- Actors: Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, John Anthony Hayes
- Directors: William Castle
- Writers: Robert Bloch
- Producers: William Castle, Dona Holloway
- Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
- Region: (US and Canada This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other countries. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
- Release Date: Mar 12 2002
- Run Time: 93 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00005V4XD
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#2,056 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #1 in DVD > Horror > Horror Masters > William Castle
- #1 in DVD > Cult Movies > Cult Directors > William Castle
- #5 in DVD > Classics > Horror
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Product Description
From Amazon.com
Poor Joan Crawford just can't get a break. She hacks her husband to pieces and is sent away to a mental hospital; then after she comes back and tries to adjust to a normal life, there's more ax-swinging and more noggins rolling. Her pretty sculptress daughter (Diane Baker) just wants Mom to return to society and a happy, well-adjusted life... or does she? The plot is a little trite and predictable, the direction a bit staid, but it's all Joan's show anyway. Obviously director William Castle told her to play up her character's insanity, and Crawford turns the knob on the acting meter up to 10, then breaks it off and throws it away. She spectacularly mugs her way through the whole film, abruptly changing from severe schoolmarm to trampy vamp and back again several times. The scene where Mom meets her daughter's fiancée for the first time is particularly memorable; Mom guzzles half an iced-tea glass full of bourbon, then crawls all over the boyfriend while the viewer squirms uncomfortably. Back in '64, lucky moviegoers were given little cardboard axes when this feature made its run in the theaters. Sadly, the cardboard axes are long gone, but this is still highly recommended for fans of Crawford, Castle, and high-powered thespianism in general. --Jerry Renshaw
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Joan Crawford as Norman Bates,
By
This review is from: Strait Jacket (DVD)
When William Castle (the director of the gimmick classics "The Tingler" and "13 Ghosts") saw Psycho, he liked it so much that he hired the writer (Robert Bloch) to create this gem. Unlike most of Castle's other famous movies, this one doesn't really have a cheesy gimmick, unless you count Joan Crawford decapitating people with an axe as a gimmick. Yes it has definite camp value, but it's a surprisingly well made horror movie that contains many genuinely suspenseful scenes. Joan Crawford's over-the-top performance in this movie is a great example of why she has such a strong cult following today.The DVD is enhanced for widescreens and the print is in very good condition. Although the audio is only mono, it sounds very good. The DVD also contains a very good documentary on the making of this movie titled "Battle Axe".
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mommy Dearest Loses her head, and so does everyone else!,
By
This review is from: Strait Jacket (DVD)
This was Joan Crawford's big comeback film and she puts her all into this Camp Classic! If she doesn't get her way heads will roll. Written by Psycho creator Robert Bloch and directed by William Castle, Crawford gives an Academy Award performance in this B horror film. Her daughter played by Diane Baker takes her in after Lucy Harbin (Crawford) gets out of a mental ward after having chopped off the 6,000,000 dollar man's head (Lee Majors).When her doctor (played by a non-actor Pepsi executive) comes to take her back to the asylum axes and heads again meet each other. We even get some good scenes with a young and non-fat George Kennedy as a lowlife who does his own take on Marie Antoinette. The DVD version has some classic head-chopping outtakes as well as a "making of Straitjacket" short. This was 1963 and though the plot and especially the "twist" ending is ridiculous its got some good surrealism that proved a harbinger of better films later in the decade. If you want to see one of the most hilarious Camp Classics this is the one. If you want to see Crawford in a great performance in a less than great role here it is.
4.0 out of 5 stars
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER,
By
This review is from: Strait Jacket (DVD)
In watching this movie for the first time in almost 40 years, I found myself wondering why I liked it the first time around and again in re-watching. Joan Crawford was undoubtedly a "star" in the truest sense of the word; in the special features, William Castle and Diane Baker both confirm the many demands and conditions Ms. Crawford placed on the film. Her performance is definitely camp, but watching her play someone yearning for her youth, it hit home how Crawford's real life was shaping into the fall of a movie goddess.But in the film, notice the strength Crawford and Baker give in their reunion. Without a word, the two actresses strongly display the range of emotions they are both feeling. Diane Baker, who unlike one reviewer mentioned, had to this point played the innocent young ingenue, e.g. Best of Everything, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and in this one, she capitalizes on this innocence, so that when the venom comes, it's quite a transition. Seeing a young Lee Majors in his pre Big Valley days just reminds me how much time has elapsed! Castle's films were gawdy, manipulative, but above all, they were entertaining. Joan Crawford and Diane Baker are to be commended for rising above the inevitable and making this a classic camp film.
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