The Mad Room (1969)

Director:

Bernard Girard

Writers:

Reginald Denham (play) and
Edward Percy (play) ...

Release Date:

1 December 1969 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Tagline:

Forgive Them. Forgive Them. Forgive Them.

Plot:

Remake of 1941's "Ladies in Retirement" has psychotic Stella Stevens playing companion to wealthy, loony...

Plot Keywords:

Remake | Parent | Widow | Dog | Murder

Cast

Stella Stevens	...	Ellen Hardy
Shelley Winters	...	Mrs. Armstrong
Skip Ward	...	Sam Aller
Carol Cole	...	Chris
Severn Darden	...	Nate
Beverly Garland	...	Mrs. Racine
Michael Burns	...	George
Barbara Sammeth	...	Mandy
Lloyd Haynes	...	Dr. Marion Kincaid
Jennifer Bishop	...	Mrs. Ericson (as Jenifer Bishop)
Gloria Manon	...	Edna
Lou Kane	...	Armand Racine

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:M

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Know Who Killed Me (2007)

Soundtrack:

OPEN MY EYES

Forgive them. Forgive them. For....?

Mad Room is a odd little late 60's thriller that seems to be incredibly obscure. I might put it in somewhat the same category as "The Big Cube" because while it has recognizable stars it wasn't made in the US & it has an odd feel to it.

Mandy and George, who were four and six years old, spent 12 years in a nut-house for killing their parents. No one is sure which one did it and they, themselves, don't remember. When their uncle, who was apparently their benefactor, dies, they go to live in a big house with their sister Ellen (Stella Stevens), who lives at the house of her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Armstrong (Shelley Winters). The two children are, of course, brought into the house without revealing their pasts, and despite grilling from Mrs. Armstrong, they manage to hold their own as far as being inscrutable and mysterious.

Mandy has asked Ellen for a "mad room", a place that is quiet and neutral, where they can go to think out their problems, and they choose the disused study of Mrs. Armstrong's late husband, much to her dismay. When Mandy leaves behind a book in the room that is stamped with the institution's name & address, Mrs. Armstrong begins to suspect something is off, but then she never has the chance to do anything much after that.

So Mrs. Armstrong is now deceased and Ellen is trying to cover up for her siblings, and manages to do so quite well until Major, the dopey dog, helps himself to a body part that he begins to carry around with him.

And then, of course, it is revealed, after a lady's auxiliary get-together, where a drunken & jealous woman tries to kill herself with a piece of glass, that Ellen seems to have a few issues herself, and that perhaps things aren't at all what they seem.

This is definitely an oddball little film & has a great atmosphere to it. I have to wonder why it's so obscure & it's worth seeking out, if only to see once. Not great, but entertaining and enjoyable whodunit. 7 out of 10.