Ladies of Grand Guignol
Hagsploitation, psycho-biddy, or as I like to call it, Ladies of Grand Guignol, refers to 60s films starring aging Hollywood actresses, with a clear progenitor in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Starring Bette Davis, who fully embraced her role, and Joan Crawford, who was more hesitant, the film showcased their infamous off-screen feud and was a massive box office bonanza, and many imitators were to come.
These films revel in their ghoulish charm, and their leading ladies command the screen – even in the genre’s weakest entries.
Links take you to the IMDd. Circled titles: A Point Blank Films fav!
Slasher precursor set in an orphanage with nasty moments, Gloria Grahame looking fine at 48, and Len Lesser, best known for playing Uncle Leo in Seinfeld; somewhere in the middle of the pack.
Dead Ringer (1964) 8/10
Bette Davis murders her twin sister, assumes her identity, and steals the show in this excellent 60s thriller with noirish photography and André Previn score.
A soap opera with bloody axe murders, this is chiefly remembered as Agnes Moorehead’s last feature, and, as always, she delivers the goods (entirely from a wheelchair).
High camp Grand Guignol with stunning San Francisco locales, colourful photography, and lots of pussies; hints of Hitchcock, with an outstanding scene involving an out-of-control wheelchair.
Hollywood Horror House (1970) 6/10
This opens with a wonderful sequence featuring a dilapidated Hollywood sign, before bringing back old pros Miriam Hopkins, Gale Sondergaard and Florence Lake for some gory, hysterical fun. aka Savage Intruder
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) 8/10
Bette Davis plays a southern belle plagued by horrifying family secrets in ghoulish follow-up to Baby Jane – a grand piece of Southern Gothic, with plenty of twists and turns.
I Saw What You Did (1965) 5/10
William Castle’s laboured thriller has annoying teen characters, a tired-looking Joan Crawford, and a man in a shower ripping off Psycho; a pedestrian B movie through and through.
A sociopathic boy returns home after serving a prison term for a gang rape in weird Curtis Harrington psycho thriller that makes Ann Sothern and Ruth Roman do the heavy lifting.
Olivia de Havilland is trapped in a home elevator and terrorized by vicious hoodlums including James Caan in sharply observed and lurid shocker; outstanding, but not a great postcard for LA.
The Mad Room (1969) 6/10
Ghoulish and melodramatic psycho chiller with good performances, let down by a rushed ending.
Patricia Neal stars in fine psychological thriller scripted by Roald Dahl in the vein of Night Must Fall.
Barbara Stanwyck shines as a rich widow tormented by nightmares, while director William Castle – without gimmicks – relies on Robert Bloch to deliver the twists and turns, which mostly pay off.
Night Watch (1973) 7/10
Elizabeth Taylor is recovering from a nervous breakdown when she witnesses a murder in this enjoyable British thriller which takes its time to get going but features a genuine surprise ending.
Picture Mommy Dead (1966) 5/10
One of Bert I. Gordon’s better films, but not one of his more entertaining, this has a clichéd plot and crappy cast including Zsa Zsa Gabor; still watchable in a colourful 60s way.
Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973) 6/10
Bette Davis stars in TV movie about insanity in the family and secrets in the apartment above the garage; it borrows freely from Psycho and Homicidal, creating a passable thriller. See also TV Movies
Strait-Jacket (1964) 6/10
Joan Crawford has the gall to play her character in her 20s in flashback scenes that add camp value to this piece of William Castle hokum with Robert Bloch script; as battle-axe thrillers go, not too bad.
What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969) 7/10
Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon go head-to-head in unofficial sequel to Baby Jane and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, but things were already wearing a bit thin by this point.
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) 10/10
Excellent comeback for Bette Davis and Joan Crawford that also started a trend in hagsploitation horror and holds up well today, with many quotable moments, though it is a little drawn out.
What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971) 7/10
Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters move to Hollywood after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder in uneven Curtis Harrington thriller saved by its performances.
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1972) 7/10
Retelling of Hansel and Gretel starring Shelley Winters who tears into the scenery; well directed by Curtis Harrington, who sets the tone with a ghoulish pre-credits sequence.
You’ll Like My Mother (1972) 7/10
Old fashioned B movie with thin material deftly stretched out and given substance by strong performances including Patty Duke as a pregnant widow, along with snowy Minnesota locales.