Customer Reviews

Caretakers [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

"The Caretakers", has always come in for its fair share of criticism on how it depicts mental illness and it's treatment and I guess most films on this controversial topic receive their fair share of critical scrutiny. Opinions on this effort range from accusations of melodramatic excess through to appreciation of its at times humane viewpoints on patients who suffer from mental illness. Working in the field of mental health myself I was pleasantly surprised after a recent screening of "The Caretakers", at this films handling of this delicate subject matter. While there are elements of Hollywood melodrama for sure the film stood out for me in its vivid illustration of the new forms of mental health treatment that were slowly gaining a following during the 1960's and 70's as illustrated in the "radical", views of Robert Stack's character. Seen as revolutionnary and totally unorthodox in this story they come across to the viewer now as surprisingly quite modern by today's standards in particular in their views on the rights and dignity of mental health patients. The film proved to be a most interesting viewing experience and perfectly illustrated the slow change over occuring from old style forms of treatment as represented by Joan Crawford's head nurse in the story, to the more humane forward thinking methods of today as seen in Robert Stack's characters views on the subject. The clash of the two sets of ideologies makes for some fine dramatic moments as old and new Hollywood also clash in the forms of veteran Joan Crawford and "new", star Robert Stack.

Based on a book by Daniel Telfer the opening moments of "The Caretakers", finds a dazed and disoriented Lorna Melford (Polly Bergen), experiencing a terrifying breakdown that has its tragic conclusion in a movie theatre after which she is taken to a hospital for the mentally ill. The hospital features the usual disturbing features of such an institution however on the staff is Dr. MacLeod (Robert Stack), a new young doctor who has very "advanced", views on the proper treatment of patients involving such features as group therapy sessions which he hopes will supersede the old brutal methods employed in such institutions. Dr. MacLeod however is in conflict with the head nurse of the mental hospital Lucretia Terry (Joan Crawford), who believes in the traditional methods of handling mental patients and still views them as a potential danger to her nurses. While Dr. MacLeod makes plans for the establishment of day clinics for borderline cases where the patients can leave at night, Lucretia trains her nurses in judo as means of self defense. Caught in the middle of this clash of wills is Dr. Harrington (Herbert Marshall), an elderly head of the hospital who although willing to look at Dr. MacLeod's methods is indecisive and very much influenced by Lucretia's viewpoints and powerless to stand in her way. Lucretia is also backed up by her harsh assistant nurse Bracken (Constance Ford), who she is grooming to take over from her in the future. Dr. MacLeod despite opposition continues his group therapy sessions where we are introduced to the patients who include apart from Lorna, Marion (Janis Paige), an aggressive woman of the world, Connie (Sharon Hugeny), a hippy girl who invents a family, an elderly former school teacher Irene (Ellen Corby), and Edna (Barbara Barrie), a woman who doesn't speak and tries to set fires in the ward. Each of their ailments and neurosis are explored in Dr. MacLeod's group therapy sessions and despite progress being made there are always the set backs such as when Lorna is almost raped by some male patients and when Edna sets fire to the women's ward. Lucretia is even more strongly opposed to these methods introduced by Dr. MacLeod. Despite Lucretia trying to get Dr. MacLeod removed from the hospital his more humane efforts do start to win out with new and more progressive views of mental patient care coming in resulting in his dream of a string of day clinics becoming a reality and indicating a more humane future approach to the treatment of mental illness.

For a film produced in 1963 "The Caretakers", in some respects has a refreshingly modern approach to mental illness and its proper treatment in among the Hollywood melodrama. I find the message it is trying to convey a most interesting one and for the most part it makes a sincere effort to display mental illness in all its many faceted forms. The performances here are 100% sincere in their delivery and Polly Bergen as the young mother traumatised by the death of her child in a car accident where she was responsible is in my belief superb. Often accused of going over the top in her manic moments I feel she captures the tormented character perfectly and she is especially riverting in her scene where she is reunited with her husband (Robert Vaughn)where all her old grievances surface with tragic consequences. Robert Stack, despite his at times uninteresting acting style does represent the new frontier of mental illness and his scenes where he clashes with veteran Joan Crawford display some interesting viewpoints on where mental illness treatment was at this time and where it could be possibly going. Stack and Crawford really cut their acting chops in their scenes together and Crawford who was fresh from her triumph in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", in the previous year makes a great impression in the smallish but standout part of hard a snails nurse Lucretia. Equally effective is Constance Ford in the role of Lucretia's tough no nonsense assistant nurse Bracken. The patient's stories are for the most part treated in a sympathetic manner and the real strength of "The Caretakers", is that these women never loose their basic humanity and hope for a better life despite the crisis' they encounter in the hospital. A real stand out among them is Janis Paige as the street wise Marion who hates men and has supposedly seen it all. Her scenes in the group therapy sessions where she alternates between being a "kitten", and then changing into an aggressive tigeress are of great interest. The extremely effective black and white photography courtesy of Lucien Ballard was nominated for an Academy Award and is one of the films strong points where light and shadow takes on a character of its own and illustrates the visual image so well of what life in a mental institution would look like.

While certainly no classic "The Caretakers",has been accused of being melodramatic and dated by any standards which I still feel is a harsh judgement. It certainly is not a film with a subject matter that would suit alot of tastes but it has many interesting viewpoints expressed that have never before appeared in film with thi ssubject matter. It also provides Hollywood legend Joan Crawford with what largely proved to be her last meaty film role which she makes the most of in her sadly rather limited screen time. Mental health treatment has certainly come a long way from the days of "The Caretakers", but the film does at least attempt to show the directions it is headed in where doctors and nurses are as Robert Stack's character declares in the story "the entrusted caretakers of their patient's hope and their futures".

Joan plays Nurse Lucretia Terry in this 1960's shocker. Lucretia Terry is an unsympathetic and careless nurse, working in a mental hospital. I think the film would have been a lot better if Joan's character was developed more. It also lacked some type of substance and there wasn't really a climax. My favorite scene is when Joan is giving the self-defense class. She looks so cute in the black leotard. If you'd like to see Joan in a picture that she made later in her career (her older ones weren't all bad), then I recommend "Straight-Jacket." Nevertheless, even a bad picture (like "Caretakers") is still good if Joan Crawford is in it!

Joan Crawford was the draw for me to be interested in the movie. I also have always liked Constance Ford, who I think is very talented. Certainly, the film depicts the evolution of treatment for mentally institutionalized patients, in contrast to "The Snake Pit" made roughly twenty years prior. Polly Bergen's breakdown in the movie theatre is unforgettable and frightening.

Canterbury State Hospital is scary in and of itself, with the old elevators, and locked wards, and the symbolism--the comittment order with someone stamping in bold lettering "INSANE" all over the document legally confining Polly Bergen.

My only mild criticism (other than wishing Crawford had a more prominent role) was seemingly so much time spent in the "borderline" group therapy sessions, where the film seems to bog down a little and hence become repetitious. A lot of the patients' predicaments are drawn out and protracted, yet only give a cursory glimpse into their lives. I would have liked to have seen more debate or discussion amongst Crawford and Ford, v. Stack and the ambiguous administrator. Nevertheless, it's worth watching and owning!

An enjoyable melodrama with some insight into how those with mental issues were treated. This was Ms Crawford's next movie (completed) after "whatever happened to baby jane" and she is fab as a steely and determined nurse. The movie is worth watching for the judu scence alone

To the moron who tells us how this movie ends I say: nobody is THAT DUMB!!!!

This DVD is ok I did not think that is one of Joan Crawford's better roles.

A bit hokey for present day. It plays like a made-for-tv pilot film through out. The ending scene where staff and patients walk into their new facility is tailor made for continuing the characters in a television series. I'd be real surprised if that was not someone's purpose.