Deranged

"Pretty Sally Mae died a very unnatural death...But the worst hasn't happened to her yet!"

1974 1h 23m EN

😐

5.8

MID

★5.8TMDB · 120

CrimeHorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A man living in rural Wisconsin takes care of his bed-ridden mother, who is very domineering and teaches him that all women are evil. After she dies, he misses her, and a year later digs her up and takes her home. He learns about taxidermy and begins robbing graves to get materials to patch her up, and inevitably begins looking for fresher sources of materials. Based loosely on the true story of Ed Gein.

“Pretty Sally Mae died a very unnatural death...But the worst hasn't happened to her yet!”

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Cast

Roberts Blossom
Ezra Cobb
Cosette Lee
Ma Cobb
Leslie Carlson
Tom Sims
Robert Warner
Harlon Kootz
Marcia Diamond
Jenny Kootz
Brian Smeagle
Brad Kootz
Arlene Gillen
Miss Johnson
Robert McHeady
Sheriff

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alan Ormsby
Writers: Alan Ormsby
Languages: English
Countries: Canada

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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

52 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alan Ormsby, shot by Jack McGowan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Roberts Blossom and Cosette Lee and Leslie Carlson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Pretty Sally Mae died a very unnatural death...But the worst hasn't happened to her yet!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alan Ormsby directs. Jack McGowan behind the camera. Carl Zittrer scores. Bob Clark cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Canada. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.2M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
352 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Alan Ormsby, shot by Jack McGowan. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Carl Zittrer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Bob Clark shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Roberts Blossom and Cosette Lee and Leslie Carlson carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Pretty Sally Mae died a very unnatural death...But the worst hasn't happened to her yet!".
9IMDB entry: tt0071408 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "necrophilia", "wisconsin", "dark comedy", "murder".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack McGowan
Original score: Carl Zittrer
Editing: Bob Clark
Costume design: Elizabeth Leroy
Makeup / hair: Jerome Bergson
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $200,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Deranged (1974)

Also by

Alan Ormsby

The Great Masquerade
1974 · ★ 3.6

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-11-13
★ 7/10
Mama? Mama? Deranged is brought to us by Alan Ormsby and Jeff Gillen. It's a telling of the Ed Gein story, the Plainfield Ghoul who in the 1950s shocked small town Americana to its very core. The names have been changed to, protect, well no that's not true, it's a product of its time is why, but this is an Ed Gein film, and it's a troubling and worthy piece of art in equal measure. Certain instances have been spruced up for poetic licence, but the core essence of Gein and his madness exists wholesale. Roberts Blossom plays Gein (as Ezra Cobb), a man so tied to his mama's apron strings that when she leaves the mortal coil he refuses to acknowledge said fact. Cue grave robbing, morbid scenario settings and murder. Operating on a low budget, Gillen and Ormsby do a sterling job of not letting their film come off as cheap exploitation. Tom Savini's effects work is a little crude when viewed now (he would become a legend in his field soon afterwards), but this unfurls in stylish and professional manner. With great acting by Blossoms, nifty camera work, a dark sense of humour and a chilling underplaying of key scenes leading the way, this is a fine entry in the serial killer movie pantheon. 7/10

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