Have appreciated horror/thriller for a long time now and the idea sounded intriguing. When Joan Crawford was at her best, she was brilliant and was one of the best actresses of her time in my view. William Castle was known for making low budget films quickly, but actually that didn't mean he couldn't direct ('House on Haunted Hill' proves that). Expectations though were mixed, with it being a failure on release, opinions here being either camp classic or schlock and that it was made during Crawford's twilight period.
'Strait-Jacket' for me was surprisingly good. It is not quite a classic, though it is certainly camp in a very entertaining way, but it is not schlocky either. In my view, it is one of Castle's better films (not just of this period but overall) and one of Crawford's better 60s films in a decade that really didn't see her or her film choices at her best. Her performance here is also one of her best of her twilight period, her last "great" film being perhaps 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane'.
Is 'Strait-Jacket' perfect? No, a long way from being so. The script is too exposition-heavy, which does affect the pacing in the middle, and the camp level of a lot of it reaches extremes. The ending can be seen from miles away and is pretty absurd.
Also found the score rather shrill and that attempted seduction unnecessary and unintentionally creepy.
Crawford however gives it absolutely everything and is quite thrilling to watch. Diane Baker does innocence without being too passive and conveys the horror of the situation later well without being histrionic. George Kennedy can also be seen in a subtle yet unsettling role. Castle's direction is more than competent with a keen eye for atmosphere and doesn't resort to too many gimmicks.
With exception of the odd hokey special effect, 'Strait-Jacket' looks surprisingly good for low budget. The photography and lighting being very atmospheric and creepy-looking. The story is mostly very entertaining to watch and has some very suspenseful moments, the murders (especially the shocking, for the time it certainly was, onscreen one) being enough to make one to be go off axes forever.
To summarise, not a great film and one can understand as to why it was a failure at the time (Crawford herself was not positive about it), but did find myself enjoying it quite immensely. 7/10
'Strait-Jacket' for me was surprisingly good. It is not quite a classic, though it is certainly camp in a very entertaining way, but it is not schlocky either. In my view, it is one of Castle's better films (not just of this period but overall) and one of Crawford's better 60s films in a decade that really didn't see her or her film choices at her best. Her performance here is also one of her best of her twilight period, her last "great" film being perhaps 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane'.
Is 'Strait-Jacket' perfect? No, a long way from being so. The script is too exposition-heavy, which does affect the pacing in the middle, and the camp level of a lot of it reaches extremes. The ending can be seen from miles away and is pretty absurd.
Also found the score rather shrill and that attempted seduction unnecessary and unintentionally creepy.
Crawford however gives it absolutely everything and is quite thrilling to watch. Diane Baker does innocence without being too passive and conveys the horror of the situation later well without being histrionic. George Kennedy can also be seen in a subtle yet unsettling role. Castle's direction is more than competent with a keen eye for atmosphere and doesn't resort to too many gimmicks.
With exception of the odd hokey special effect, 'Strait-Jacket' looks surprisingly good for low budget. The photography and lighting being very atmospheric and creepy-looking. The story is mostly very entertaining to watch and has some very suspenseful moments, the murders (especially the shocking, for the time it certainly was, onscreen one) being enough to make one to be go off axes forever.
To summarise, not a great film and one can understand as to why it was a failure at the time (Crawford herself was not positive about it), but did find myself enjoying it quite immensely. 7/10