Customer Reviews

Strait Jacket [VHS]

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I gave this movie 5 stars for two reasons: William Castle and Joan Crawford. What a combo! And the movie's pretty good too. 20 years ago, Lucy Harbin caught her husband with another woman and chopped them up with an axe. She gets committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. Now, she's released in her daughter's (Diane Baker) care on a farm with other relatives and wouldn't you just know it---someone's at it again, chopping up the extra characters. Poor Joan tries to please her daughter in every way to make up for lost time---but daughter dearest still wants her to look like she did 20 yrs ago---like Sadie Thompson! Well things just get downright messy and there's more murders and screaming and then it all blows open. Someone's crazy alright but it's not our Joan. The extras on this DVD are great. There's a telling interview with Diane Baker and a costume test for Crawford that's hysterical. But wait till you see the "axe test"!..."Strait-Jacket" is a must have for fans. Joan (as Lucy) gets all dolled up like an aging hooker, jangling her bracelets and vamping it up while she wonders if she's going off her rocker again. Her portrayal is strong and she seems to be having a good time. Highly recommended for Crawford fans and William Castle afficianados. Get it and enjoy it.

Joan Crawford plays Lucy Harbin, a woman who has been institutionalized for 20 years, after having hacked her unfaithful husband and his girlfriend to pieces with an axe. She is reunited with her estranged daughter, Carol (played by Diane Baker, who specialized in playing devious females at the time). Carol encourages her mother to dress like she did 20 years earlier,i.e. flower-printed dresses, jingly charm bracelets, and a black, 40s-style wig. Lucy does, and watch out! In what is my favorite scene in the film, Joan, looking like the world's oldest hooker, comes on to her daughter's handsome YOUNG fiance. It is almost obscene to watch this, but try and take your eyes off the screen! Mysterious axe-murders begin to take place. Joan's psychiatrist, (played by Mitchell Cox, Vice-President of Pepsi!)sleazy farmhand Leonard Kraus, played by George Kennedy, and then Carol's future father-in-law, played by Howard St. John. Naturally, we assume it's Joan, right? Wrong! I won't tell who the real murderer is, but I DID drop a clue earlier on. William Castle directed this Robert "Psycho" Bloch- scripted opus, and it is just what you'd expect from Castle-low-budget, full of cheap shocks, and just plain FUN. Miss Crawford is a hoot to watch, especially in her later films, such as this one. The film also has an entertaining cast, which includes Rochelle Hudson, Leif Ericson, and Edith Atwater, as Carol's bitchy future mother-in-law.

This is a stunner. From the opening when we see Joan's Lucy "all woman, and very much aware of the fact" Hardin hacks up her two-timing hubby (Lee Majors!) and his girlfriend, to the very end where we find out who is committing all of those pesky axe murders after Joan gets sprung from the institution, this is a Crawford tour-de-force. She looks as if she crancked her own personal acting switch up to 11, and let 'er rip. She also alternates between wearing a grey wig and a frumpy muu-muu to a tight dress, black wig and about forty pounds of bangle bracelets (How could she have snuck up on anyone who was not in a coma making all that noise?), all of which succeeds in making her look twenty years older than she looks as an old woman!

Wildly inappropriate line readings were a hallmark of Joan's performances in later years- but these are the best. The scene where she tells her prospective son-in-law's parents about her incarceration is a corker- she alternates between mewling terror and screaming demented harpy from moment to moment. And though other reviewers have mentioned it, the scene where she comes on to said son-in-law is jaw dropping; she starts out downing about a milk jug full of bourbon, drags the poor boy over to the sofa and sits him down by shoving him with her hips- while having him in a death-grip- drawling "I wouldn't want my daughter to think I was moving in on her fella" then proceeds to stand across the room from him and give him a pick-up look more appropriate to the leather bar scenes in "Cruising" than to an early 60's B movie. The rest of the cast just sit there, visibly aghast at the spectacle. So will you.

I demand that this movie be released on DVD right this second!

"This is Joan Crawford, I urge you to see my new motion picture Strait-Jacket, from the beginning."

...Lucy Harbin took an axe
She gave her husband 40 whacks
And when she saw what he had done
She gave his girlfriend 41


This movie is so incredibly over-the-top. I love how, in the beginning they just have to say that Lucy is "7 years older than her husband."

"Strait-Jacket " was one of the very first movies that I ever saw with Joan so there's a special place in my heart for it. When I first saw this movie I knew very little about Joan and just assumed that it was one of her movies from her MGM days. And of course it didn't help that the picture on the DVD was one of Joan's Lucy Harbin dressed up with that "Mildred Pierce" looking wig. I also loved that bangle bracelet that Joan wore. Didn't she look like such a sexy mama? It totally reminded me of the way Joan looked as Sadie Thompson. Although, I don't think Lucy had any tricks up her sleeve!

I still love this movie though. Much like the ever-strong and powerful Joan, "Strait-Jacket" has totally withstood the test of time. Yes, it's a ludicrous story that would never have seen the light of day if Joan weren't in it but I can't get enough of it. The story is so dramatic and theatrical, not to mention over-the-top and incredibly foolish.

The tagline for this movie was: HER HUSBAND...HER ROOM... ......AND ANOTHER WOMAN. That really describes the beginning but it also leaves a lot to be desired because this is not a love story, at all. Joan plays Lucy Harbin, an axe murderer, who paid her dues and is now released in the care of her brother. Unfortunately once Lucy gets out murder still seems to follow her! This certainly isn't an Alfred Hitchcock type of suspense (maybe "Murder She Wrote?") But that doesn't matter because all of the performers give strong support to Joan.

Some of Joan's costars include:
Diane Baker (who was also in "Della" and "The Best of Everything" with Joan) played Carol (Lucy's daughter)
Leif Erickson played Bill Cutler (Lucy's brother)
Rochelle Hudson played Emily Cutler (Lucy's sister-in-law)

This black and white movie was released by Columbia on January 19, 1964 and is a total of 89 minutes long. It was actually filmed the prior year and Joan started promoting it from the following spring when she appeared on "I've Got A Secret" with Betsy Palmer (her costar from, "Queen Bee.") I enjoy this movie very much because it's a fine example of a 60's horror movie. There's no blood or violence but that didn't stop the producers from claiming that: Strait-Jacket vividly depicts axe murders! It certainly wasn't done vividly, it looked more like Barbie's head getting popped off.

Joan made "Strait-Jacket" right after her 1963 picture "The Caretakers." She also appeared in a slew of other fine suspense and horror projects throughout the 60s and into the 70s which are pretty good. Joan enjoyed acting in movies and later on television. But I think she also chose this particular genre because she always enjoyed science fiction and the supernatural. In 1972 during one of her final interviews Joan said, "it's interesting how many people have had experiences they're convinced are ESP." If you're interested in some more of Joan's later projects, I recommend both I Saw What You Did and "Dear Joan: We're Going To Scare you to Death."

I found Joan's performance in this movie (like all of her films) to be perfect. Incidentally, many years later, when asked about this movie Joan refused to comment. Only saying, "they were all terrible [referring to all of the movies she made after What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? ], even the few that I thought might be good. I made them because I needed the money or because I was bored or both. I hope they have been exhibited and are never heard from again. If I weren't a Christian Scientist, and I saw Trog advertised on a marquee across the street, I think I'd contemplate suicide."

Joan was a perfectionist who was always a constant professional that never gave anyone anything less than all of herself. Joan must have had a natural ability to act because she is one of the most compelling actresses of the twentieth century, however she received no formal training or education in this field. Joan always knew how to make lemonade out of lemons. There are 2 qualities about her that I really respect. First, she always played such versatile roles, running the gambit of high society to street walker. From westerns to comedy to silents to musicals and horror. But what I also appreciate about Joan is that she knew how to bring an otherwise dead script to life. Let's see Bette Davis do that! Sure, Bette Davis and Greta Garbo are much more respected. But they always got the best scripts and best directors and best of everything else. Poor Joan had to make due with what she had. And I think she did pretty well.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, what are you waiting for? Go out and get the DVD or wait for it to come on TCM. Remember, don't reveal the surprise shock ending. Don't reveal the surprise shock ending. Don't reveal the surprise shock ending...

As a long-time Joan Crawford fan, I used to stay away from the films she made in the 1960s and onward because I tended to think of them as "embarrassments to a brilliant career" (to quote Crawford's daughter Christina in Mommie Dearest). However, I've come to revise my opinion of at least one of those films: Strait-Jacket.

The plot is a simple one. It begins in the 1940s when Joan's character Lucy Harbin (who, we're supposed to assume, is a woman in her 30s at the time) axe-murders her philandering younger husband and his girlfriend. What's really incredible about the opening murder scene is the fact that Joan, who was about 60 at the time, actually plays herself as a younger woman, and a trampy younger woman at that, complete with a cheap floral print dress, jet-black wig and very JANGLY bangle bracelets. Incredible! Only Joan Crawford could've pulled this off and made it believable. And what's more, in this scene and throughout the movie, she really makes you feel sympathy for Lucy, and that proves what a great actress she is. Over and over again, you get the sense that Lucy is more victim than victimizer - she's been knocked around by life and just couldn't take it anymore.

Murder completed, Lucy's then clapped into an insane asylum. After 20 years she is released and goes to live with her brother (played by Leif Ericson), his wife (played by Rochelle Hudson) and her own estranged daughter (played by Diane Baker) on the family farm. And - surprise! Joanie comes home, and people start losing their heads - literally. Whodunnit, might you ask? Is it perhaps Joan who, unable to stand the pressures of the outside world, has started to go off her nut again. Maybe...or maybe not. To quote Rod Serling, therein hangs the tale.

This film is chock full of great stuff. Besides the opening murder scene already described, there are plenty others to wow and amaze you. Such as when Joan's daughter buys her an outfit that's just like the tartwear she used to have 20 years ago: yet another cheap floral print dress, yet another jet-black wig and yet more very JANGLY bangle bracelets. With this get-up on, she looks like nothing so much as an old whore (or in today's politically correct parlance, perhaps the term is..."old sex worker"). But you can't help but love her and feel sorry for her, despite the outfit and pathetic attempts to act young. This is because you know she's suffering, dressing in a way she really doesn't want to dress anymore. She's only doing it in order to please her daughter, who wants to make Joan look the way she remembers her from 20 years ago.

Then of course there's the classic scene when daughter Diane Baker brings her fiance home to meet momma Joan. Joan, who is terribly nervous about making a good impression, gets smashed on bourbon and then proceeds to flirt outrageously with this man who is easily 30 years younger than she. Pure camp, complete with Joan purring in his ear and putting her fingers in his mouth! All this while attired in her ridiculous dress, bracelets and wig. Watching that scene is like watching an auto accident - morbidly fascinating. You don't want to look, yet you can't tear yourself away. And here again, Joan generates sympathy.

These are the biggies. There are of course many other great scenes, such as when Joan tells off her daughter's bitchy mother-in-law-to-be (played by Edith Atwater), confessing that she's spent 20 years in an asylum. She tops it off by screaming, "AND IT WAS HELL! TWENTY YEARS OF PURE HELL!" But then Joanie regains her groove and says with dignity "But I'm not ashamed." Beautiful!

Other gems in this film: Leif Ericson's performance as Joan's sympathetic brother, and George Kennedy as the wonderfully creepy farmhand. And of course, last but not least, is the tour de force performance of Diane Baker as Carol Harbin, Joan's daughter.

So...long story short, buy this. You won't regret it. You'll probably be able to guess about 20 minutes into the movie whether Joan's started killing again or whether someone's trying to frame her, but no matter. Joan gives it her usual 110%, and you won't be disappointed.

I'm blushing, right now...because I saw "Straight-Jacket" when it first hit theaters, circa 1964! I remember being quite enamored with Joan Crawford--whom, my mother said, was a "big star"--and, of course, I'd already seen her ghastly turn in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane." But nothing prepared me for this! From its shocking opening scene (the sound of breaking glass, and then a shot of Crawford tied up on a stretcher screaming "I'm not insane!") to its sitcom-sweet ending, "Strait-Jacket" has to be seen to be truly appreciated. It's your typical story of a small town floozy, straight from the Bette Davis "Beyond the Forest" school of acting. Joan's the said floozy, Lucy Harbin, who happens to be married to young stud, Lee Majors. Well, Lee's been fooling around with another trollop, and as we all know, you just don't do that to Joan Crawford! When Lucy finds out, she grabs an axe (after conveniently stumbling over it) and chops the trollop and filandering husband to bits. This is the only film where people are decapitated so smoothly--their heads literally pop off! Anyway, Lucy gets committed to a mental hospital, is released 20 years later, and her "oh-so-caring" young daughter (Diane Baker, completely unbelievable) takes her in. So what does caring daughter do? She convinces Lucy to wear a black wig, a truly horrid print dress, eyelashes out to there, and jangly bracelets that would weigh down King Kong. Well, this really sets Lucy off. She begins hearing a child chanting "Lucy Harbin took an axe..." and freaks out in the dressing room of a chintzy women's shop. Then, if this wasn't enough, she seduces her daughter's boyfriend (a scene that defies description--read the other reviews!), knits a sweater, gyrates to a sleazy jazz record, and screams, with her eyes brimming tears! I swear, it's Mildred Pierce on speed! Oh, yeah, and there's also another decapitation--this time of the grubby farm hand--and again, his head pops off, nice and neat-like. I find it hard to believe that "Straight-Jacket" did anything to further Joan Crawford's career. In real life, she may have swathed herself in mink and downed gallons of 100 proof vodka, but on screen, she slid slowly into self-parody. It's a shame, really...but just try not to laugh!

Low budget, B-grade slasher flick complete with cheesy special effects, heads-a-rolling, a transparent inplausible plot, and lots of screaming. At the end of Crawford's career she was clearly taking roles that she normally would not have bothered with, so even though many people rated this film highly, I think it's sad to see her in a movie like this, even though her performance is gutsy and interesting to watch. It's also pretty neat to see actors so early in their careers, like Lee Majors and George Kennedy. Best scene in the film: when the shrink from the asylum drops by for a visit and Crawford spontaneously lights a match on the turntable WHILE the record is playing (it reminds me of when Jack Lemmon strikes the match on his teeth in The Great Race). Not many actors could pull that off on camera, and it was perfectly in keeping with the character she was portraying. Sad to see her so deep in B-movie material such as this, especially when you compare it to her other great films like The Women, the 1927 silent movie with Lon Chaney called The Unknown, and Sudden Fear, but her performance here is certainly worth taking a look at, especially fans of Castle and Crawford or just of this movie genre.

This William Castle shocker has the best opening EVER! A scream, shattering glass, and Joan Crawford's contorted face filling the screen followed by the announcement "Lucy Harbin was declared insane today!", before abruptly segueuing into brash Jazz music! I guarantee, you will be blinking, and pressing rewind to relish this moment. The film is a schlocky thriller in which an aging Crawford appears to be responsible for a spate of axe murders following her release from an asylum. She has a great role in this, especially in scenes where she tries to turn back the clock by dressing up as a 1940's tart with jangly bangles and jet-black wig. Most memorable is the scene where she gets drunk and tries to seduce her daughter's fiance, but watch out also for the moment when she laconically strikes a match on an LP record as it is playing...another classic moment. The film belongs entirely to Joan, who chews up the scenery in a way echoed by Faye Dunaway's camp performance (as Joan!) in "Mommie Dearest" There are some great scenes involving axe beheadings, and Joan's nightmares in which severed heads appear to haunt her. It's a shame that too many reviews have revealed the ending...try not to let this put you off, the plot is handled with unbelievable bravado, and the climax is great fun. One of Castles best.

Joan Crawford, alongside with Bette Davis made numerous regrettable horror flicks during the 60's after the phenomenal success of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" Crawford was actually as fascinating on her way to her twilight years as she was during her halycon days at MGM's and Warners.

She was the ultimate star and unemployment for her was never an option. She had a burning desire to work even if it meant she had to turn to horror and suspense, roles which she would never consider during her reign at Warners when she made superlative films such as Mildred Pierce, Possessed and Sudden Fear.

But as she approached her 60's, meaty roles were hard to come by, therefore she just had to accept these roles which many fans and critics dismissed as potboilers and not worthy of her megawatt status as the star. Crawford actually convinced herself these were quality scripts and worthy of her. Why not? She was Joan Crawford, idol of millions, conqueror of men. She wasn't ready yet to relinquish her throne to Elizabeth Taylor or a Marilyn Monroe whom she found unbearable.

As Saint Joan of Crawford, she imbued her acting on these films as though she was acting alongside Clark Gable. Clearly, she was the star of these films and everything had to revolve around her, perhaps thinking that by doing this, she will elevate these horror flicks to something more than it really is. Crawford is not completely wrong.

One of these is Strait-Jacket, written by Bloch who penned "Psycho", directed by William Castle who saw "Baby Jane" fifteen times. Joan Blondell was supposed to play Lucy Harbin till a freak accident required several stitches on her foot. Enter Ms Joan Crawford.

Story is somewhat familiar, wife found husband in bed with a another woman, wife, in a demented delirious moment killed the two using an axe whilst daughter watched in horror, wife locked up in an asylum. After twenty years, wife, now a mother of a twenty three year old daughter released from institution came to live with daughter and brother and sister-in-law, then a series of similar axe murders occur. Is mother the culprit?

Crawford at 60 had to play a role of a young mother in her late twenties in flash back sequences as well as play a mother in her late forties and no one but no one has the courage to do this except Crawford. She is extremely brave to have the age of the characters she were playing altered and reduced dramatically.She's not ready yet to play an old woman! Clearly, she is Queen of Hollywood and Queen of Camp. Her performance is over-baked and over the top that one just has to sit back and enjoy. Strait-jacket is no Mildred Pierce or Possessed nor is it the turkey that many people were expecting.

It is Joan Crawford show all the way from the moment she got off that train in a grand entrance that is so out of sync with the entire theme of the film complete with over-done music. The wig, the frock and those dangling fancy bracelets! Every scene Crawford is in,she chews the scenery and characters are tossed aside for her dramatic moments bathed in diffused lighting. Every Crawfordesque movement, gait, eyebrows and manners are present.

Scene where Crawford was flirting outrageouly with her daughter's fiancee has gone down in Hollywood folklore as one of the campest scenes ever, again out-of-sync with the theme of the movie. Even Pepsi's are seen visibly on one scene (Crawford was married to Alfred Steele, President of Pepsi Cola.)

Film was a hit due in part to Crawford's personal theatre appearances (complete with a 3-foot axe!), seizing her final moment of glory under the sun.

The DVD looks fine and sounds very good, almost surround quality.Interviews with Diane Baker and critics are of interest as well. Watch also the wardrobe testing. It's a hoot!

Watch Strait-jacket on a nice evening on your pyjamas with a nice glass of wine. Don't take the story seriously. Its a different story with Crawford. She acts with an intensity and passion of a woman who is not contented with just one Oscar.

When William Castle (the director of the gimmick classics "The Tingler" and "13 Ghosts") saw Psycho, he liked it so much that he hired the writer (Robert Bloch) to create this gem. Unlike most of Castle's other famous movies, this one doesn't really have a cheesy gimmick, unless you count Joan Crawford decapitating people with an axe as a gimmick. Yes it has definite camp value, but it's a surprisingly well made horror movie that contains many genuinely suspenseful scenes. Joan Crawford's over-the-top performance in this movie is a great example of why she has such a strong cult following today.

The DVD is enhanced for widescreens and the print is in very good condition. Although the audio is only mono, it sounds very good. The DVD also contains a very good documentary on the making of this movie titled "Battle Axe".