IMDb RATING
6.8/10
6.7K
YOUR RATING
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.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.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.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Vicki Cos
- Carol Harbin - Age 3
- (uncredited)
Patricia Crest
- Stella Fulton
- (uncredited)
Laura Hess
- Second Little Girl
- (uncredited)
Patty Lee
- First Little Girl
- (uncredited)
Lynn Lundgren
- Beautician
- (uncredited)
Lee Majors
- Frank Harbin
- (uncredited)
Robert Ward
- Shoe Clerk
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFeature-film debut of Lee Majors, who plays the small role of Lucy Harbin's (Joan Crawford's) husband in the flashback scene. He got the part when his good friend Rock Hudson asked William Castle to please find a job for the 23-year-old actor.
- GoofsThe steering wheel of the car in which Joan Crawford and Diane Baker are riding is a dark color. When they get out of the car, a white steering wheel can be seen through the windshield.
- Quotes
Carol Harbin: Their first mistake was thinking that the child was asleep. The second mistake was that the wife had decided to come home that night on the train.
- Crazy creditsThe Columbia Pictures logo at the end of the film has the Torch Lady's head chopped off and placed at her feet, and her torch light extinguished.
- ConnectionsEdited into Battle-Axe: The Making of 'Strait-Jacket' (2002)
- SoundtracksThere Goes That Song Again
(Written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn)
Written for the film Carolina Blues (1944) (1944) and performed by Harry Babbitt and Kay Kyser's orchestra.
Featured review
Excellent little shocker from William Castle!
William Castle is best known for fun, gimmicky horror flicks the likes of The House on Haunted Hill and The Tingler; but his resume features some more complex films that can comfortably sit alongside the best B-movies of the sixties, and Straight-Jacket is one such film. Obviously, a film of this nature relies heavily on its lead star; so it's a good job that this one benefits from a great leading performance courtesy of the fabulous Joan Crawford. Crawford isn't as good here as she was two years earlier in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane, but she approaches her role with seriousness, and it gives the film a sense of credibility not often associated with this type of film. The plot takes obvious influence from Psycho, and focuses on Lucy Harbin. She was sent to an asylum after she discovered her husband in bed with another woman, and proceeded to axe them both to death. She is released twenty years later, still on the brink of sanity, and is reunited with her daughter Carol (who was present at the murder) and discovers that she is engaged to be married.
The tagline, which states that the film 'vividly depicts axe murders' isn't exactly true, and the film is not very shocking in today's day and age. However, this would obviously have been different back in 1964, and despite no real money shots; Castle gives his film a great macabre atmosphere, and this adequately provides the horror on its own. Crawford gets a great support cast to work with, and again the film transcends its B-movie heritage as they're all extremely good. Diane Baker, Leif Erickson and my personal favourite, George Kennedy, all manage to give stand-out performances behind the leading lady. The film opens up with a great little sequence which shows why the lead character was sent to the asylum, and although the plotting takes a downturn after that; Castle manages to keep things interesting all the way down to the explosive ending. The final plot twist isn't exactly impossible to figure out, but I have to say that it caught me by surprise and while not everything completely makes sense by the end, Castle does a good job of implementing the twist. Overall, Homicidal and Mr Sardonicus still top my list of favourite William Castle films, but Straight-Jacket isn't far behind and comes highly recommended!
The tagline, which states that the film 'vividly depicts axe murders' isn't exactly true, and the film is not very shocking in today's day and age. However, this would obviously have been different back in 1964, and despite no real money shots; Castle gives his film a great macabre atmosphere, and this adequately provides the horror on its own. Crawford gets a great support cast to work with, and again the film transcends its B-movie heritage as they're all extremely good. Diane Baker, Leif Erickson and my personal favourite, George Kennedy, all manage to give stand-out performances behind the leading lady. The film opens up with a great little sequence which shows why the lead character was sent to the asylum, and although the plotting takes a downturn after that; Castle manages to keep things interesting all the way down to the explosive ending. The final plot twist isn't exactly impossible to figure out, but I have to say that it caught me by surprise and while not everything completely makes sense by the end, Castle does a good job of implementing the twist. Overall, Homicidal and Mr Sardonicus still top my list of favourite William Castle films, but Straight-Jacket isn't far behind and comes highly recommended!
helpful•175
- The_Void
- Nov 28, 2006
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $550,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $124
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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