Lady in a Cage

 

 

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I love this film... On one hand its quite brilliantly done... on the other hand, its morbidly sick and twisted. It is both a classic thriller, yet campy at the same time too - - ... and although the "angry juvenile deliquent", "slobbering whino", "'50s mother" and "knife wielding latino" stereotypes date it ridiculously, the disonant music and camera shots and music turn a "Donna Reed" house into the ultimate modern world gone mad... Clever "Ed Woodian" type use of stock footage, mixed in with some interesting camera shots and catchy dialogue make this a highly under-rated cult classic... The opening, seemingly disjointed sequences also let you know you're in for something quite different, though by the end they all pull together... though I missed that point the first few times I saw the film. - - Bizarre at times, yet told with the coolness of an Alfred Hitchcock film (or atleast an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents" or "the Twilight Zone") this is one film that can endure endless rewatches.... I LOVE IT !

If you like this film, one other immediately comes to mind : Whatever Happened to Baby Jane ! ! !

When I first saw this movie, I noted the following similarities with a 1962 "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" episode entitled "The Big Score".

1. Portrays a home invasion robbery by teenage gang.
2. Gang kills someone during the robbery.
3. Rafael Campos plays the Latino gang member.
4. There is an airheaded female gang member.
5. White male gang leader's arrogance gets gang in trouble.
6. Gang runs afoul of adult mobsters from fence's store.
7. Campos tries unsuccessfully to escape with girl.
8. Campos is actually smarter than the gang leader and is the
reader and speller of the group.

These elements appear to be found in many stories about juvenile criminality. In the "Hawaii 5-0" episode "Use a Gun, Go to Hell", Richard Dimitri plays a character named Tanami whose bizarre behavior is reminiscent of Campos as the latter stalks Ann Sothern in the driveway.

Walter Grauman directs star Olivia DeHavilland, as a woman who is trapped in her own home, when the power is cut on her electric elevator. She is recovering from a hip injury, and cannot reach out for help beyond screaming, and ringing an alarm hooked up the the elevator. ............. The story is in black and white, and this adds to the mood, like in Alfred Hitchcocks "Psycho". Sure, they could've used color for this 1964 film, but you'll see for yourself why the lack of color, matches the noir and bizarre mood here. ................ DeHavilland is over-dramatic, but superb too, as the "Lady" of the title, her facial expressions are so fitting of her consuming exasperation at the frustrating situation. You can feel the sweat as she swelters in the summer heat, trapped helplessly. DeHavilland also has her son Malcomb, from whom she ponders a letter while trapped. She finds out that sonny boy, whom she idolizes with a devout reverence, hates her. She agonizes over his plea "Release me from your love", leading to the great exclamation "I AM a MONSTER!"Wait, it gets even better. ................. As DeHavilland rings her alarm relentlessly, hoping someone will save her, she attracts the attention of an old pathetic semi-mute wino, wandering around the neighborhood. He comes into the house, ignores DeHavillands' pleas, and steals her wine cellar contents instead. He leaves, and comes back with a shady lady played by Ann Southern, who further ransacks the house. DeHavilland can't believe what's happening. That's just the start. ............... The nerve jangling intensity increases, upon the arrival of three beatnik punks, one geeky weirdo clownish guy, a positively filthy looking girl, and her abusive group leader boyfriend, an early role for a then 26 year old future star, James Caan. When this trio of trouble enters, the real show begins, as they let Southern and the wino know, they're in charge. All sorts of games begin, especially wild, is the psycho-sexual headgames an insidious Caan inflicts upon DeHavilland, as he enters the "cage" and starts in on her son, and the kind of mother he speculates she is. Caan is slimy, sinister and completely lacking in moral compunction, as are his two cohorts. You will watch this with a very uneasy feeling and you will be left with that feeling after viewing this as well. For a movie that was released in 1964, it is even shocking by TODAY'S standards. Way ahead of it's genre in that era, it stands up to the test of time quite well as a high quality, unique suspense thriller. ................. "Lady In A Cage" is a sad social commentary about isolation, cruelty, and dysfunctional sociopaths that is so far ahead of it's time, it must be seen, to be believed. The graphically gory and shocking ending, only adds to the surreal nightmarish feel of what has led up to the culmination of all the gruesome events of a horrid day. This is a definite must for anyone who wants to see a film unlike any other, and a truly shocking one in it's time, and today.

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Past Look At A Scary Future.
Walter Grauman directs star Olivia DeHavilland, as a woman who is trapped in her own home, when the power is cut on her electric elevator. Read more

Published on July 7 2002 by Hillary

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind bending, edge of your seat, COOL movie!!!!!!!!
This is by far one of the best movies I have seen in a while. I first saw this movie on AMC but I never finished it, so I bought it at Amazon,(at a great price), then watched it... Read more

Published on Jun 30 2002 by An eclectic DJ

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Movie
This is a great movie! I write this having just watched this "thriller" on a movie channel. I came online to find some more info about this movie, that until this day I have never... Read more

Published on Jun 5 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh My Gosh,I never thought I would say this!
Well,I don't think you people can't believe I'm only 16,you know that means I don't really appreaciate old classic movies. Read more

Published on Jan 3 2002 by jtav124230

4.0 out of 5 stars Another 30s and 40s actresses proving she's a legend!
This is just a series of movies that were being made in the 60s by actresses. A lot of the actresses of the 30s and 40s were doing more dramatic movies in the 60s provin they were... Read more

Published on Jan 3 2002 by MeMyselfandI

4.0 out of 5 stars Another 30s and 40s actresses proving she's a legend!
This is just a series of movies that were being made in the 60s by actresses. A lot of the actresses of the 30s and 40s were doing more dramatic movies in the 60s provin they were... Read more

Published on Jan 3 2002 by MeMyselfandI

4.0 out of 5 stars Another 30s and 40s actresses proving she's a legend!
This is just a series of movies that were being made in the 60s by actresses. A lot of the actresses of the 30s and 40s were doing more dramatic movies in the 60s provin they were... Read more

Published on Jan 3 2002 by MeMyselfandI

5.0 out of 5 stars THE GOD NAMED "KILOWATT"...
Olivia de Havilland's performance in LADY IN A CAGE, like the film, was one of the truly Oscar-worthy performances of the 1960's which has remained underacknowledged, much less... Read more

Published on Oct 30 2001 by CHUCK WEST

4.0 out of 5 stars I finally found...
I finally found out what the name of this film is- After about 3 years of not knowing the name, and viewing it once, a long time ago on the late night classic movie channel. Read more

Published on July 23 2001 by joe

1.0 out of 5 stars for masochists
Although it can probably be traced back to Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, the 60's saw the advent of the Grand Guignol genre where venerable ladies whose box office potential... Read more

Published on Jun 13 2001 by Peter Shelley

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