense. Whitman was early in his career, McDowell does his usual stellar work, and Lauren Bacall gives one of her best performances as someone who belongs in the asylum, not running it. This is a great old flick that deserves a lot more recognition that it gets. If you watch it, and like it, tell others about it so the word can be spread. This deserves to be released on DVD if it hasn't already, and should be mentioned with the other great Hollywood thrillers.

Stuart Whitman is a money-hungry actor who is hired to fake insanity in order to find $1 million in "Shock Treatment." The film also stars Lauren Bacall, Roddy McDowell, Carol Lynley, and Ossie Davis. When asked about this film, Lauren Bacall commented, "You have no idea what Roddy and I went through making that movie." I don't, and frankly, it's a little hard to tell what the problems were from the filming. It seemed pretty straightforward. She plays a doctor who would have found a good home on Josef Mengele's staff. McDowell is a patient in the asylum who killed his wealthy boss and then supposedly burned her money. No one believes that, and Whitman is hired to find out where he hid it.

It turns out, he's not the only one interested, and things become pretty dangerous for him. The movie seems to meander along, and then becomes rather exciting toward the end. It was directed and filmed in an uninteresting way, so it's not as good as it could have been.