Strait-Jacket

Infobox Film
name = Strait-Jacket

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image_size =
caption = Original theatrical poster
director = William Castle
producer = William Castle
writer = Robert Bloch
narrator =
starring = Joan Crawford
Diane Baker
Leif Erickson
Rochelle Hudson
music = Van Alexander
cinematography = Arthur E. Arling
editing = Edwin H. Bryant
distributor = Columbia Pictures
released = flagicon|USA 19 January 1964
runtime = 90 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:47168
imdb_id = 0058620

"Strait-Jacket" (1964) is a Columbia Pictures feature film starring Joan Crawford and Diane Baker in a macabre mother and daughter tale about a series of axe-murders. The screenplay was written by Robert Bloch. The film was directed and produced by William Castle, and co-produced by Dona Holloway. "Strait-Jacket" marks the first big-screen appearance of Lee Majors in the uncredited role of Crawford's husband.

Background notes

After the phenomenal success of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962), Joan Crawford and other actresses, including Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck, made numerous horror movies throughout the 1960s. "Strait-Jacket" is one of the more notable examples of the genre sometimes referred to as psycho-biddy or Grande Dame Guignol. When the film opened, moviegoers were given little cardboard axes.

Plot and cast

After a twenty year stint in a psychiatric hospital for the decapitation axe-murder of her philandering husband (Majors), just released Lucy Harbin (Crawford) takes up residence at the farm of her brother Bill Cutler (Leif Erickson) and sister-in-law Emily (Rochelle Hudson). Lucy's adult daughter Carol (Diane Baker) lives on the Cutler farm and is seemingly unaffected by the grisly murders she witnessed many years in the pastas a child of three. Carol encourages her mother to dress and act the way she did in the past. Lucy begins playing the vamp and makes passes at her daughter's fiance Michael Fields (John Anthony Hayes) and then shocks his parents (Howard St. John and Edith Atwater) with a tantrum when they consider their son's marriage to Carol out of the question. A series of axe-murders begins with the hired man (George Kennedy) being a victim as well as Lucy's doctor (Mitchell Cox) who is found in a freezer. All signs point to Lucy as the murderer and some believe she should be returned to the hospital. However, Carol is the murderer, having become a pathological psychotic after the terrible events in her childhood. Cast includes Lee Yeary, Patricia Krest, Vachel Cos, Patty Lee, Laura Hess, Robert Ward, and Lyn Lundgren.

Production notes

Crawford replaced Joan Blondell in the role of Lucy Harbin after Blondell was injured at home prior to shooting and could not fulfill her commitment. Crawford's negotiations included script and cast approval, a $50,000 salary, and 15 percent of the profits.
Anne Helm, who was originally cast in the role as Carol, was replaced by Diane Baker, reportedly at Crawford's insistence. Baker and Crawford had appeared together in the film "The Best of Everything" (1959). Despite Baker's assertion (on the featurette accompanying the DVD for "Strait-Jacket") that she replaced Anne Helm in the role of Carol Harbin due to Helm's alleged inexperience and incompetence, Anne Helm was, in actuality, a more seasoned actress than Baker at that time.

The role of the Lucy's doctor was played by vice-president of PepsiCo, Mitchell Cox, as Crawford was on the Board of Directors of the soft drink firm. Pepsi-Cola product placements include a scene in the kitchen with a carton of the soft drink displayed prominently on a counter.

A variant of the Columbia Pictures logo appears at the end of the film, showing a decapitated Torch Lady, her severed head resting at her feet. Her torch does not shine.

Reception

"Variety" noted, "Miss Crawford does well by her role, delivering an animated performance." Judith Crist commented in the "New York Herald Tribune", "...it's time to get Joan Crawford out of those housedress horror B movies and back into haute couture...this madness-and-murder tale...might have been a thriller, given Class A treatment" and Elaine Rothschild in "Films in Review" wrote, "...I am full of admiration for Joan Crawford, for even in drek like this she gives a performance." [Quirk, Lawrence J.. "The Films of Joan Crawford". The Citadel Press, 1968.]

ee also

*Joan Crawford filmography

References

Navbox
name = Joan Crawford
title = The 1940-1970 Films of Miss Joan Crawford
group1 = 1940-1949
list1 = nowrap| "Strange Cargo" (1940) • nowrap| "Susan and God" (1940) • nowrap| "A Woman's Face" (1941) • nowrap| "When Ladies Meet" (1941) • nowrap| "They All Kissed the Bride" (1942) • nowrap| "Reunion in France" (1942) • nowrap| "Above Suspicion" (1943) • nowrap| "Hollywood Canteen" (1944) • nowrap| "Mildred Pierce" (1945) • nowrap| "Humoresque" (1946) • nowrap| "Possessed" (1947) • nowrap| "Daisy Kenyon" (1947) • nowrap| "Flamingo Road" (1949) • nowrap| "It's a Great Feeling" (1949)
name = Joan Crawford
title = The 1940-1970 Films of Miss Joan Crawford
group2 = 1950-1959
list2 = nowrap| "The Damned Don't Cry!" (1950) • nowrap| "Harriet Craig" (1950) • nowrap| "Goodbye, My Fancy" (1951) • nowrap| "This Woman is Dangerous" (1952) • nowrap| "Sudden Fear" (1952) • nowrap| "Torch Song" (1953) • nowrap| "Johnny Guitar" (1954) • nowrap| "Female on the Beach" (1955) • nowrap| "Queen Bee" (1955) • nowrap| "Autumn Leaves" (1956) • nowrap| "The Story of Esther Costello" (1957) • nowrap| "The Best of Everything" (1959)
name = Joan Crawford
title = The 1940-1970 Films of Miss Joan Crawford
group3 = 1960-1969
list3 = nowrap| "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) • nowrap| "The Caretakers" (1963) • nowrap| "Strait-Jacket" (1964) • nowrap| "I Saw What You Did" (1965) • nowrap| "Berserk!" (1967)
group4 = 1970
list4 = nowrap| "Trog" (1970)