Strait-Jacket

"WARNING! 'Strait-Jacket' vividly depicts ax murders!"

1964 1h 33m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 136

ThrillerHorrorDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a twenty-year stay at an asylum for a double murder, a mother returns to her estranged daughter where suspicions arise about her behavior.

“WARNING! 'Strait-Jacket' vividly depicts ax murders!”

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Cast

Joan Crawford
Lucy Harbin
Diane Baker
Carol Harbin
Leif Erickson
Bill Cutler
Howard St. John
Raymond Fields
John Anthony Hayes
Michael Fields
Rochelle Hudson
Emily Cutler
George Kennedy
Leo Krause
Edith Atwater
Mrs. Fields

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William Castle
Writers: Robert Bloch
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Directed by William Castle, shot by Arthur E. Arling. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Van Alexander. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edwin H. Bryant shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Joan Crawford and Diane Baker and Leif Erickson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "WARNING! 'Strait-Jacket' vividly depicts ax murders!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0058620 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Castle directs. Arthur E. Arling behind the camera. Van Alexander scores. Edwin H. Bryant cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

162 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by William Castle, shot by Arthur E. Arling. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Van Alexander. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Edwin H. Bryant shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Joan Crawford and Diane Baker and Leif Erickson carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "WARNING! 'Strait-Jacket' vividly depicts ax murders!".
7IMDB entry: tt0058620 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 9 themes, including "parent child relationship", "asylum", "axe murder", "mother daughter reunion".

The technical file

Cinematography: Arthur E. Arling
Original score: Van Alexander
Editing: Edwin H. Bryant
Production design: Boris Leven
Makeup / hair: Ben Lane
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Strait-Jacket (1964)

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William Castle

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-11-30
★ 7.5/10
Lucy Harbin took an axe, gave her husband 40 whacks….. …..when she saw what she had done, she gave his girlfriend 41. Strait-Jacket is produced and directed by William Castle and written by Robert Bloch. It stars Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, Rochelle Hudson and George Kennedy. Music is by Van Alexander and cinematography by Arthur E. Arling. Lucy Harbin (Crawford) has spent 20 years in a mental asylum for the brutal axe murders of her husband and his mistress. Released back into society, Lucy goes to live at the farm of her brother Bill (Erickson), where Lucy's grown up daughter Carol (Baker) also resides. Pretty soon, though, Lucy is plagued by horrible visions and begins to hear upsetting things, and now it seems that the people she is coming into contact with are being brutally murdered….with an axe. Grand Dame Guignol It seems on odd blend on first glance, Oscar winner Crawford paired up with Castle, maestro of the gimmick led movie, producing a film written by Bloch, author of the novel that would become Hitchcock's Psycho. Yet while it's hardly a true horror picture, the kind to have you gnawing away at your nails, it's unashamedly fun whilst carrying with it a bubbling under the surface sense of dastardly misadventure. Sensibly filming it in moody black and white, Castle, who certainly wasn't the most adventurous of directors, did have a sense for tone and an awareness of what worked for his target audience. Strait-Jacket is a solid murder mystery on the page, and on the screen it's coupled with some flashes of axe wielding terror. Having a woman who is the protagonist-who may be the antagonist-also adds bite to Castle's production, but he, and his film, are indebted to Crawford and her wonderful OTT trip into self parody. Joan Blondell was all set to play Lucy Harbin, but an accident at home meant she was unable to fill the role. Castle got lucky, he needed a star, and with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Reinvigorating Crawford's career two years previously, Crawford was once again a name actress. Bumping into Crawford at a party, Castle sold the pitch to her, even bluffing her that the part was written with her in mind. It was a goer, but Crawford held sway with all the decisions, including script rewrites and choice of staff to work on the picture with her. It paid off, because after what was largely a trouble free shoot , film was a success and Castle had one of the best films of his career. Here Castle had the ultimate gimmick to sell his film, Crawford herself, although he couldn't resist some sort of tie-in so had millions of tiny cardboard axes made up to give to paying punters at the theatre. Sure it's a film that nods towards Psycho and Baby Jane et al, but the denouement here more than holds its own, while there's also a glorious bit of fun to be observed at the end with the Columbia Torch Lady logo suitably tampered with. Those actors around Crawford invariably fall into her shadow, but it's a mostly effective cast and Arling's photography blends seamlessly with the unfolding story. So not outright horror, then, more a psychological drama with some horror elements. But, which ever way you look at it, Crawford's performance is value for money as she files in for a bit of psycho- biddy. 7.5/10

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