Così ridevano (1998)

She's got a few axes to grind...
Hot on the heels of her performance in "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?", Joan Crawford starred as a former axe-wielding psycho in William Castle's STRAIT-JACKET. Crawford always managed to deliver a certified 100% gold performance in every film she ever starred, and this is no exception. STRAIT-JACKET is a lurid--and downright loony--schlock thriller, but Crawford approaches and plays it like she's doing Medea.

Lucy Harbin (Joan Crawford) was sent to the funny farm after butchering her husband and his mistress with an axe twenty years ago. Now she's been released into the care of her adult daughter Carol (Diane Baker). The only trouble is, the axe murders have started again...but this time Lucy isn't the culprit. Robert Bloch ("Psycho") provides the sharply-assembled screenplay, with fine support from Rochelle Hudson and Leif Erickson as Lucy's relations. The film also features early appearances from George Kennedy and Lee Majors.

In lots of ways, STRAIT-JACKET mirrors another movie of the period ("Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte") in which Bette Davis plays a lonely Southern spinster still mourning the axe-slaying of her married lover. Crawford was to have co-starred with Davis in the movie but dropped out, citing pneumonia (though it's believed she didn't want to work with Davis again following the difficult "Baby Jane" shoot), and Olivia de Havilland later replaced her.

Crawford plays STRAIT-JACKET like it's "Mildred Pierce: The Sequel", looking eerily like a drag queen in her broad-shouldered cocktail dress. Diane Baker (who had previously co-starred with Crawford in "The Best of Everything") gives a well-grounded performance as her sculptress daughter. William Castle considered this as his prestige picture; it didn't rely on cheap gimmicks like some of his earlier hits and it's Oscar-winning star would guarantee an audience. STRAIT-JACKET still stands up today largely because of Crawford's fearless performance, and it's still one hell of a good time!

The DVD includes a Making-Of featurette ("Battle-Axe") which has a new interview with Diane Baker, plus trailers and image galleries. (Single-sided, single-layer disc).

Like Valentino, like this!
We can only hope that soon we'll have ALL the footage from these films. Lots of terribly interesting photos and background on Falcon Lair and such.

Joan is Oscar Worthy
Many fans and critics regard "Straight Jacket" as pure camp and melodrama, but it is far more than that. It is actually quite a good film. The script could be a bit stronger, but it is entertaining and interesting. The movie is really the last great film of Crawford's career and if the movie hadn't been a horror film she would have certainly received an Oscar nod. This may have been only a B movie but Crawford gives it her all turning in an A plus performance. Even after filming Crawford believed she gave the greatest performance ever although several years down the road she detested the film. But it's truely a good film. The movie also has TV's "Six Million Dollar Man" Lee Majors in an uncredited role as Crawford's husband who has an affair and is untimately killed by her with an ax. That story is enough to make anyone interested in the movie. The finale is quite fun and exciting and I simply loved Crawford in the role. The DVD is beautifully restored with some great bonus features most notably a documentary on the movie featuring Diane Baker who would later star in "The Silence of the Lambs". A neat tidbit too of the film; I believe the mansion owned by Carol's soon to be in laws is the same mansion in Crawford's "Queen Bee".