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Lady in a Cage

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Walter Grauman directs star Olivia DeHavilland, as a woman who is trapped in her own home, when the power is cut on her electric elevator. She is recovering from a hip injury, and cannot reach out for help beyond screaming, and ringing an alarm hooked up the the elevator.

The story is in black and white, and this adds to the mood, like in Alfred Hitchcocks "Psycho". Sure, they could've used color for this 1964 film, but you'll see for yourself why the lack of color, matches the noir and bizarre mood here.

DeHavilland is over-dramatic, but superb too, as the "Lady" of the title, her facial expressions are so fitting of her consuming exasperation at the frustrating situation. You can feel the sweat as she swelters in the summer heat, trapped helplessly. DeHavilland also has her son Malcomb, from whom she ponders a letter while trapped. She finds out that sonny boy, whom she idolizes with a devout reverence, hates her. She agonizes over his plea "Release me from your love", leading to the great exclamation "I AM a MONSTER!"Wait, it gets even better.

As DeHavilland rings her alarm relentlessly, hoping someone will save her, she attracts the attention of an old pathetic semi-mute wino, wandering around the neighborhood. He comes into the house, ignores DeHavillands' pleas, and steals her wine cellar contents instead. He leaves, and comes back with a shady lady played by Ann Southern, who further ransacks the house. DeHavilland can't believe what's happening. That's just the start.

The nerve jangling intensity increases, upon the arrival of three beatnik punks, one geeky weirdo clownish guy, a positively filthy looking girl, and her abusive group leader boyfriend, an early role for a then 26 year old future star, James Caan. When this trio of trouble enters, the real show begins, as they let Southern and the wino know, they're in charge. All sorts of games begin, especially wild, is the psycho-sexual headgames an insidious Caan inflicts upon DeHavilland, as he enters the "cage" and starts in on her son, and the kind of mother he speculates she is. Caan is slimy, sinister and completely lacking in moral compunction, as are his two cohorts. You will watch this with a very uneasy feeling and you will be left with that feeling after viewing this as well. For a movie that was released in 1964, it is even shocking by TODAY'S standards. Way ahead of it's genre in that era, it stands up to the test of time quite well as a high quality, unique suspense thriller.

"Lady In A Cage" is a sad social commentary about isolation, cruelty, and dysfunctional sociopaths that is so far ahead of it's time, it must be seen, to be believed. The graphically gory and shocking ending, only adds to the surreal nightmarish feel of what has led up to the culmination of all the gruesome events of a horrid day. This is a definite must for anyone who wants to see a film unlike any other, and a truly shocking one in it's time, and today.

An invalid is trapped in her private elevator while a local gang ransacks her house. Unfairly underappreciated psychological thriller was way ahead of its time, but today it serves as a painfully accurate depiction of the senseless violence that exists in our society. Acting, writing, direction, and cinematography all achieve consistently high standards; Hollywood legend Olivia de Havilland is perfection in one of her best latter-day screen roles. Ann Sothern steals just about every scene she's in as an overweight hustler, and James Caan effectively displays the animal magnetism that later helped to make him a star.

Unpleasant yet always fascinating LADY IN A CAGE stars Olivia as a wealthy widow who's trapped in her home elevator while she's being terrorized by various street people and hoodlums. Considered shockingly violent and not very successful upon it's initial release in 1964, this movie has practically cult status among afficianados. James Caan is impressive as a young tough as is Ann Sothern in her role as a fat floozie.

Olivia de Havilland is a pampered poetess with a bad hip trapped in her private elevator during a 4th of July power outage. Her cries for help are answered by 3 brutal killers who torment her like a caged animal. The story is a fascinating character study of a spoiled woman transforming into a savage in ten sweltering hours. It is also an open social commentary on the increasing violence and carelessness of the early sixties. Like "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane," "Lady In A Cage" has a unique story, a fantastic, tortured leading lady, and an ensemble of side villains that meet surprising fates. It's better than you might have heard. Definitely recommended for horror buffs and collectors of early sixties psychological thrillers. END

I remembered seeing this movie on TV when I was a kid...I think it was on one of those late-night horror movie shows. I remembered it as being one of the scariest movies I had ever seen then, and after renting it as an adult, I have to say it still packs a pretty powerful punch. Olivia DeHavilland's over-acting doesn't deter from the film's shock value. For 1964, it was a rather harsh film. Probably the most unsettling part of the movie, though, is the revelation about her son...a situation that never really resolves itself. After several viewings the message becomes clear, and may just force you to realize some harsh truths about yourself as well. The cage was a metaphor for isolation...she kept her son in a cage of sorts, and society had kept Randall and his fellow goons in a different kind of cage...all with tragic and tormenting results! Not a movie for young kids, but a movie with a much, much deeper meaning than I first realized. An underrated and underappreciated masterpiece that demands several viewings. But don't watch it alone!

At least four films deserve to be enshrined in the "camp shocker" hall of fame: "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" (Davis and Crawford), "Die! Die! My Darling" (Tallulah Bankhead), "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (Davis and De Havilland), and the just-released-on-DVD, "Lady in a Cage," with Olivia de Havilland. The cage is a private, in-home elevator. De Havilland is trapped between floors during a power outage, and a number of low-life characters enter her home to steal, terrorize and make our caged lady's life a living hell. The young James Caan is one of the really bad guys, and the wonderful Ann Southern is one of the exploiters who ends up being terrorized by Caan and company. The titles are 60's brilliant and the film score does the suspense proud. De Havilland is over-the-top hammy in many scenes and quite good in others; that's the beauty of these shockers when they have serious performers of a certain age and era doing a little Grand Guignol number. This one runs a tight 94 minutes and the time really flies, which is a tribute to the skill of director Walter Grauman. Here's a wonderful black and white camp shocker that is quite creepy in retrospect. De Havilland, who is around 88 today, is the only surviving female lead of the four films I mentioned above. I would have loved to see Davis, Crawford, Bankhead and De Havilland on Inside the Actor's Studio discussing these masterpieces of the macabre, because they truly don't make actresses or films like these any longer. Give "Lady in a Cage" a try. You'll be glad you did.

The symbolism is rampant in this flick, and the metaphors are carefully painted. Olivia's performance was a revelation to me, as I've never seen her in anything other that Gone With the Wind. She's one hell of an actress. The suspense is without relief throughout the film, but the ending is absolutely superb. There is one 2 second shot of film at the end that is so horrifying, it will stay with you for days!

All the computer generated, over-produced, gratuitous terror of today's horror movies can't compare to this masterpiece. This movie relies on excellent acting, excellent dialogue, an excellent plot, and the "sheer terror" (with apologies to Marlon Brando) of the depths of human depravity to which humans are capable of sinking. Watch this movie, but if you have an elevator in your house, do not use it if you are the only one home!

I love this movie. It's sort of like a whacked-out version of "Panic Room." The DVD presentation looks very good. But come on Paramount, when are you going to start living up to the standards set by Warner Bros.? This film is crying out for a campy commentary, or a featurette, a trailer, something. We are all glad that this is finally available on DVD at a resonable price and that it looks so darn good, but start including Enhanced Content on your DVD releases. Please!!!

We have all heard the phrase "Man's inhumanity to man." It is one of those expressions that causes most of us to stop in our tracks and ponder how cruel people can be to each other. Open any newspaper or listen to any newscast and you are constantly astonished at the lengths to which some individuals will go to injure other people. "Man's inhumanity to man" is also a phrase that neatly sums up the theme of director Walter Grauman's eerie 1964 feature film "Lady In A Cage". Screen veteran Olivia de Havilland stars as Cornelia Hilyard, a wealthy widow who is recuperating from a devastating injury and is still struggling to regain her mobility. Unable to negotiate the stairs Cornelia must rely instead on a recently installed cage-like elevator to transport her between the two floors of her rather plush urban homestead. Cornelia is a conniving and domineering woman who has succeeded in smothering her only son Malcolm (William Swan). We learn that Malcolm is at his wits end and has finally summoned up the courage to request his share of the estate in a note to his mother. He intends to strike out on his own and leave his mothers clutches once and for all when he returns from a business trip. As the film opens, Malcolm asks his mother not to read the note he has written until after he has departed.

Through a rather unfortunate confluence of circumstances Cornelia is suddenly thrust into a disconcerting and potentially dangerous predicament. The power line leading into her house has been damaged and the electricity cut off. Our heroine suddenly finds herself trapped in a tiny elevator that resembles a prison cell roughly nine feet above the ground. To make matters worse it is going to be a hot and humid day in the city. At first Cornelia is not too concerned because she assumes that the power is out in the entire neighborhood and will be restored in short order. But as the hours pass she comes to the frightening realization that this is not the case at all. She is reluctant to use the emergency alarm for fear of making a spectacle of herself but as the temperature continues to climb she finally decides to trigger it. The problem is that no one responds to the alarm. The camera pans the street. We see a group of teenagers passing by in a convertible and workmen going about their daily business. Pedestrians walk by and a steady stream of traffic passes. Yet the alarm continues to clang and no one bothers to respond. Are people deliberately ignoring it or are they just so wrapped up in whatever it is they are doing? No matter. Now Cornelia is becoming increasingly desperate. Finally, she hears footsteps. Someone has come to rescue her! Not so fast. The person who has invaded her home is not there to help her. He is there to take advantage of her rather unfortunate situation. He is a derelict named George L. Brady Jr. (Jeff Corey) and he intends to scoop up as many of his victims valuables as possible. Cornelia is positively petrified. George ignores her impassioned pleas for help. Instead, he grabs a toaster and a couple of other items and makes haste for a nearby hock shop. But George has a big mouth and three punk teens led by one Randall Simpson O'Connor (James Caan) overhear him describing the situation at the Hilyard home. Sensing an opportunity to wreak havoc the teens follow George back to the house. These youngsters are bitter and violent and full of hatred and are seeking to wreak vengeance on someone, anyone. Spotting the terrified Cornelia in her cage they merely snicker at her predicament and threaten to kill her. Cornelia is flabbergasted at the events that are unfolding in her own home in front of her very eyes. "What kind of animals are these?" she wonders aloud. Be prepared to have your own faith in humankind challenged as you watch this film.

"Lady In A Cage" is a splendid psychological drama that features a compelling performance by Olivia de Havilland. Her role in this film would remind you a lot of Jimmy Stewart's character in Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Rear Window". With the camera fixed on her for a substantial portion of the film viewers are afforded a unique opportunity to examine up close and personal her facial expressions and body language as she reacts to what is taking place. We are all eyewitnesses to the full range of her emotions. Meanwhile in what is the first significant role of his motion picture career a very young James Caan is thoroughly convincing as a badass teen who has spent most of his life in state institutions. Devoid of love and people who really care about him Randall Simpson O'Connor is lashing out at everyone and everything around him. It just breaks your heart to see what has become of the lad. Just before the conclusion of the film one of the other teenagers discovers Malcolm's letter and reads it aloud to Cornelia. Confronted with her own egregious sins she suddenly realizes that in many ways she is really no better than the individuals who have invaded her home. I must warn you that "Lady In A Cage" contains several extremely disturbing scenes and can be quite depressing at times. But on balance "Lady In A Cage" is a film well worth seeing and was certainly way ahead of its time when it was first released back in 1964. Highly recommended!