Fanatic (1965)

Director:

Silvio Narizzano

Writers:

Anne Blaisdell (novel)
Richard Matheson (writer)

Release Date:

21 March 1965 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

She's One Mean Mother-in-Law!

Plot:

A young woman is terrorized by her fiance's demented mother who blames her for her son's death.

Plot Keywords:

Religious Fanatic | Fanatic | England | Death | Suicide

Cast

Tallulah Bankhead	...	Mrs. Trefoile
Stefanie Powers	...	Pat Carroll
Peter Vaughan	...	Harry
Maurice Kaufmann	...	Alan Glentower
Yootha Joyce	...	Anna
Donald Sutherland	...	Joseph
Gwendolyn Watts	...	Gloria
Robert Dorning	...	Ormsby
Philip Gilbert	...	Oscar
Winifred Dennis	...	Shopkeeper
Diana King	...	Woman Shopper

Also Known As:

Die! Die! My Darling! (USA)

Runtime:

Australia:95 min | USA:97 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

UK:15 (DVD rating) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:TV-14 | West Germany:18 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M | Finland:(Banned) (1965) | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Letchmore Heath, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Tallulah Bankhead's final movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Patricia finally gets fed her oatmeal, the bowl she has is actually empty but she's pretending to eat from it.

Quotes:

Mrs. Trefoile: This was his room.
Pat Carroll: His?
Mrs. Trefoile: Stephen's!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sugar Cookies (1973)

Decent enough Hammer thriller

Die Die My Darling is one of the lesser known Hammer thrillers; and it's also a rather good one. The film does have numerous problems and it's far from being a masterpiece; but it's entertaining enough and features a great leading performance from the great Tallulah Bankhead in a role that is about as far away from her real life hellraising persona as you can get! The film's alternative title is 'Fanatic' and while much less catchy than 'Die Die My Darling', is actually a more apt title and this is another film that focuses on an insane religious fanatic. The film focuses on a young woman who goes to visit the mother of her fiancée; who tragically died in a car accident. It soon becomes apparent that the mother, a woman by the name of Mrs. Trefoile, is a devout Catholic who disapproves of just about everything except God and the church etc. It soon starts to become apparent that the aging woman has a screw loose; and when she discovers that the young lady was never going to actually marry her son, she becomes angry and imprisons her in the house...

There's only so much that can really be done with a plot like this; but the film does hit all the right notes. It's at least interesting throughout, and the two central characters are fleshed out well enough to help the plot along. Tallulah Bankhead does manage to be completely believable in her role and she makes a great villain! Stefanie Powers acts in her shadow, but the young actress does well and provides a likable protagonist for the audience to get behind. The main idea in the film is the idea of someone letting their beliefs lead to extreme actions, and Tallulah Bankhead ensures that her character is believable in the way that happens. There's plenty going on in the film and while there are a few plot holes; we are at least always reminded why the protagonist has found herself in the compromising position that she is in. It's not hard to guess where the film is going and there are no big surprises at the end; but it's an entertaining enough ride getting there and Die Die My Darling is a Hammer film that is well worth a look.