Della

Della (1964)

*** (out of 4)

Lawyer Barney Stafford (Paul Burke) is trying to close a major land deal but the wealthy Della Chappell (Joan Crawford) refuses to sell some of her property. Della is known as a recluse who has stayed locked up inside her mansion for fifteen-years but when the lawyer goes to see her he meets her daughter Jenny (Diane Baker) and the two quickly fall in love but there's a family secret that's going to come up. DELLA is a film that has pretty much been forgotten for one reason or another. I think the main reason is that Crawford was making all sorts of campy horror films around this period so when fans watch the actress in a movie from this era they just aren't searching out this melodrama. I'm not going to sit here and say this is some sort of masterpiece or anything like that but I actually really enjoyed the film. At an incredibly short 70-minutes, there's no question that the film moves at a very good pace and we're given a terrific cast. Not only is Crawford, Burke and Baker on hand but we also get Charles Bickford, Richard Carlson and Otto Kruger. The performances are good for the most part with Crawford playing the type of eccentric character that she was normally doing during this period of her career. Since this doesn't go into the exploitation field, she's able to stay more laid back without being forced to go over-the-top. I thought both Burke and Baker were good in their parts and it was fun seeing Bickford in his next to last film. Bickford and Crawford get to share one scene together and it was great seeing the two vets working together. The screenplay certainly isn't anything great but it at least keeps you entertained up through the big secret. DELLA is mainly going to appeal to fans of Crawford who want to see what the actress was doing in this period outside the horror films.

The scenic coastal city of "Royal Bay" invites a potentially lucrative deal from land developers. Unfortunately, bachelor attorney Paul Burke (as Bernard "Barney" Stafford) and his city councilman father Charles Bickford (as Hugh Stafford) are unable to proceed. Much of the city is owned by attractively graying Joan Crawford (as Della), who refuses to sell the land in question. The wealthy and reclusive Ms. Crawford has been secluded in her mansion for 15 years, due to an unfortunate incident we will learn about nearer the story's end. Receiving an invitation to visit Crawford, Mr. Burke meets her beautiful daughter Diane Baker (as Jenny Chappell) and the two are mutually attracted. Working out a land development deal grows secondary as Burke becomes more concerned with why Ms. Baker feels imprisoned, on the sprawling estate, by her mysterious mother...

This project began as a "Peyton Place" swipe entitled "Royal Bay" – but it was not picked up by the TV networks. This is not a surprise. The expense of producing a nighttime 1964 serial, in color, with possible appearances by Joan Crawford must have had executives scratching their heads. If she wasn't contacted to regularly appear, the series provides little else of interest. It would have starred Burke and Mr. Bickford, a Hollywood veteran who does get a notable scene with Crawford. Independent of Crawford, they are uninteresting. Other regulars Richard Carlson (as David Stafford) and Robert Sampson (as Joel Stafford) look promising and obviously had story lines, but nothing is revealed about them. In the end, this does not work as a proposed TV series. However, it does work as a Joan Crawford showcase; she would have excelled as a nighttime soap opera matriarch.

***** Royal Bay/ Della (8/8/64) Robert Gist ~ Joan Crawford, Paul Burke, Diane Baker, Charles Bickford

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.

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.