Product Details

• Actors: Robert Stack, Polly Bergen, Diane McBain, Joan Crawford, Janis Paige
• Directors: Hall Bartlett
• Writers: Hall Bartlett, Jerry Paris, Dariel Telfer, Henry F. Greenberg
• Producers: Hall Bartlett, Bill Shiffrin, Jerry Paris
• Format: Black & White, Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 97 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304308604
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,971 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Great Sixties Crawford", April 10, 2010

By 

Terry Richard "Terry Richard" (Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Caretakers (DVD)

Joan Crawford followed up her performance in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" with this project. In actuality, "The Caretakers" was filmed weeks before "Baby Jane" went into production in 1962, and the producers and movie studio thought wisely about releasing "The Caretakers" after the former's release. Coming out in theatres in August, 1963, Joan plays a tough-as-nails head nurse in an insane asylum where she clashes with a reputable and kind psychiatrist, played by Robert Stack. Joan continues her descent playing strong, articulate women, and her character believes the only way to help patients is through padded cells and straight jackets. The psychiatrist wants the patients treated with dignity and respect, and this is where both he and Lucretia (the Crawford character) clashes. The movie is extremely graphic for its time as it dramatizes what goes on in mental wards. The film opens with a woman (played beautifully by Polly Bergen) named Lorna going crazy in a movie theatre, and her ultimate confinement in an insane asylum. Bergen actually steals the film from her co-stars as her performance as a woman bordering on the insane is both brilliant and bone-chilling; her scenes could be used in acting classes. Others in the cast include Susan Oliver as a kind and sensitive new nurse; Constance Ford as Lucretia's second-in-command nurse; Robert Vaughn as the husband of Lorna; and Janis Paige who plays a prostitute harboring a terrible secret. Most have forgotten "The Caretakers", but it is a well-acted and well-written film. The movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography and this marks the first time it has appeared on DVD, after being released on VHS in 1996. "The Caretakers" comes in letterbox format.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed, but with a fabulous cast it is worth a look!, November 29, 2001

By 

Jennifer E. Williams (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Caretakers [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I won't say that "The Caretakers" is the greatest film ever made, but it is certainly not the worst. "The Caretakers" is the story of the struggle between a progressive doctor (Robert Stack), who wants to create a "day hospital" for "borderline" patients, and the old regime headed by Nurse Lucretia (Joan Crawford) and her team of nurses (including the terrific Constance Ford). All of the actresses who portray borderline patients are fabulous. Polly Bergen is Lorna, the woman tormented by the death of her son. Janis Paige plays Marion, the stubborn, hard tempered patient who encourages mischief among the others. Barbara Barrie is the mute patient who nearly burns the clinic down. Particularly good is Sharon Hugueny, who plays Connie, the sweet, lonely girl who, in a particularly poignant scene, pretends to read a letter from her mother, filled with lines about how much her family loves and misses her, only for the letter to be brutally exposed as a fake by Marion. Diane McBain and Susan Oliver are good as borderline nurses. There are many good scenes in "The Caretakers", but the overall film seems campy (the music seems better suited to "Batman" than a film about mental illness) and a bit anti-climactic, but still I recommend watching it to see the great performances given by Crawford, Ford, Paige, Barrie, and Hugueny!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Cast, Great Movie, March 11, 2001

By 

"artsboy" (Brewster, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caretakers [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I was intrigued by this movie long before I ever saw it. I had read many reviews of it (unfortunately, many disparaging ones), which whetted my appetite, and because I am a die-hard Joan Crawford fan, I eventually ordered it. I thought, "How bad can it be?" Well, I'll say this right off. It isn't as bad as everyone seems to think. In fact, it's really quite good. It is true that Joan Crawford's role (as a tough, conservative head nurse at the psychiatric hospital in which the film is set) is small, but her strong presence is still remarkable. Everyone is very good, including leads Robert Stack (as a progressive-minded doctor at odds with Crawford) and Polly Bergen, as the patient through whose eyes the story unfolds. Excellent, also, is Janis Paige as a loud-mouthed nymphomaniac in the ward. The direction is good and the theme (progressive care for mental patients vs. strait-jackets and shock treatments), manages to triumph in the end despite a few admitted cliches in the story. The moody, atmospheric photography and evocative score by Elmer Bernstein do their parts in making this a film worth seeing, especially if you like to watch good acting and have a general interest in psychology, as I do.