Starring Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, John Anthony Hayes
Directed by William Castle
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After enduring 20 years in an asylum for murdering her husband and his lover with an axe, Lucy Harbin is released and moves in with her daughter, but has difficulty adjusting.
After the success of
Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?, Crawford was cast by Castle in this horrific drama, focusing on a former axe murderess who is continually reminded of her past. Although it's essentially a horror film, there are plenty of melodramatic scenes and opportunities for Joan to emote in Robert Bloch's screenplay, making the film a surprisingly good fit for the actress, who gives a good performance. Baker is cute and offers good support in her role as the daughter who faces reuniting with a woman she hasn't seen in 20 years, and George Kennedy is memorable as the creepy hired hand on their farm, who also knows his way around an axe. Although this is very grim subject matter, the sense of fun associated with Castle's films is still there, and gore for the most part is kept off the screen. However, there's a few shocking moments well rendered by the special effects department. Per IMDB, future television star Lee Majors has an uncredited role as Crawford's doomed husband in the film's prologue.
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