News

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

Published

5 years ago

January 23, 2019

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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Movies

Trailer for ‘The Exorcism’ Has Russell Crowe Possessed

Published

17 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

The latest exorcism movie is about to drop this summer. It’s aptly titled The Exorcism and it stars Academy Award winner turned B-movie savant Russell Crowe. The trailer dropped today and by the looks of it, we are getting a possession movie that takes place on a movie set.

Just like this year’s recent demon-in-media-space film Late Night With the Devil, The Exorcism happens during a production. Although the former takes place on a live network talk show, the latter is on an active sound stage. Hopefully, it won’t be entirely serious and we’ll get some meta chuckles out of it.

The film will open in theaters on June 7, but since Shudder also acquired it, it probably won’t be long after that until it finds a home on the streaming service.

Crowe plays, “Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee (Ryan Simpkins), wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play. The film also stars Sam Worthington, Chloe Bailey, Adam Goldberg and David Hyde Pierce.”

Crowe did see some success in last year’s The Pope’s Exorcist mostly because his character was so over-the-top and infused with such comical hubris it bordered on parody. We will see if that is the route actor-turned-director Joshua John Miller takes with The Exorcism.

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News

Win a Stay at The Lizzie Borden House From Spirit Halloween

Published

18 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Spirit Halloween has declared that this week marks the start of spooky season and to celebrate they are offering fans a chance to stay at the Lizzie Borden House with so many perks Lizzie herself would approve.

The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, MA is claimed to be one of the most haunted houses in America. Of course one lucky winner and up to 12 of their friends will find out if the rumors are true if they win the grand prize: A private stay in the notorious house.

“We are delighted to work with Spirit Halloween to roll out the red carpet and offer the public a chance to win a one-of-a-kind experience at the infamous Lizzie Borden House, which also includes additional haunted experiences and merchandise,” said Lance Zaal, President & Founder of US Ghost Adventures.

Fans can enter to win by following Spirit Halloween‘s Instagram and leaving a comment on the contest post from now through April 28.

The prize also includes:

An exclusive guided house tour, including insider insight around the murder, the trial, and commonly reported hauntings

A late-night ghost tour, complete with professional ghost-hunting gear

A private breakfast in the Borden family dining room

A ghost hunting starter kit with two pieces of Ghost Daddy Ghost Hunting Gear and a lesson for two at US Ghost Adventures Ghost Hunting Course

The ultimate Lizzie Borden gift package, featuring an official hatchet, the Lizzie Borden board game, Lily the Haunted Doll, and America’s Most Haunted Volume II

Winner’s choice of a Ghost Tour experience in Salem or a True Crime experience in Boston for two

“Our Halfway to Halloween celebration provides fans an exhilarating taste of what’s to come this fall and empowers them to start planning for their favorite season as early as they please,” said Steven Silverstein, CEO of Spirit Halloween. “We have cultivated an incredible following of enthusiasts who embody the Halloween lifestyle, and we’re thrilled to bring the fun back to life.”

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Spirit Halloween is also preparing for their retail haunted houses. On Thursday, August 1 their flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. will officially open to start off the season. That event usually draws in hordes of people eager to see what new merch, animatronics, and exclusive IP goods will be trending this year.

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Movies

’28 Years Later’ Trilogy Taking Shape With Serious Star Power

Published

20 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Timothy Rawles

Danny Boyle is revisiting his 28 Days Later universe with three new films. He will direct the first, 28 Years Later, with two more to follow. Deadline is reporting that sources say Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Ralph Fiennes have been cast for the first entry, a sequel to the original. Details are being kept under wraps so we don’t know how or if the first original sequel 28 Weeks Later fits into the project.

**Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes**

Boyle will direct the first movie but it’s unclear which role he will take on in the subsequent films. What is known is Candyman (2021) director Nia DaCosta is scheduled to direct the second film in this trilogy and that the third will be filmed immediately afterward. Whether DaCosta will direct both is still unclear.

Alex Garland is writing the scripts. Garland is having a successful time at the box office right now. He wrote and directed the current action/thriller Civil War which was just knocked out of the theatrical top spot by Radio Silence’s Abigail.

There is no word yet on when, or where, 28 Years Later will start production.