By Lee Pfeiffer

The word of mouth on this 1947 Warner Brothers thriller is that it was a disappointment at best and an outright dog at worst. The powerhouse teaming of superstars Humphrey Bogart and Barbara Stanwyck seemed to promise more than audiences and critics felt the film delivered. Consequently, it's generally put near the bottom rung of achievements in both star's careers. In viewing the Warner Archive DVD release, I had few expectations regarding its merits. However, I came away pleasantly surprised. This is a superior, moody and atmospheric film with both Stanwyck and Bogart at their best. Bogart had long played villains, but this is one of the most complex and fascinating characters he has ever brought to life. The movie is based on a hit stage play and its stage origins are quite apparent: it's quite a claustrophobic affair, with only a single sequence shot outside of the WB back lot. However, because most of the story takes place within the confines of a mansion, the lack of wide open spaces only enhances the atmosphere.

Bogart is cast against type as Geoffrey Carroll, a sophisticated and successful painter who has one weakness: he is an incurable womanizer. The film opens with Carroll and his girlfriend Sally (Barbara Stanwyck) enjoying a romantic trip to the mountains of Scotland. While there, she discovers he is actually married and breaks off the relationship. Shortly thereafter, Carroll's wife dies, leaving him in custody of their precocious young daughter Beatrice (a remarkable performance by Ann Carter). Now a widower, Carroll resumes his relationship with Sally, telling her that his wife was an invalid who died from health problems. The couple marry and enjoy a life of privilege in a manor house in the English countryside. Carroll's career is thriving and things seem to be going well- until another woman, Cecily Latham (Alexis Smith) enters their lives. Sally recognizes instantly that her husband has been smitten and correctly suspects the two are having an affair. Jealousy and heartbreak turn to fear when she also begins to suspect that Geoffrey had murdered his former wife and might be planning to do the same with her. Adding to the complexities is a local chemist who is blackmailing Geoffrey on the basis that he may have sold him the lethal mix that resulted in his first wife's death. 

The Two Mrs. Carrolls has many similarities to Hitchcock's Suspicion including a key plot device involving a potentially fatal glass of milk served to the wife who may have been designated for murder. The film's primary strength is the genuine chemistry between Bogart and Stanwyck, who are terrific together. The suspense builds gradually to a chilling conclusion. Bogart is especially good in this film, which allows him to break some new ground as an outwardly charming, but narcissistic personality who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Alexis Smith smolders as the bad girl who pretends to be Sally's friend so she can enjoy the company of her husband. There is also a very competent cast of supporting actors including the always reliable Nigel Bruce, playing a bumbling doctor in a role that doesn't veer very far from his portrayal of Doctor Watson in the Sherlock Holmes films. Director Peter Godfrey keeps the action flowing at a brisk pace and the movie is enhanced by a typically impressive score by Franz Waxman. 

This writer is one of the few who will defend this film, but my belief is that, while it is certainly not a classic for the ages, it stands up well as consistently good entertainment. By all means, you could do worse than spend a couple of hours with Mr. Bogart and Ms. Stanwyck.

The burn-to-order DVD contains the original trailer.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON 

Amazon is selling the Hitchcock Masterpiece Collection Blu-ray edition at a savings of $200.

The set consists of 15 classic movies:

• Rope, Shadow of a Doubt, Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 version), Vertigo, North By Northwest, Psycho, The Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain, Topaz, Frenzy and Family Plot. 

 Every film is packed with sensational bonus features. 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER AND TO VIEW PROMOTIONAL VIDEO FOR THE SET 

BY DARREN ALLISON

Day of Anger is an enjoyable spaghetti western that top-lines a legend of the genre, Lee Van Cleef, as aging gunfighter Frank Talby. In an attempt to regain his fearsom reputation, Talby shoots and kills a local Sheriff. He then finds he must contend with his own young protégé, a street cleaner Scott Mary (Giuliano Gemma), who happened to be the sheriff's close friend. The climactic showdown finds Talby in a classic face off with his former pupil, with each man knowing the other's every move and thought.

This lively, intelligent western, notable for the chemistry between its charismatic leads, some memorable action set-pieces (including a rifle duel on horseback that has to be seen to be believed) and a jazzy Riz Ortolani score, is presented here in an exclusive high-definition restoration from the original Techniscope negative. Day of Anger remains a superior and much-loved Italian western and was directed Sergio Leone’s original assistant, Tonino Valerii.

Arrow Video’s dual format release comes in both a High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentation. The set also contains two versions of the film, the original Italian theatrical release and the shortened version that was screened internationally. Day of Anger boasts visuals that are both impressive and detailed, especially in close-up shots of Van Cleef’s chiselled facial features. As you would expect from this particular genre of film, colours are bright and vivid with true, tanned skin tones. Director Valerii makes excellent use of the 2.35:1 Techniscope frame, without ever feeling the need to use extreme close ups - unlike his original influence, Sergio Leone. The film has a minimal amount of grain. Audio is presented in the form of a clear, uncompressed mono track, with English or Italian soundtracks on the longer cut and an English soundtrack on the shorter version. There are also newly translated English subtitles for Italian audio track. The film really benefits from the brand new restoration struck from the original 35mm Techniscope camera negative. It is both clean and free of any major defects.

The disc's extras are also enjoyable. They include a deleted scene, which in honesty, is nothing more than an extension of an existing scene. There is a selection of trailers (all in varying quality) which serve their purpose well. Then we get to the really good stuff. There is a brand new interview with screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, who reveals many interesting stories. Gastaldi speaks in his native tongue (enthusiastically) with his responses presented in the form of English subtitles. There is a previously unreleased 2008 interview with director Tonino Valerii – a little less enthusiastic then Gastaldi – but it is interesting nevertheless. The interview which is arguably the most engrossing is that of Tonino Valerii’s biographer Roberto Curti – which is conducted in English. Curti provides a fascinating insight into the director and provides detailed analysis on films, the genre and Sergio Leone –all of which proves very enlightening.

Arrow’s superb packaging again includes a reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Reinhard Kleist and a detailed booklet featuring new writing on the film by Howard Hughes (author of Spaghetti Westerns) and illustrated with original poster designs. Fans of the genre will love it.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM THE ARROW VIDEO WEB SITE (UK-BASED) 

USA CUSTOMERS: CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

CELEBRATE FRANK SINATRA’S 100TH BIRTHDAY WITH

FRANK SINATRA: 5 FILM COLLECTION

MARCH 31 ON DIGITAL HD AND MAY 5 ON BLU-RAYTM FROM WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

First time on Blu-ray and Digital HD for Anchors Aweigh, On the Town And Robin and the 7 Hoods

3. Anchors Aweigh (1945)

4. Till The Clouds Roll By (1946)

5. Kissing Bandit, The (1948)

6. On the Town (1949)

7. Guys and Dolls (1955)

8. Tender Trap, The (1955)

9. The Man with The Golden Arm (1955)

10. High Society (1956)

11. Some Came Running (1958)

12. Never So Few (1959) – first time on Digital HD 13. Ocean's 11 (1960)

14. Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)

15. None But The Brave (1965)

CLICK HERE TO ORDER THE BLU-RAY SET, TO BE RELEASED MAY 5

BY DARREN ALLISON

Nurse Coffy (Pam Grier) grieves over a sister ruined by drugs and takes murderous revenge on the pimps and pushers who victimized her. When her former policeman boyfriend is beaten for refusing to take bribes, Coffy blasts her way up the corruption trail to drug kingpin Arturo Vitroni (Allan Arbus) and the fabulous pimp master King George (Robert DoQui). But her disillusion is complete when she discovers that her classy politician boyfriend Howard Brunswick (Booker Bradshaw) is also part of the syndicate. Considering “Coffy “was made on a shoestring budget, the film still works very well, which is probably down to Jack Hill’s witty, jive talking script and fine direction. The action is great, probably some of the best to ever emerge from the Blaxploitation / Soul Cinema genre.

Arrow’s Blu-ray release boasts a lush transfer with rich colour detail; the film’s opening pin sharp credits appear to almost leave the screen. The film makes its world début on the Blu-ray format - with a fully restored High Definition (1080p) presentation. Daytime scenes in particular look fresh and revived – with my eyes drawn continuously towards the film’s beautiful solid blue skies. Internal scenes such as the sordid night club sequences retain a balanced warmth without ever losing fine detail. Night shots, however, do vary to some degree with some milky greys appearing in place of solid blacks, but this is no doubt due to the production values and original lighting conditions. Actually, it provides a nice little reminder that the viewer is watching a low budget, genuine grindhouse movie. “Coffy”’s near-perfect re-mastering process more often than not leads us to believe we are watching a much larger budgeted production.

The film’s audio is presented in its original uncompressed mono, which is clear and very acceptable. The masterful soundtrack (produced, composed, and arranged) by Roy Ayers is allowed to flow naturally. Free from any forced tweaking, the film unfolds better for it - while also keeping the purists among us completely satisfied.

Pam Grier as Coffy: the cover story for Cinema Retro issue #31.

The disc's extras are also very impressive. Writer-director Jack Hill’s audio commentary is both enthusiastic and informative. Hill doesn't pause for a second, continuously narrating each shot with production stories, background information on cast and crew and an incredibly interesting insight into the whole social scene including racism and feminist issues – it is both a joy and a first-hand education. Other bonus extras include:

• “A Taste of Coffy“– is a brand new interview with Jack Hill, a few stories are repeated from the audio commentary, but there is also a lot of additional material to digest.
• “The Baddest Chick in Town!” – A brand new interview with Pam Grier on Coffy and its follow up, Foxy Brown is a great little featurette and full of fascinating stories.
• The  original theatrical trailer and an image gallery are also included.

There is also a very good video essay, simply titled ‘Blaxploitation!’, presented by author Mikel J. Koven. I thought this would be the weakest link among the extras, but I was pleasantly surprised – it’s actually a joy from start to finish and had me hanging on to every word. The presentation is also packed with stills and lots of beautifully produced film posters that were representative of the genre.

Arrow have provided an informative booklet and produced a very cool, reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx – Overall, it’s all just about perfect.

"COFFY" WILL BE RELEASED ON 6 APRIL. CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

The feature film version of the landmark WWII TV documentary series "Victory at Sea" has been remastered and released by Film Chest. The original  NBC TV series consisted of 26 half-hour episodes that were broadcast between 1952-1953. The show was one of the most acclaimed from the early days of television and was honored with Emmy awards and a Peabody award. Given the abundance of videos and documentaries about WWII that have been released and telecast over the decades, you have to put yourself in the mindset of how revolutionary this show was in 1952. Until then, the men who fought WWII could only see periodic glimpses of the conflict in abbreviated newsreels that were shown prior to the main feature in movie houses. "Victory at Sea" represented the first time most Americans got to see the war in all of its ugliness. With the conflict over, the Pentagon was more liberal about showing the extent of Allied deaths and casualties, something that was initially deemed to be bad for public morale especially in the early days of the war when the tide was certainly against the Western democracies. Imperial Japan controlled huge areas of Asia and only England stood between Hitler's complete domination of Europe. America's entry in the war was unintended due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. While Americans sympathized with the British, the USA was primarily an isolationist country until December 7, 1941. The first six months of the nation's involvement in the war was anything but promising. Seemingly every day brought a major defeat to the Americans and British in the Pacific. With the Battle of Midway in 1942, however, the tide turned with a major defeat of the supposedly invincible Japanese fleet.  Still, government censors continued to restrict images of dead and wounded soldiers, 'lest they serve enemy propaganda purposes. By the time "Victory at Sea" aired, the war was an unpleasant, if recent, memory. Now the truth could be told and shown. Make no mistake, the series was definitely propaganda. The half-hour running time of every episode didn't leave much time for in-depth examination of the war and the giant figures who dominated that era. Nuances were few and there  were scant examinations of questionable military strategies of the Allies.  Still, the show was unique in the sense that it presented the war from the standpoint of the average soldier and sailor, not the top brass. Because of this, the average veteran of the conflict could identify with the remarkable footage that was shown in every episode.

In 1954, a feature film condensation of footage from the episodes was released theatrically. The film is an achievement of impressive editing by Issac Kleinerman, who is also credited as director. Wading through seemingly endless miles of footage, Kleinerman managed to compile a reasonably representative depiction of the conflict. The film does not attempt to be a comprehensive examination of the causes of the war. One should keep in mind that the film was released only a decade after the conflict so no one needed to be schooled in primal reasons the world went to war for the second time in the century. The film includes sobering footage of casualties and heartbreaking scenes of maimed soldiers crying in agony. It remains very moving to view these scenes and realize the sacrifices that were made to save the world from tyranny. Most of the film accentuates the naval aspect of war but there are also scenes depicting the horrors of the concentration camps and the horrendous attempts to conduct warfare in the midst of jungles filled with enemy troops as well as insidious natural dangers. Although Victory At Sea accentuates the American experience, it pays homage to all the Allied troops and takes special pains to honor the sacrifice and courage of the British military and civilian population, both of which showed almost surrealistic courage throughout the ordeal. Some of the footage shown in the documentary is clearly based on re-enactments. There are some shots that are just too incredible to have been shot in real time. Others, such as U.S. sailors lounging around Pearl Harbor right before the attack seem to have been staged for dramatic intensity. Nevertheless, the vast majority of footage is real- and you will emerge from the experience with  much respect for the cameramen who put their lives on the line to shoot it.

Actor Alexander Scourby's masterful narration adds immeasurably from the experience, as does the now classic musical score by Richard Rodgers (yes, that Richard Rodgers.) In fact, Rodgers' score, conducted by Robert Russell Bennett,  proved to be so popular that it resulted in the release of  several "Victory at Sea" soundtrack albums based on the TV series. 

This release of "Victory at Sea" has  plenty of artifacts and splotches on the film but this is due to the age of the raw materials it has been mastered from. Anyone interested in the study of WWII will want to add this to their collection.  

CLICK HERE TO ORDER 

Cinema Retro has received the following press release. We don't generally delve into the world of grunge horror flicks but it is interesting that there is a market that is nostalgic for new releases in the VHS format:

The moment gore hounds have been waiting for is here. You can now visit CultMovieMania.com and snag pre-sale copies of our latest VHS tapes - CANNIBAL FEROX and CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST - two super sickies we've teamed up to release with legendary Grindhouse Releasing.

There is one version of Cannibal Ferox. And, there are 3 different artwork versions for Cannibal Holocaust. Each tape comes with an 11" x 17" poster of the artwork. And frankly, they are going to look awesome on your walls.

All of these tapes are limited edition and expected to go fast. 

Want all of them? Pay less when you purchase all 4 tapes at once here.

The CANNIBAL FEROX tape will include the ultra-nasty, completely uncut feature film along with bonus video of the Cannibal Ferox Hollywood Premiere, an interview with director Umberto Lenzi, and trailers. It will also feature exclusive new artwork painted and designed by horror director Marcus Koch (100 Tears, ROT) and a poster only available with this edition of the movie. 

The CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST tapes will include the uncut feature film in its nauseating entirety, plus the Cannibal Holocaust music video and trailers. The striking new special edition artwork, featuring design by Chamuco ATX and illustration by Vader Paz, will come in three different collectible color variants. Each tape also comes with a matching poster exclusive to this release.

(*Please make sure you select your preferred CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST color variant in the store.) 

Both tapes feature official pan-and-scan transfers from Grindhouse Releasing, to add extra slime to the VHS violence.

These tapes are available in our store for Pre-Sale now. They are expected to start shipping April 20th. 

Get all 4 tapes here now.

Or visit the CultMovieMania.com now to pick your favorite.

Have fun...and thanks!

--

Cult Movie Mania

cultmoviemania.com

facebook.com/cultmoviemania1

@CultMovieMania

BY TIM GREAVES

(The following pertains to the UK Region B release)

Utilising more than a smidge of poetic licence, Countess Dracula is the 1971 Peter Sasdy/Hammer offering that recounts the true-life visceral misdemeanours of Hungarian murderess Countess Erzsébat Bathory. The late Ingrid Pitt, who portrayed the titular harridan, was quite outspoken in her disdain for the results, one of her key grievances being director Sasdy’s overly-restrained approach to blood-letting. Given the subject matter’s potential for sanguinary splatter, one has to concur that it’s a fairly coy production, more romantic costume drama with an insidious undercurrent than your traditional Hammer horror fare. Yet, that said, a cleaving aura of doom coupled with some efficient injections of nastiness prevent the film from being a wholly anaemic affair.

When, in a fit of ire, the ageing Countess Elizabeth (Ingrid Pitt) lashes out at her inept maid, she inadvertently discovers that the virginal girl’s blood harbours properties able to restore her youthful beauty. Slaying the girl and bathing in her blood, Elizabeth deigns to assume the identity of her own daughter, Ilona (Lesley-Anne Down), who has not been seen at the castle since being shipped off to boarding school as a child. But no sooner has Elisabeth met and fallen in love with handsome soldier Imre Toth (Sandor Eles), than she realises that the regenerative effects of the maid’s blood are far from permanent and she is only able to sustain her façade by seeking fresh donors to fend off her true, haggard appearance. Finding a willing accomplice in her faithful companion, Captain Dobi (Nigel Green), the slaying begins.

The shortcomings of Jeremy Paul’s slightly lethargic and excessively talky Countess Dracula script can be all but forgiven due to a magnetic performance by Ingrid Pitt, who overcomes questionable post-synch dubbing to be both sensuously provocative in her younger incarnation and frighteningly sadistic (under the increasingly unpleasant layers of Tom Smith’s crone make-up) in her foul, older guise. If there’s less engaging input from Sandor Eles and Lesley Anne-Down, that too is compensated for by excellent character work from Nigel Green (in his penultimate big screen role) and Maurice Denham as a scholarly elder whose discovery of Elisabeth’s secret pegs him for an early exit.

For more original images from the film, visit www.theblackboxclub.com

In spite of a few failings – not least its outrageously misleading title, which would certainly have had audiences anticipating some fanged action – Countess Dracula is a lush fairy-tale accompanied by a silken Harry Robinson score which in summation, though not perhaps as worthy of frequent revisit as some of the Hammer classics, is estimable enough evidence of their Gothic cinema supremacy.

Countess Dracula is now available in the UK as a Region B Blu-Ray release as a constituent of Network Distributing’s “The British Film” collection. The hi-definiton transfer is pleasing if not perfect, with occasional minor damage and a fair amount of grain in evidence during darker scenes. It is, however, still a marked improvement on Network’s earlier DVD release. The generous supplementary features are carried over from said DVD, specifically comprising a commentary track featuring Ingrid Pitt, Kim Newman and Stephen Jones, a TV interview with Pitt and a news item on a Bray studios open day back in the late 90s, an episode of the 1970 TV show Conceptions of Murder (starring Nigel Green), an episode of the recently deceased Brian Clemens’ excellent TV series Thriller (showcasing yet another fine Pitt performance) and a number of stills galleries.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON UK

NOTE: IN THE U.S, SYNAPSE FILMS HAS RELEASED A VERY IMPRESSIVE BLU-RAY/DVD COMBO PACK OF "COUNTESS DRACULA"

Special features include:

• Commentary track with Ingrid Pitt, Peter Sasdy, screenwriter Jeremy Paul and film historian Jonathan Sothcott.
• Vintage audio interview with Ingrid Pitt
• A featurette about Pitt's life and career
• Stills gallery
• Original trailer.  

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON USA

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Revisit 1939, Hollywood’s Greatest Year, with 4 New Blu-ray™ Debuts

THE GOLDEN YEAR COLLECTION JUNE 9

Features Newly Restored Blu-ray Debut of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Starring Charles Laughton, and Blu-ray Debuts of – Bette Davis’ Dark Victory, Errol Flynn’s Dodge City and Greta Garbo’s Ninotchka. Collection also includes Gone With the Wind.

Burbank, Calif. March 10, 2015 – On June 9, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will celebrate one of the most prolific twelve months in Hollywood’s history with the 6-disc The Golden Year Collection. Leading the five-film set will be the Blu-ray debut of

· Prophet Without Honor – Also on the Ninotchka disc

· Sword Fishing – Vintage 1939 WB Short

· Detouring America – Vintage 1939 WB Cartoon

· Peace on Earth - Vintage 1939 MGM Cartoon

· Trailers

CLICK HERE TO PRE-ORDER FROM AMAZON

By Lee Pfeiffer

In the wake of unexpected critical acclaim for director Richard Lester's A Hard Day's Night in 1964, studios scrambled to emulate the success of that first feature film starring The Beatles. Over a period of a few years, many bands found themselves top-lining major feature films. Most were mindless exploitation films, a few others more ambitious in their goals. Fitting snugly into the latter category was Having a Wild Weekend (released in the UK under the title Catch Us If You Can.)  The film represents the only movie starring the Dave Clark Five, one of the more popular bands to emerge during that marvelous era in the 1960s when Great Britain shed its post WWII doldrums and came to dominate international pop culture. The band was one of many who rode the coattails of The Beatles to the top of the charts, but they had their own unique style of songs and music that resulted in some memorable hit songs that still hold up well today. At one point, the DC5 was so popular that they appeared on The Ed Sulllivan Show more than any other British band. Their feature film debut is impressive only in the sense that it afforded a young documentary maker named John Boorman the opportunity to make his feature film directorial debut. There is scant evidence that Boorman possessed the kind of unique vision that would result in Point Blank only two years later and Deliverance five years after that, but Weekend is different from most teen idol movies of the era both in terms of its visual content as well as its message. The script is also unique in that the DC5 don't appear as themselves, thus its the only film of its kind that doesn't showcase the band members playing music on screen. In fact, they don't even play musicians, but rather, stuntmen who are employed to appear in an expensive nationwide British ad campaign designed to encourage meat eating. This rather uncommercial message is prettied up by having the campaign center on a perky, sexy young blonde named Dinah (Barbara Ferris), who is an omnipresent force in London, appearing on billboards and TV ads to promote the meat industry in a fun way. The DC5 appear with her as window dressing, always in the background of the ads. During the shooting of a particularly frustrating TV commercial taping, Dinah and her boyfriend Steve (Dave Clark) engage in an abrupt act of rebellion by stealing a sports car they drive in the ad and absconding to an island that Dinah hopes to retire to. This sets in motion a massive search by the advertising agency executives that becomes a nationwide obsession. Rumors circulate that Steve has kidnapped Dinah, something that turns out to be an unexpected boon for the ad agency since it results in a great deal of free publicity for "The Meat Girl". Steve and Dinah's directionless meanderings around the island prove to be less joyful than expected. They encounter a colony of hippies but find they are as shallow as the Establishment types they are rebelling against. They also blunder into the middle of military war games in the film's zaniest and least credible sequence. Ultimately the other members of the DC5 join them but even they are being pursued by agents for the advertising agency as well as local police. Steve brings them to a farm run by a boyhood idol who he used to visit as a child only to find he has "sold out" too and is looking to use Dinah as a tourist attraction. Disillusioned, Steve and Dinah ultimately come face to face with their employers and Steve gets a downbeat life lesson on how shallow even Dinah's principals can be.

Having a Wild Weekend is a strangely humorless film with the DC5 songs rather awkwardly interwoven. Even a sequence (filmed in Bath) that depicts a massive, wild costume party doesn't deliver the amusement you might expect. However, it does offer the unique opportunity to see people dressed as Stan Laurel, the Marx Brothers and Frankenstein cavorting in the ancient Roman baths.  Dave Clark has movie star looks and admirable screen presence. He should have pursued a career as an actor. However, the other band members have scant opportunity to present themselves as individuals. This includes lead singer Mike Smith, who sang most of the group's hit songs even though Clark would lip synch to them in live appearances to appear as though he sang them on the recordings. Plot angles appear promisingly but get dropped abruptly including a potentially promising sequence in which Steve and Dinah are invited home by a middle aged couple (excellently played by Robin Bailey and Yootha Joyce) who turn out to be setting them up for some sexual swinging. Director Boorman eschews studio sets for actual locations and this gives the movie a sense of vibrancy it might otherwise have lacked. Manny Wynn's black and white cinematography does justice to the British countryside and he presents the action through some interesting camera angles.

The downbeat storyline won praise from critics at the time because it so deftly avoids emulating the ridiculously cheery productions that were generally aimed at teens. It holds up well as a curiosity and affords some nostalgic insights into a time when the counterculture movement was on the verge of exploding. The DVD presentation by the Warner Archive presents a crisp, clean transfer sans any extras. One hopes that someday, Dave Clark might be asked to participate in a special edition of the movie.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

CLICK HERE TO WATCH ON WARNER ARCHIVE STREAMING SERVICE (SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED)

SECOND TAKE: ALTERNATE OPINIONS ON FILMS PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED BY CINEMA RETRO 

BY TIM GREAVES

William Castle’s Strait-Jacket was a pretty big deal for Joan Crawford. Her biggest successes lay behind her, but she was shrewd enough to understand that even a low-budget horror film was money in the bank and, with the alternative for many actresses of her age (and younger) being protracted unemployment, she put her heart and soul into it. She participated in a pre-production featurette entitled “How to Plan a Murder”, alongside director/producer (and unsurpassed gimmick maestro) William Castle and writer Robert Bloch, jovially discussing the best ways to dispose of someone on screen. And, upon its release in 1964, she toured with the film, making a number of personal appearances that drew crowds in their droves. As to her performance within, if nothing else she should be applauded for having the temerity at the age of almost 60 to play not only a character some 15 years her junior, but (in flashbacks) a character some 35 years her junior; the latter, it has to be said, she monumentally fails to pull off!

In front of her terrified little girl, Lucy Harbin (Crawford) takes an axe to her philandering husband and his lover, after which, despite protestations of her innocence, she is hauled off – in a strait-jacket, no less – to an institution for the criminally insane. Twenty years later she is deigned fit for release and goes to stay on a ranch with her brother (Leif Erickson) and his wife (Rochelle Hudson), and her own daughter (Diane Baker) who has been in their care and is now an adult on the verge of matrimony. But as Lucy struggles to exorcise the demons of her past and attempts to forge a relationship with the daughter whose growing-up she has missed, she begins to have visions of decapitated heads and bloodied axes. Is she losing her mind, or is something far more sinister going on? Suffice to say it isn’t long before the murders begin…

A touch creaky by today’s standards and riddled with some pretty clunky dialogue, it’s nevertheless easy to conceive that Strait-Jacket was fairly shocking stuff back in the day. However, it’s fair to say that it’s still a very watchable little chiller, with a tangible snifter of Psycho running through its veins. Beyond the fact it emerged from the pen of Psycho-scribe Robert Bloch and was shot in crisp black and white (which served to lessen the impact of a number of its sanguinary sins), the premise of an elderly woman with a penchant for hacking up those who cross her prowling about a remote property certainly has a ring of familiarity about it. And, as with Psycho, it’s just possible that not everything is as it first seems. Anyone familiar with the twists in 1964’s Bette Davis starrer Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte (which, it should be noted, Strait-Jacket preceded into theatres by some 11 months) will probably cotton on to what’s going on.

The cast is strong, particularly Diane Baker as Crawford’s daughter and George Kennedy as a bad-toothed ranch-hand-turned-blackmailer (who, despite carrying an axe everywhere, may as well have “red herring” tattooed on his forehead). Watch out, too, in the opening scenes for the uncredited screen debut of Lee Majors in the role of Crawford’s so-to-be-headless hubby. But, make no mistake, this is 100% Crawford’s show, effortlessly traversing personality swings that vacillate between pitiably timid and contrite and vampishly gregarious and carefree. Proof, were it needed, that regardless of the quality of the material at hand, she always gave it her all. (For further compelling evidence on this score, check out 1970’s Trog.)

Where What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, released two years earlier, remains this writer’s favourite Joan Crawford film, for undemanding chills and spills – or simply to see the actress firing on all dramatic thrusters – they don’t come much better than Strait-Jacket. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled to the screen for the closing Columbia Pictures logo, slyly tinkered with by Castle in a wickedly comic wink that none of this stuff should be taken too seriously.

The film is available on disc as part of Sony Pictures’ Choice Collection and comes with a respectable array of supplementary goodies. Along with “Battle Axe” (an entertaining retrospective that runs just shy of 15-minutes and includes an interview with Diane Baker), there’s the vintage promo featurette mentioned at the start of this review, some 1963 Crawford wardrobe test footage, brief axe test footage (conspicuously more gruesome than anything that made it into the finished film) and a TV spot. Regrettably the transfer of the film itself is a little disappointing, the image often resembling that of an old VHS recording desperately in need of a tweak on the tracking; not a deal-breaker, but certainly worth keeping in mind.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER FROM AMAZON

CLICK HERE TO READ LEE PFEIFFER'S ORIGINAL REVIEW OF "STRAIT-JACKET" 

BY LEE PFEIFFER

Although he was regarded as a comedy genius, the sad truth is that Peter Sellers was more often than not misused in big screen comedies. After making it big on British TV  and in feature films in the late 1950s, Sellers became an international sensation with his acclaimed work in big studio feature films such as "Lolita", "Dr. Strangelove", "The World of Henry Orient" and the first entries in the "Pink Panther" series. Through the mid-Sixties, he did impressive work in films like "After the Fox", "The Wrong Box" and "What's New Pussycat?" If the films weren't classics, at least they presented some of Sellers' off-the-wall ability to deliver innovative characters and comedic situations. By the late Sixties, however, his own personal demons began to get the better of him. Sellers was the epitome of the classic clown: laughing on the outside but crying on the inside. His insecurities began to affect his work habits and he became known as moody, temperamental and unreliable. Producer Charles K. Feldman was so fed up with Sellers' behavior on the set of "Casino Royale" that he fired him, even though Sellers had not yet completed pivotal scenes for the movie's climax. After this, Sellers seemed adrift. He found steady work, to be sure, but the quality was sagging. Even when he attempted to do something daring like improvise his role throughout an entire feature film in Blake Edwards' "The Party", the result was a misfire. By the mid-1970s, Sellers was struggling to regain his cinematic mojo and reluctantly agreed to re-team with Blake Edwards to revive "The Pink Panther" franchise. The two men despised each other personally but they knew that there would still be an audience for Sellers' immortal depiction of Inspector Clouseau. They were right. The revived "Panther" films did well at the boxoffice but both Sellers and Edwards got lazier with each successive film until it was clear they were simply going through the motions in search of an easy pay check. Sellers would die young at age 55 in 1980. Fortunately, his career saw at least one last triumph with his Oscar-nominated performance in Hal Ashby's 1979 classic "Being There". The film revived interest in his career and suddenly Sellers was a hot commodity again. Death cheated us from knowing if he would have successfully capitalized on the momentum. Certainly,his last credited starring role in "The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu" should give us pause when considering whether his new found respectability was merely a fluke.

One of Sellers' final films was "The Prisoner of Zenda", a comedy version of the classic 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope. The Sellers version came and went rather quickly and was eclipsed by the acclaim accorded him for "Being There". Universal has released "Zenda" as a burn-to-order title and in viewing the film for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable it is. The movie affords Sellers the opportunity to do what he did best: play multiple roles, as he did so brilliantly in "Dr. Strangelove". The film, set in the Victorian era, opens with the accidental demise of Rudolf IV, king of a fictitious European nation. Sellers plays the bumbling monarch, who perishes in a balloon accident. We next see Sellers as the heir to the throne, Rudolf V. He is a prissy, self-absorbed playboy who is more suited for frequenting London gambling clubs than governing a nation. He gets word that he must return home immediately to be coronated. He reluctantly agrees but evil forces are out to thwart him from taking the throne. Rudolf's younger brother Michael (Jeremy Kemp) is not about to let his bumbling ingrate of a sibling rule the country and devises a method to murder him. The plot goes awry thanks to the intervention of Sydney Frewin, a humble London Hansom cab driver, who saves Rudolf's life. Sydney is, remarkably, almost an exact double for Rudolf.  Knowing that Michael will try another assassination attempt,  Rudolf's loyal bodyguard, General Sapt (Lionel Jeffries), comes up with an audacious plan. He enlists a reluctant Sydney to pose as Rudolf while the real heir to the throne is smuggled without fanfare back to his kingdom-in-waiting. It is only after Sydney is almost assassinated himself that General Sapt comes clean about the plan and his motives. Sydney is persuaded to continue masquerading as the hapless Rudolf but before the coronation can take place, Rudolf is kidnapped by Michael and his confederates and held in a dank cell at remote Zenda prison. When the coronation day arrives, however, Michael is thwarted when Sydney appears in the guise of Rudolf and is crowned king. Realizing that a charade is taking place because the real Rudolf is a prisoner, Michael and his conspirators engage in elaborate and increasingly ambitious plans to kill both Sydney and the real king. 

The film, which was shot in Austria, features some lush landscapes and impressive  costumes and production designs. Director Richard Quine gets a far more inspired performance from Sellers than his frequent collaborator Blake Edwards had been able to get, at least since Sellers'  in "The Party"  a full decade before. Sellers' Sydney is a refreshingly normal man, not prone to being courageous and also not prone to make bumbling errors. In fact, he's downright quick-thinking when trouble arises. Sellers plays him with a Cockney accent and invests in the character some admirable traits. As Rudolf, Sellers reverts to one of his more traditional impersonations. The would-be monarch is very much a boob, as well as a self-centered elitist. As is the norm with a Sellers creation, Rudolf has a notable eccentricity: he suffers from a speech impediment that makes him sound like Elmer Fudd. Yet, Sellers ultimately manages to convey some admirable qualities in him especially in the zany, chase-filled finale in which both characters get to engage in some derring-do. The movie has an impressive supporting cast topped by Sellers' "Shot in the Dark" co-star Elke Sommer. There are deft comedic turns by Lionel Jeffries, Jeremy Kemp, Norman Rossington, Simon Williams and Stuart Wilson.  Gregory Sierra is especially funny as an insulted Count who thinks the new king is carrying on with his wife. His numerous attempts to kill the monarch are the stuff of slapstick but are nonetheless consistently amusing. Sellers' real-life wife Lynne Frederick and Catherine Schell provide additional sex appeal and Sellers' "Pink Panther" co-star Graham Stark also turns up in a bit role. Henry Mancini provides a sweeping and highly enjoyable musical score. 

The film is very funny throughout and Sellers is in top form. Unlike most of the gross-out comedies released today, "The Prisoner of Zenda" has a quaint sweetness about it and it's perfect for family viewing.  It's a truly underrated gem from the latter part of Sellers' career.   

The film is available through the Universal Vault's burn-to-order DVD line.