Movie Time!

I dig William Castle.  I've always had respect for the huckster approach in movies and he was the king of that realm.  His movies weren't deep and didn't keep you thinking long after, except about how damn silly they could be.  The ones that had a gimmick as a central part of the presentation lose a lot once they leave the theater.  When the screen goes black in The Tingler it's not the same without a theater full of people screaming because a few seats are vibrating.  Instead it's a silly little film that you can feel is missing something vital. (Castle did go on to produce Rosemary's Baby later, I'm just grateful he let someone else direct!)

I stumbled across a pile of these films on demand from Fear.net on my TV recently and really the only one of note other than Mr. Sardonicus (and that only for the crazy makeup effect) is Strait Jacket.  Once again I found myself giggling and yelling at my TV throughout the show and for me that's something special.

It's pretty obvious to me that Castle saw Psycho and thought, "Hey, that's a movie that's right up my alley and it's a huge success.  Why can't I make a movie like that?"  So he got the same author, got Joan Crawford, and set about answering that question, and believe me every bit of this movie answers that question constantly.

First, you've got Crawford at sixty something playing a woman at forty something trying to be twenty something.  I have to imagine that she is a continuing role model for all drag queens.  The wig, the makeup, yow.  And when she suddenly, out of nowhere, turns cougar and comes on to her daughter's boyfriend it was one of the most yell-worthy moments of many in this treat.

And the head chopping.  Someone really thought that the sound of beheading with an axe sounded like a block of wood hitting the floor.  For the most part the heads are pretty unconvincing but I have to admit that when George Kennedy gets it the movie comes pretty close to being shocking.

Throw in the film debut of Lee Majors (uncredited) at the beginning, the fact that the doctor in the movie is actually the Vice President of Pepsi at the time and a full on non-actor, the placement of the six pack of Pepsi in one scene (Joan's husband was a Pepsi magnate), and the ending that really goes for it when it comes to twists and you've got quite a film.  I mean, it's not very subtle when keeping the killer in question, but the resolution is way out there.  Plus you get another nod to Psycho with an end scene of people standing around talking about what just happened.  End it all with the Columbia Pictures logo with her head at her feet and torch extinguished for one last macabre chuckle and you've got one fun film.

There's a great making of doc on YouTube as well and apparently the final scene was to have been Diane Baker (who is very charming and very cute) breaking down, but Joan wouldn't have it so they added a scene of her breaking down listening to it all from outside.  You gotta love those inside tidbits.

But I have to say that Joan does a great job here, from the early scenes of her freaking out in a strait jacket to when she takes off all the stupid makeup and plays a damaged woman who spent twenty years in an asylum, she was not slacking on this one, in fact I'm not sure if she ever failed to bring it in any performance.

So, to answer Castle's hypothetical question about what makes the difference between a classic like Psycho and a "classic" like Strait Jacket, I would encourage you to check it out and run it around in your own head a bit.  It's good for some serious laughs and some rather loud questions to be asked of the film itself, ideally while you are watching it!