Strait-Jacket

And so with those words begins this wacked out slasher film/murder mystery that shows Joan Crawford lopping off the heads of her husband and his girlfriend while they lie in post-coital repose -- and that's before the opening credits have even started!

"Strait-Jacket" has the look and feel of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and all of those other exploitative films from the 1960s that put once-great declining actresses in campy schlock and let audiences howl at them. But somehow, this movie doesn't feel exploitative. If Joan Crawford had delivered a bad performance, it would have. But she tackles the role with such seriousness and commitment that she single-handedly ends up selling the film to you, and making you genuinely care about her character and what happens to her. Joan Crawford may have been hell to live and work with in her personal life, but it takes an actress with a unique skill to make a film like this not only competent, but almost fascinating.

As for the movie itself, it's laughably predictable. I called the "surprise" ending about fifteen minutes into the film, and then talked myself out of it because I thought it would be too obvious. Well, I should have stuck to my guns, but it didn't much matter -- by the end I was no longer watching the film for the ending -- I was watching it for Joan, which is the only reason (albeit a damn good one) for watching this film at all.

Grade: B

The movie opens with shocking betrayal. Lucy Harbin (Joan Crawford) returns from a journey only to find her husband (Lee Majors) in bed with another woman. She spins into a murderous rampage. With an axe, she evens the score by lopping of the heads of her adulterous husband and his mistress with a big, shiny axe. Her revenge is the fuel for local legend, but the price is twenty years in a mental intuition.

When Crawford is released from custody (fully recovered) the story begins.

The prison bus drops Crawford off at the home of her sweet and innocent daughter, who is very popular and happens to be dating the richest boy in town. She also watched as her mother brutally murdered two people, including her father, but in spite of life's little setbacks, Diane Harbin is perfectly fine.

With such a humdrum cast of characters, it seems strange when headless corpses start showing up all over town. Who could the murderer be?

This movie is one of the five best movies I saw in 2003. It's lots of fun, and Crawford's performance outclasses any I've seen. It is a GREAT movie. It's got LOTS of decapitations, but no gore or fake blood! A modern marvel!

William Castle is best known for fun, gimmicky horror flicks the likes of The House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler; but his resume features some more complex films that can comfortably sit alongside the best B-movies of the sixties, and Straight-Jacket is one such film. Obviously, a film of this nature relies heavily on its lead star; so it's a good job that this one benefits from a great leading performance courtesy of the fabulous Joan Crawford. Crawford isn't as good here as she was two years earlier in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, but she approaches her role with seriousness, and it gives the film a sense of credibility not often associated with this type of film. The plot takes obvious influence from Psycho, and focuses on Lucy Harbin. She was sent to an asylum after she discovered her husband in bed with another woman, and proceeded to axe them both to death. She is released twenty years later, still on the brink of sanity, and is reunited with her daughter Carol (who was present at the murder) and discovers that she is engaged to be married.

The tagline, which states that the film 'vividly depicts axe murders' isn't exactly true, and the film is not very shocking in today's day and age. However, this would obviously have been different back in 1964, and despite no real money shots; Castle gives his film a great macabre atmosphere, and this adequately provides the horror on its own. Crawford gets a great support cast to work with, and again the film transcends its B-movie heritage as they're all extremely good. Diane Baker, Leif Erickson and my personal favourite, George Kennedy, all manage to give stand-out performances behind the leading lady. The film opens up with a great little sequence which shows why the lead character was sent to the asylum, and although the plotting takes a downturn after that; Castle manages to keep things interesting all the way down to the explosive ending. The final plot twist isn't exactly impossible to figure out, but I have to say that it caught me by surprise and while not everything completely makes sense by the end, Castle does a good job of implementing the twist. Overall, Homicidal and Mr Sardonicus still top my list of favourite William Castle films, but Straight-Jacket isn't far behind and comes highly recommended!

..when she saw what she had done, she gave his girlfriend 41.

Strait-Jacket is produced and directed by William Castle and written by Robert Bloch. It stars Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, Rochelle Hudson and George Kennedy. Music is by Van Alexander and cinematography by Arthur E. Arling.

Lucy Harbin (Crawford) has spent 20 years in a mental asylum for the brutal axe murders of her husband and his mistress. Released back into society, Lucy goes to live at the farm of her brother Bill (Erickson), where Lucy's grown up daughter Carol (Baker) also resides. Pretty soon, though, Lucy is plagued by horrible visions and begins to hear upsetting things, and now it seems that the people she is coming into contact with are being brutally murdered….with an axe.

Grand Dame Guignol

It seems on odd blend on first glance, Oscar winner Crawford paired up with Castle, maestro of the gimmick led movie, producing a film written by Bloch, author of the novel that would become Hitchcock's Psycho. Yet while it's hardly a true horror picture, the kind to have you gnawing away at your nails, it's unashamedly fun whilst carrying with it a bubbling under the surface sense of dastardly misadventure. Sensibly filming it in moody black and white, Castle, who certainly wasn't the most adventurous of directors, did have a sense for tone and an awareness of what worked for his target audience. Strait-Jacket is a solid murder mystery on the page, and on the screen it's coupled with some flashes of axe wielding terror. Having a woman who is the protagonist-who may be the antagonist-also adds bite to Castle's production, but he, and his film, are indebted to Crawford and her wonderful OTT trip into self parody.

Joan Blondell was all set to play Lucy Harbin, but an accident at home meant she was unable to fill the role. Castle got lucky, he needed a star, and with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Reinvigorating Crawford's career two years previously, Crawford was once again a name actress. Bumping into Crawford at a party, Castle sold the pitch to her, even bluffing her that the part was written with her in mind. It was a goer, but Crawford held sway with all the decisions, including script rewrites and choice of staff to work on the picture with her. It paid off, because after what was largely a trouble free shoot , film was a success and Castle had one of the best films of his career. Here Castle had the ultimate gimmick to sell his film, Crawford herself, although he couldn't resist some sort of tie-in so had millions of tiny cardboard axes made up to give to paying punters at the theatre.

Sure it's a film that nods towards Psycho and Baby Jane et al, but the denouement here more than holds its own, while there's also a glorious bit of fun to be observed at the end with the Columbia Torch Lady logo suitably tampered with. Those actors around Crawford invariably fall into her shadow, but it's a mostly effective cast and Arling's photography blends seamlessly with the unfolding story.

So not outright horror, then, more a psychological drama with some horror elements. But, which ever way you look at it, Crawford's performance is value for money as she files in for a bit of psycho- biddy. 7.5/10

Strait-Jacket(1964) a film starring Joan Crawford as a woman who comes home to find her husband getting busy with another woman. Joan snaps and kills both her husband and his mistress with an ax all to the watching eyes of her daughter who at the time was only 4 or 5. Fast forward 20 years and Joan's character is considered reformed and sent to stay with her daughter her brother and his wife. The rest of the movie revolves around deaths that occur at the house and if Joan's character is to blame or someone else.

This is a pretty cool flick all around as it has an ax wielding psycho Joan Crawford, Leif (Invasion from Mars) Erickson and George (Breath Assure) Kennedy giving us a very "heady" performance. It also has some sequences for its time that would have probably made the teeny boppers of the era squirm up to their man in the theater.

All in all I think this is one of those films that if your a horror/thriller fan you owe it to yourself to at least check out once as it does what is trying to do effectively even though you can see the end coming before you get there. With the characters all in place and an interesting story I give Joan's Ax Wielding flick: 7/10 good.

Strait-Jacket is out now on Tri-Star DV. Definitely give it a go!!!

Until next time folks here is a tip: If your married and you want to cheat on your wife make sure you leave the ax locked up real tight in the shed cause if you don't you could lose more than your money if she catches you!!!

I'm out!!