By
the early 1960’s actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis were two Hollywood
has-beens and not what anyone would consider as leading lady material.
However, along came a little movie entitled WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY
JANE?, which put both of their careers back on the map. In fact, WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? gave birth to a gothic horror sub-genre that
featured over-the-hill leading ladies, which remained popular for a few
years during that decade. After WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?
Bette Davis went on to make the stylish gothic horror classic HUSH,
HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE, in which she portrayed a mentally unbalanced
axe murderess. Like Davis, Joan Crawford also found herself tapped to
play a mentally unbalanced axe murderess in William Castle’s less stylish,
but equally entertaining, horror potboiler STRAIT-JACKET ($25).
In
STRAIT-JACKET, Crawford portrays country gal Lucy Harbin, who returns
home a day early from a trip to discover her younger husband in bed with
another woman. Enraged, Lucy picks up an axe and hacks her husband and
his lover to death, right in front of her three-year-old daughter. Deemed
insane for her actions, Lucy spends the next twenty years in an asylum.
When released, Lucy comes home to her brother’s farm, where she is reunited
with her daughter Carol (Diane Baker), who has grown up into a beautiful
young woman. In an effort to recapture a part of her childhood that she
lost, Carol gives Lucy a makeover, which returns her mother to the way
she looked just before she was taken off to the asylum. Unfortunately,
restoring Lucy’s past appearance also dredges up something else from the
past- a series of grisly axe murders. STRAIT-JACKET is exploitive
horror at its best that benefits from the William Castle touch, as well
as a solid cast headed up by Joan Crawford. The supporting players in
STRAIT-JACKET include Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, John Anthony
Hayes, Rochelle Hudson, George Kennedy, Edith Atwater, Mitchell Cox and
an uncredited Lee Majors as Crawford’s axed husband.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made STRAIT-JACKET available on
DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for 16:9
displays. This is a great looking black and white transfer of a modestly
budgeted film from 1964. The image on the DVD is quite sharp and provides
a very solid level of detail. Only shots involving optical fades or effects
appear somewhat soft. Film grain is minimal, but it is noticeable throughout
the course of the movie. Blacks are completely inky, plus the whites are
solid and totally stable. Contrast is fairly smooth and the picture produces
a reasonably diverse grayscale. Digital compression artifacts remain well
concealed throughout.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is just fine for a film of its age and
budget. At normal listening levels there is no significant signs of distortion
or background hiss. Dialogue is crisp, clean and completely understandable.
There are the expected frequency limitations in recordings of this vintage,
but for the most part sound effects and Van Alexander’s musical score
a rendered in a fairly pleasing manner. Subtitles have been encoded onto
the DVD in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few extras. The featurette Battle-Ax:
The Making of Strait-Jacket runs fourteen minutes and includes
new interviews with film historians David Del Valle, Don Glut and Michael
Schlesinger, as well as actress Diane Baker, who speaks fondly about working
with William Castle and Joan Crawford on STRAIT-JACKET. Also include
on the DVD is several minutes of footage that comprise the Joan
Crawford Costume and Makeup Tests. What makes this footage fascinating
is the fact that Crawford is giving a real performance while she is in
front of the camera for the tests. An Ax Swinging Screen Test
and theatrical trailers for STRAIT-JACKET, 13 GHOSTS and
MR. SARDONICUS close out the DVD’s extras.
STRAIT-JACKET
is a fun horror outing that will appeal to genre fans, as well as those
of actress Joan Crawford and director William Castle. Columbia TriStar’s
DVD edition of STRAIT-JACKET looks and sounds pretty darn good.
That, plus the fun extras, makes this a DVD well worth acquiring.
By
the early 1960’s actresses Joan Crawford and Bette Davis were two Hollywood
has-beens and not what anyone would consider as leading lady material.
However, along came a little movie entitled WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY
JANE?, which put both of their careers back on the map. In fact, WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? gave birth to a gothic horror sub-genre that
featured over-the-hill leading ladies, which remained popular for a few
years during that decade. After WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?
Bette Davis went on to make the stylish gothic horror classic HUSH,
HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE, in which she portrayed a mentally unbalanced
axe murderess. Like Davis, Joan Crawford also found herself tapped to
play a mentally unbalanced axe murderess in William Castle’s less stylish,
but equally entertaining, horror potboiler STRAIT-JACKET ($25).
In
STRAIT-JACKET, Crawford portrays country gal Lucy Harbin, who returns
home a day early from a trip to discover her younger husband in bed with
another woman. Enraged, Lucy picks up an axe and hacks her husband and
his lover to death, right in front of her three-year-old daughter. Deemed
insane for her actions, Lucy spends the next twenty years in an asylum.
When released, Lucy comes home to her brother’s farm, where she is reunited
with her daughter Carol (Diane Baker), who has grown up into a beautiful
young woman. In an effort to recapture a part of her childhood that she
lost, Carol gives Lucy a makeover, which returns her mother to the way
she looked just before she was taken off to the asylum. Unfortunately,
restoring Lucy’s past appearance also dredges up something else from the
past- a series of grisly axe murders. STRAIT-JACKET is exploitive
horror at its best that benefits from the William Castle touch, as well
as a solid cast headed up by Joan Crawford. The supporting players in
STRAIT-JACKET include Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, John Anthony
Hayes, Rochelle Hudson, George Kennedy, Edith Atwater, Mitchell Cox and
an uncredited Lee Majors as Crawford’s axed husband.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made STRAIT-JACKET available on
DVD in a 1.85:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for 16:9
displays. This is a great looking black and white transfer of a modestly
budgeted film from 1964. The image on the DVD is quite sharp and provides
a very solid level of detail. Only shots involving optical fades or effects
appear somewhat soft. Film grain is minimal, but it is noticeable throughout
the course of the movie. Blacks are completely inky, plus the whites are
solid and totally stable. Contrast is fairly smooth and the picture produces
a reasonably diverse grayscale. Digital compression artifacts remain well
concealed throughout.
The
Dolby Digital monaural soundtrack is just fine for a film of its age and
budget. At normal listening levels there is no significant signs of distortion
or background hiss. Dialogue is crisp, clean and completely understandable.
There are the expected frequency limitations in recordings of this vintage,
but for the most part sound effects and Van Alexander’s musical score
a rendered in a fairly pleasing manner. Subtitles have been encoded onto
the DVD in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few extras. The featurette Battle-Ax:
The Making of Strait-Jacket runs fourteen minutes and includes
new interviews with film historians David Del Valle, Don Glut and Michael
Schlesinger, as well as actress Diane Baker, who speaks fondly about working
with William Castle and Joan Crawford on STRAIT-JACKET. Also include
on the DVD is several minutes of footage that comprise the Joan
Crawford Costume and Makeup Tests. What makes this footage fascinating
is the fact that Crawford is giving a real performance while she is in
front of the camera for the tests. An Ax Swinging Screen Test
and theatrical trailers for STRAIT-JACKET, 13 GHOSTS and
MR. SARDONICUS close out the DVD’s extras.
STRAIT-JACKET
is a fun horror outing that will appeal to genre fans, as well as those
of actress Joan Crawford and director William Castle. Columbia TriStar’s
DVD edition of STRAIT-JACKET looks and sounds pretty darn good.
That, plus the fun extras, makes this a DVD well worth acquiring.
