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Horror in Black and White: ‘Strait-Jacket’ (1964)

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Strait-Jacket

Welcome back to another edition of Horror in Black and White! This week, we tackle the absolutely bonkers William Castle classic, Strait-Jacket!

William Castle was a man with a plan, and when he didn’t have a plan, he at least had a gimmick. This was the man, after all, who put electric motors in theater seats for The Tingler to give audience members a jolt–literally–during pivotal scenes and had used “Illusion-O” during 13 Ghosts which gave the audience the power to choose whether they saw the ghosts on screen or not!

Joan might not have been the gimmick in Strait-Jacket but she was certainly used to her full potential by Castle in advertising.

Strait-Jacket boasted the biggest gimmick of them all, however: Joan Crawford.

OK, not really…

Audience members were given fake plastic axes when they entered the theater to see Strait-Jacket, but for my money, Joan Crawford was the biggest gimmick, and boy, was it a doozy.

Strait-Jacket tells the story of Lucy Harbin (Crawford), who comes home one night to find her husband (Lee Majors) in bed with another woman. Enraged and unhinged, she takes up an axe, quietly creeps into the bedroom, and not realizing that her daughter was watching, beheads them both!

Lucy is sent to an asylum for 20 years, and her daughter, Carol, is raised by her aunt and uncle. As the film moves forward in time, Diane Baker, who would later play Senator Ruth Martin in The Silence of the Lambs, is Carol all grown up and ready to marry the man of her dreams, Michael (John Anthony Hayes).

Michael’s family is quite wealthy, but neither Michael nor they, know of Carol’s past. When Lucy arrives, the truth comes out, and slowly their world begins to unravel and the bodies begin to pile up!

The film came just two years after Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Castle, hoping to cash in on Crawford’s appeal to younger audiences who had discovered her through that film and when her movies began to be played again on television.

strait-jacket before
Joan Crawford’s success in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? alongside Bette Davis was what made William Castle pursue her for the role of Lucy Harbin.

Bringing in Crawford didn’t come without its, shall we say, trials and tribulations, however.

The part had originally been written and cast with Joan Blondell (Nightmare Alley). Unfortunately, she had to leave the project after an accident, and Crawford was brought into replace her.

The new Joan agreed to play the role, but also demanded script approval and a major rewrite, changing the ending and the portrayal of her character.

She also fought for and won the product placement of Pepsi on the kitchen counter. For those who didn’t know, Crawford was married to the founder and CEO of the company and hiring Crawford also meant advertising the soda, usually very quietly in the background.

However, in this case of Strait-Jacket it also meant casting Mitchell Cox, the Vice President of Pepsi, as one of Lucy’s former doctors who pays her a visit after she’s left the asylum. This was done, according to rumor, without Castle knowledge.

Many have criticized Crawford over the years, and none so much as her own adopted daughter Christina, but I’m positive there were men making the same demands at the time who were never cast in the same light that she was.

As I noted before, this movie is bonkers, but it does have its moments. Light and shadow are especially used well here, and the black and white spectrum only enhances those oh-so-dark depths.

I especially love those opening scenes when Crawford enters the bedroom and the camera pans to wall where we see her lift the axe in shadow. She brings it down hard, and we see the shadow of her husband’s head fly off the bed from that one mighty blow!

Crawford and Baker have a natural ease with each other on screen, even in moments of tension. The younger woman’s face mirrors the older, and they can both reach those raw, over-the-top melodramatic spaces in their performances.

Joan Strait-Jacket
Joan Crawford and Diane Baker as mother and daughter in Strait-Jacket

Still, no one has presence quite like Crawford on screen. Audience eyes are naturally drawn to her as though by magnets, and for all of her grandness, even in a film like Strait-Jacket there are beautiful moments of stillness where she hardly seems to breathe and we are content to hold our breath with her.

That quietness serves her well in the final moments of the film, which honestly plays like the wrap-up seen of a Perry Mason mystery.

The film opened to mixed reviews with many lauding Crawford’s performance while panning the film overall.

“I am full of admiration for Joan Crawford,” Elaine Rothschild wrote in Films in Review, “for even in drek like this, she gives a performance!”

Still, Castle was the man with a gimmick, and whether you choose the plastic axes or Crawford making live appearances at a few screenings, the plan worked, and it was a box office hit!

You can see Strait-Jacket on a variety of streaming services, and if you haven’t, you really should!

Check out the trailer below!

Related: Horror in Black and White: The Bad Seed (1956)

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The Original ‘Beetlejuice’ Sequel Had an Interesting Location

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beetlejuice in Hawaii Movie

Back in the late ’80s and early ’90s sequels to hit movies weren’t as linear as they are today. It was more like “let’s re-do the situation but in a different location.” Remember Speed 2, or National Lampoon’s European Vacation? Even Aliens, as good as it is, follows a lot of the plot points of the original; people stuck on a ship, an android, a little girl in peril instead of a cat. So it makes sense that one of the most popular supernatural comedies of all time, Beetlejuice would follow the same pattern.

In 1991 Tim Burton was interested in doing a sequel to his 1988 original, it was called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian:

“The Deetz family moves to Hawaii to develop a resort. Construction begins, and it’s quickly discovered that the hotel will be sitting on top of an ancient burial ground. Beetlejuice comes in to save the day.”

Burton liked the script but wanted some re-writes so he asked then-hot screenwriter Daniel Waters who had just got done contributing to Heathers. He passed on the opportunity so producer David Geffen offered it to Troop Beverly Hills scribe Pamela Norris to no avail.

Eventually, Warner Bros. asked Kevin Smith to punch up Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian, he scoffed at the idea, saying, “Didn’t we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?”

Nine years later the sequel was killed. The studio said Winona Ryder was now too old for the part and an entire re-cast needed to happen. But Burton never gave up, there were a lot of directions he wanted to take his characters, including a Disney crossover.

“We talked about lots of different things,” the director said in Entertainment Weekly. “That was early on when we were going, Beetlejuice and the Haunted MansionBeetlejuice Goes West, whatever. Lots of things came up.”

Fast-forward to 2011 when another script was pitched for a sequel. This time the writer of Burton’s Dark Shadows,  Seth Grahame-Smith was hired and he wanted to make sure the story wasn’t a cash-grabbing remake or reboot. Four years later, in 2015, a script was approved with both Ryder and Keaton saying they would return to their respective roles. In 2017 that script was revamped and then eventually shelved in 2019.

During the time the sequel script was being tossed around in Hollywood, in 2016 an artist named Alex Murillo posted what looked like one-sheets for a Beetlejuice sequel. Although they were fabricated and had no affiliation with Warner Bros. people thought they were real.

Perhaps the virality of the artwork sparked interest in a Beetlejuice sequel once again, and finally, it was confirmed in 2022 Beetlejuice 2 had a green light from a script written by Wednesday writers  Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The star of that series Jenna Ortega signed on to the new movie with filming starting in 2023. It was also confirmed that Danny Elfman would return to do the score.

Burton and Keaton agreed that the new film titled Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice wouldn’t rely on CGI or other other forms of technology. They wanted the film to feel “handmade.” The film wrapped in November 2023.

It’s been over three decades to come up with a sequel to Beetlejuice. Hopefully, since they said aloha to Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian there has been enough time and creativity to ensure Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will not only honor the characters, but fans of the original.

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice will open theatrically on September 6.

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Russell Crowe To Star in Another Exorcism Movie & It’s Not a Sequel

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Maybe it’s because The Exorcist just celebrated its 50th-anniversary last year, or maybe it’s because aging Academy Award-winning actors aren’t too proud to take on obscure roles, but Russell Crowe is visiting the Devil once again in yet another possession film. And it’s not related to his last one, The Pope’s Exorcist.

According to Collider, the film titled The Exorcism was originally going to be released under the name The Georgetown Project. Rights for its North American release were once in the hands of Miramax but then went to Vertical Entertainment. It will release on June 7 in theaters then head over to Shudder for subscribers.

Crowe will also star in this year’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter which is set to drop in theaters on August 30.

As for The Exorcism, Collider provides us with what it’s about:

“The film centers around actor Anthony Miller (Crowe), whose troubles come to the forefront as he shoots a supernatural horror movie. His estranged daughter (Ryan Simpkins) has to figure out whether he’s lapsing into his past addictions, or if something even more horrific is occurring. “

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New F-Bomb Laden ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Trailer: Bloody Buddy Movie

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Deadpool & Wolverine might be the buddy movie of the decade. The two heterodox superheroes are back in the latest trailer for the summer blockbuster, this time with more f-bombs than a gangster film.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Movie Trailer

This time the focus is on Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman. The adamantium-infused X-Man is having a bit of a pity party when Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) arrives on the scene who then tries to convince him to team up for selfish reasons. The result is a profanity-filled trailer with a Strange surprise at the end.

Deadpool & Wolverine is one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It comes out on July 26. Here is the latest trailer, and we suggest if you are at work and your space isn’t private, you might want to put in headphones.

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