The movie takes place in the 1930s--The mothers (Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters) of two murdering sons run away to Hollywood after their sons are convicted. They change their names and open a dance studio for children. Reynolds quickly adjusts to her new life and falls for a nice guy (Dennis Weaver). However Winters keeps having flashbacks to her husband's bloody accident that killed him--or was it an accident? This film looks fantastic. Curtis Harrington was a very good, underrated director and he did a great job here. The settings and costumes are incredible and perfectly fit the 1930s. However the story doesn't flow smoothly. It runs in fits and starts and comes to a screeching halt for THREE musical numbers with the kids and Reynolds! Also a certain murder at the end was drastically cut to avoid an R rating (the director was not happy about it). But the acting saves it. Reynolds is superb in a very dramatic and hard role. I never thought she could act till I saw this. Winters chews the scenery (as usual) but in a fun way. Also, despite the GP (now PG) rating this is pretty bloody and the shock ending is totally ruined by being on the poster AND the theatrical trailer! Still it's worth catching.
43 Reviews
New Life, Old Traumas
claudio_carvalho2 January 2021
In New York, the sons of Adelle Bruckner (Debbie Reynolds) and Helen Hill (Shelley Winters) are convicted for a dreadful murder. Adelle decides to move to Hollywood to open a dance school and invites the religious Helen to go with her. They change their names to Adelle Stuart and Helen Martin and are successful in the school. When Adelle meets the millionaire Linc Palmer (Dennis Weaver), they fall in love with each other. But soon Helen is haunted by their ghosts from the past and affects her behavior and relationship with Adelle.
"What's the Matter with Helen?" is a great crime film with excellent performances. The plot is mysterious and Shelley Winters is fantastic in the role of a deranged woman. The dark conclusion is perfect for the story. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Obsessão Sinistra" ("Sinister Obsession")
"What's the Matter with Helen?" is a great crime film with excellent performances. The plot is mysterious and Shelley Winters is fantastic in the role of a deranged woman. The dark conclusion is perfect for the story. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "Obsessão Sinistra" ("Sinister Obsession")
Shelley Winters gone wild
ThrownMuse16 January 2005
The sons of two very different women are convicted of murder. Fearing for their safety in their small town in 1930s America, star-obsessed Adelle (Debbie Reynolds) decides to get a fresh new start in Hollywood, and convinces the quiet and religious Helen (Shelley Winters) to join her. They exploit the Shirley Temple craze by running a successful instructional school that teaches child actresses singing and dancing. Things seem to be going well for both until Helen starts to have crazed flashbacks about her "former life." But things have never looked better for Adelle, so What the hell is the matter with Helen?!
This movie is a hoot! Debbie Reynolds looks like a classic Hollywood starlet (fantastic costumes and makeup), and it is hilarious and sickening fun watching Shelley Winters in a downward spiral. Agnes Moorehead has an amusing cameo as a Radio evangelist with whom Helen becomes obsessed. The major drawback of the movie is the musical sequences. There are several, and while they do serve as a contrast to the more explicitly twisted elements in the film, showing entire song and dance routines is unnecessary (the scene where Reynolds tap-dances comes to mind here). It is also unfortunate that the film does not take advantage of the themes it presents. A deeper exploration of Helen's psychosis might have proved fascinating, scary, and even amusing.
Overall, What's the Matter with Helen? is an entertaining psychological horror/thriller that does its job but gets weighed down by filler drama and musical sequences. Recommended to fans of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and anyone who entertained by Shelley Winters going crazy. My Rating: 6/10.
This movie is a hoot! Debbie Reynolds looks like a classic Hollywood starlet (fantastic costumes and makeup), and it is hilarious and sickening fun watching Shelley Winters in a downward spiral. Agnes Moorehead has an amusing cameo as a Radio evangelist with whom Helen becomes obsessed. The major drawback of the movie is the musical sequences. There are several, and while they do serve as a contrast to the more explicitly twisted elements in the film, showing entire song and dance routines is unnecessary (the scene where Reynolds tap-dances comes to mind here). It is also unfortunate that the film does not take advantage of the themes it presents. A deeper exploration of Helen's psychosis might have proved fascinating, scary, and even amusing.
Overall, What's the Matter with Helen? is an entertaining psychological horror/thriller that does its job but gets weighed down by filler drama and musical sequences. Recommended to fans of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and anyone who entertained by Shelley Winters going crazy. My Rating: 6/10.
A childhood nightmare revisited
pjmuck20 September 2004
It has taken me 24 years to find the courage to see this film again. Like another reviewer here, I was too young when I first saw this movie back in 1971 at the tender age of 7 (what were my parents thinking?!), and it's disturbing visuals have haunted me all of my life. This is a gory, gruesome film, all things considered, with quick, effective shots of mangled bodies and cute furry creatures. And that ending! Seeing Debbie's face again in the finale after all these years conjured up my repressed childhood chills once again.
Overall, a very effective film with a "Tales from the Crypt-esque" ending and some superb acting.
Overall, a very effective film with a "Tales from the Crypt-esque" ending and some superb acting.
Reynolds and Winters and Blood
Plymouth-5831 October 1999
From the writer of "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" and "Hush .. Hush, Sweet Charlotte," this tail-end of the sixties horror cycle has some eerie and campy fun. Micheál Macliammóir does a Victor Buono-type bit, but too often the movie totters dangerously close to a bad musical ... there's a particularly awful children's recital about halfway through. Debbie taps, tangos and tricks up a lá Harlow, while Winters' religious fanatic has a lesbian edge to her. Agnes Moorehead checks in as an evangelist. Weaver has nothing to do - and even has to pay a gigolo to dance with Debbie.
A sordid melodrama with some good acting.
Hey_Sweden14 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Horror fans may find this item of interest. As directed by under-rated cult favourite Curtis Harrington ("Night Tide", 'Devil Dog: Hound of Hell'), it never goes quite all the way into outright terror, but is disturbing nevertheless. It's written by Henry Farrell, who'd concocted an earlier story that was the basis for "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters star as Adelle and Helen, two women who flee unhappy lives during the Great Depression (their sons were convicted of a brutal murder) to open a dance school in Hollywood. Things go fine for a while, as Adelle is romanced by a nice-guy rich Texan (the amiable Dennis Weaver), but feelings of guilt start weighing rather heavily on Helen.
The story doesn't always stay quite on track, with musical numbers for Debbies' students as well as herself, but Harrington does have a masterful way with period recreation and Gothic atmosphere, and he does get effective performances out of his two leads. Reynolds is affecting, and Winters is actually fairly restrained at first, as Harrington allows her bit by bit to start going to town on the scenery. The excellent cast also includes other familiar faces like Micheal MacLiammoir ("The Kremlin Letter"), in his last film role, Agnes Moorehead ('Bewitched'), Helene Winston ("A Boy and His Dog"), Peggy Rea ('The Dukes of Hazzard'), Logan Ramsey ("Walking Tall"), Yvette Vickers ("Attack of the 50 Foot Woman"), Robbi Morgan ("Friday the 13th" - 1980), Timothy Carey ("The Worlds' Greatest Sinner"), and Pamelyn Ferdin ("The Toolbox Murders" - 1978).
The macabre visuals certainly are something to behold, but the studio would have done better to not put them on the poster. Ultimately, the films' greatest strength lies in its attempts to visualize the nightmarish landscape of Helens' paranoid mind. Time and again Adelle has to watch out for her obsessive friend, and even when she thinks she's done with her, she finds that she can't shake their bond that easily. The whole thing does contain a palpable feeling of tragedy and sorrow, and overall "What's the Matter with Helen?" is fairly memorable, one of the final entries in that genre crassly referred to by some buffs as "hag horror".
Seven out of 10.
The story doesn't always stay quite on track, with musical numbers for Debbies' students as well as herself, but Harrington does have a masterful way with period recreation and Gothic atmosphere, and he does get effective performances out of his two leads. Reynolds is affecting, and Winters is actually fairly restrained at first, as Harrington allows her bit by bit to start going to town on the scenery. The excellent cast also includes other familiar faces like Micheal MacLiammoir ("The Kremlin Letter"), in his last film role, Agnes Moorehead ('Bewitched'), Helene Winston ("A Boy and His Dog"), Peggy Rea ('The Dukes of Hazzard'), Logan Ramsey ("Walking Tall"), Yvette Vickers ("Attack of the 50 Foot Woman"), Robbi Morgan ("Friday the 13th" - 1980), Timothy Carey ("The Worlds' Greatest Sinner"), and Pamelyn Ferdin ("The Toolbox Murders" - 1978).
The macabre visuals certainly are something to behold, but the studio would have done better to not put them on the poster. Ultimately, the films' greatest strength lies in its attempts to visualize the nightmarish landscape of Helens' paranoid mind. Time and again Adelle has to watch out for her obsessive friend, and even when she thinks she's done with her, she finds that she can't shake their bond that easily. The whole thing does contain a palpable feeling of tragedy and sorrow, and overall "What's the Matter with Helen?" is fairly memorable, one of the final entries in that genre crassly referred to by some buffs as "hag horror".
Seven out of 10.
Not bad...the horror cycle Farrell started gets another outing...
Doylenf4 October 2006
DEBBIE REYNOLDS and SHELLEY WINTERS try to escape their sordid past (their sons were convicted of a brutal killing), so they flee to Hollywood in the 1930s and open a talent school for kiddies who want to become the next Shirley Temple.
It's a fun idea for a black comedy, and director Curtis Harrington makes the most of a story by Henry Farrell that pretty much adapts some of the same material he used in other thrillers written exclusively to give aging divas the chance to do some melodramatic emoting. While this doesn't reach the heights (or depths) of BABY JANE or CHARLOTTE, it does provide a lot of camp fun for film addicts familiar with the '30s scene.
DENNIS WEAVER has the only interesting male role, but the film belongs to Debbie (she sings and dances, too) and Shelley (who has a madcap time going insane) and there's even a shocking ending to keep the horror fans happy.
If you enjoy this sort of thing, done previously in similar films like WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?, this one is easy to take.
It's a fun idea for a black comedy, and director Curtis Harrington makes the most of a story by Henry Farrell that pretty much adapts some of the same material he used in other thrillers written exclusively to give aging divas the chance to do some melodramatic emoting. While this doesn't reach the heights (or depths) of BABY JANE or CHARLOTTE, it does provide a lot of camp fun for film addicts familiar with the '30s scene.
DENNIS WEAVER has the only interesting male role, but the film belongs to Debbie (she sings and dances, too) and Shelley (who has a madcap time going insane) and there's even a shocking ending to keep the horror fans happy.
If you enjoy this sort of thing, done previously in similar films like WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?, this one is easy to take.
A tap-dancing thriller?
moonspinner5526 August 2001
Debbie Reynolds toe-taps, tangos and, yes, tap-dances her way through this ordinary thriller which has a distinctly fabricated '30s atmosphere. Two ladies, brought together when their sons commit a murder, try starting their lives over by running a tap-dance school for tots in Hollywood. Trouble is, one of them is plagued by neuroses. Can you imagine this thing 10 years earlier with Robert Aldrich directing Bette Davis and Joan Crawford...? Nahh, Bette never would have allowed Joan so much screen-time to strut her stuff, and I can't imagine Bette Davis in the other role, tap-dancing her heart out. This is a purely bogus piece of macabre, written by a slumming Henry Farrell (whose idea of a good "shock" is to stage the mass-murder of a group of rabbits!). Not an ounce of honest fun in the whole tepid package. *1/2 from ****
"Goody, Goody"
traumatixxx4 March 2003
The most bizarre of the cinematic sub-genres is the so called "The Great Ladies of the Grand Guignol": camp horror films which combined over-the-top melodrama with gothic thrills and always starred by seasoned and almost forgotten actress from hollywood golden age in unflattering roles of either long suffering victims or screeching evil harpies. This genre provided them with an unusual acting showcase that allowed strut their stuff on the screen once again and win new generations of fans at expense of their glamorous images from yesterday.
"What's the matter with Helen" is the last drop of this sub-genre with stunning performances of both Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters as the troubled mothers of two convicted criminals who run away from their past to the sunny California in the 1930s to open a talent school to milk out the eagerly mothers who want their daughters to be the next Shirley Temple. In California, Debbie gets happiness, clients, tango, tap dancing and a new love interest (Dennis Weaver meanwhile Shelley gets wacko with horrible flashbacks, menacing anonymous calls, menacing strangers, menacing Agnes Moorehead as a radio evangelist, cute little rabbits (!) and an unfortunate encounter with an electric fan (ouch!).
The sloppy script (penned by Henry Farrell, the man who started all this genre with "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" along with master director Robert Aldrich, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis) is full of plot holes, red herrings and wasted opportunities that could had made this movie great: the underlying themes of twisted motherhood (with Debbie and Shelley's characters as "failed mothers" and the overbearing mommies of the child stars) and obsessive female bonding (Debbie and Shelley relationship and the fact that the few male characters of this movie are either sinister or sleazy even Dennis Weaver dream boat Texan) are wasted. Instead we get Debbie Reynolds musicals interludes and dancing tots, although fun to watch take too much screen time of what is supposedly to be a psychological chiller. But still this movie is highly entertaining. The two stars and Curtis Harrington stylish direction easily overcomes its flaws. The movie recreation of the 1930's is colorful and elegant (look at Debbie's clothes!) made with a very tight budget. The increasing atmosphere of madness and hysteria is genuinely creepy with a shocking finale that will haunt you for days. And you wouldn't easily forget that silly "Goody, goody" song that runs through the movie either. And seeing an increasingly mad Shelley Winters screw every one of Debbie Reynolds' chances at happiness is a hoot to watch!
8 out of 10.
"What's the matter with Helen" is the last drop of this sub-genre with stunning performances of both Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters as the troubled mothers of two convicted criminals who run away from their past to the sunny California in the 1930s to open a talent school to milk out the eagerly mothers who want their daughters to be the next Shirley Temple. In California, Debbie gets happiness, clients, tango, tap dancing and a new love interest (Dennis Weaver meanwhile Shelley gets wacko with horrible flashbacks, menacing anonymous calls, menacing strangers, menacing Agnes Moorehead as a radio evangelist, cute little rabbits (!) and an unfortunate encounter with an electric fan (ouch!).
The sloppy script (penned by Henry Farrell, the man who started all this genre with "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" along with master director Robert Aldrich, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis) is full of plot holes, red herrings and wasted opportunities that could had made this movie great: the underlying themes of twisted motherhood (with Debbie and Shelley's characters as "failed mothers" and the overbearing mommies of the child stars) and obsessive female bonding (Debbie and Shelley relationship and the fact that the few male characters of this movie are either sinister or sleazy even Dennis Weaver dream boat Texan) are wasted. Instead we get Debbie Reynolds musicals interludes and dancing tots, although fun to watch take too much screen time of what is supposedly to be a psychological chiller. But still this movie is highly entertaining. The two stars and Curtis Harrington stylish direction easily overcomes its flaws. The movie recreation of the 1930's is colorful and elegant (look at Debbie's clothes!) made with a very tight budget. The increasing atmosphere of madness and hysteria is genuinely creepy with a shocking finale that will haunt you for days. And you wouldn't easily forget that silly "Goody, goody" song that runs through the movie either. And seeing an increasingly mad Shelley Winters screw every one of Debbie Reynolds' chances at happiness is a hoot to watch!
8 out of 10.
Good Fun
gavin694219 January 2017
Two middle-aged women move to Hollywood, California after their sons are convicted of a notorious murder and open a dance school for children eager to tap their way to stardom.
Curtis Harrington and George Edwards approached writer Henry Farrell soon after "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" was a hit, hoping to get a screenplay. Farrell told them of a story outline titled "The Box Step", the story of two contemporary ladies who ran a dance studio. Eventually the story wound up with Harrington and Edwards, who had input on the screenplay. It was their idea to change the setting to a 1930s dance academy for little girls.
I think this works great, and although the horror aspects are minimal compared to the weird kid acting and dancing scenes, it is an effective story. Allegedly the film went through various cuts, and the lesbian aspect was toned down a lot (though it can still be seen). Which makes me wonder if these cuts were in the script or in the film itself, because it would be great to get that footage back.
Curtis Harrington and George Edwards approached writer Henry Farrell soon after "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" was a hit, hoping to get a screenplay. Farrell told them of a story outline titled "The Box Step", the story of two contemporary ladies who ran a dance studio. Eventually the story wound up with Harrington and Edwards, who had input on the screenplay. It was their idea to change the setting to a 1930s dance academy for little girls.
I think this works great, and although the horror aspects are minimal compared to the weird kid acting and dancing scenes, it is an effective story. Allegedly the film went through various cuts, and the lesbian aspect was toned down a lot (though it can still be seen). Which makes me wonder if these cuts were in the script or in the film itself, because it would be great to get that footage back.
Where do I start?
BA_Harrison23 May 2020
The 1930s: when two young men are convicted of murder, their mothers, Adelle (Debbie Reynolds) and Helen (Shelley Winters), receive threatening phone calls. As a result, the pair decide to change their surnames and hot-foot it to Hollywood where they set up a dance school for Shirley Temple wannabes. Highly strung Helen turns to religion and slowly loses her grasp on reality, and when a strange man turns up at the school, apparently aware of her true identity, she snaps and pushes him down the stairs, killing him. Unwilling to report the incident to the police for fear of losing her new boyfriend, Adelle helps Helen to get rid of the body, but doesn't realise quite how deranged her friend actually is.
I'll tell you what's the matter with Helen: she's bloody irritating, that's what! Shirley Winters performance as the snivelling, highly strung Helen is thoroughly grating, making the film tough to sit through.
You wanna know what else is the matter with 'What's The Matter With Helen?'? Well, it takes well over an hour before the first murder, the romance between Adelle and Linc (Dennis Weaver) is sappy, the introduction of pompous voice coach Hamilton Starr (Micheál MacLiammóir) adds nothing to the plot, and there's far too much filler in the way of song and dance routines: Reynolds' first number is okay, the actress looking fine in a silky sailor suit, but did we really need that Tango as well? And as for Adelle's Kiddystar Revue, is it right to dress up a pre-teen as Mae West (complete with boobs) and have her sing a suggestive song?
On the plus side, Reynolds is ravishing, still looking great at 39 (peroxide blonde hair suits her), and director Curtis Harrington does manage at least a couple of genuinely horrific moments amidst the tedious tap dancing and redundant romance, with a gory flashback showing how Helen's husband 'fell' under the blades of a plough, and a macabre downbeat ending straight out of an EC horror comic.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
I'll tell you what's the matter with Helen: she's bloody irritating, that's what! Shirley Winters performance as the snivelling, highly strung Helen is thoroughly grating, making the film tough to sit through.
You wanna know what else is the matter with 'What's The Matter With Helen?'? Well, it takes well over an hour before the first murder, the romance between Adelle and Linc (Dennis Weaver) is sappy, the introduction of pompous voice coach Hamilton Starr (Micheál MacLiammóir) adds nothing to the plot, and there's far too much filler in the way of song and dance routines: Reynolds' first number is okay, the actress looking fine in a silky sailor suit, but did we really need that Tango as well? And as for Adelle's Kiddystar Revue, is it right to dress up a pre-teen as Mae West (complete with boobs) and have her sing a suggestive song?
On the plus side, Reynolds is ravishing, still looking great at 39 (peroxide blonde hair suits her), and director Curtis Harrington does manage at least a couple of genuinely horrific moments amidst the tedious tap dancing and redundant romance, with a gory flashback showing how Helen's husband 'fell' under the blades of a plough, and a macabre downbeat ending straight out of an EC horror comic.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
Fine, eerie black comedy with a superb Reynolds turn.
tonybolger14 February 2007
A vastly underrated black comedy, the finest in a series of grand guignol movies to follow 'Baby Jane'. Reynolds and Winters are mothers of young convicted murderers (a nod to 'Compulsion') who run away to hide in Hollywood. They run a school for would-be movie tots, a bunch of hilariously untalented kids attended by awful stage moms. Debbie, in her blonde wig ('I'm a Harlow, you're more a Marion Davies' she tells Winters) leads the tots at their concert and wins a rich dad, Weaver. She also does a deliciously funny tango and, over all, gives an outstanding performance, unlike anything she'd done before. The atmosphere is a fine mix of comic and eerie. It looks wonderful with great period detail (30's). Lots of lovely swipes at Hollywood and the terrifying movie tot. Micheal MacLiammoir has a ball as the drama coach: 'Hamilton Starr', he purrs, 'two r's but prophetic nonetheless'. See it and love it.
Professional diagnosis: Helen's a bit of a Nutball!
Coventry2 September 2007
Well, here's another terrific example of awkward 70's film-making! The rudimentary premise of "What's the matter with Helen?" is quite shocking and disturbing, but it's presented in such a stylish and sophisticated fashion! In the hands of any other movie crew, this certainly would have become a nasty and gritty exploitation tale, but with director Curtis Harrington ("Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?") and scriptwriter Henry Farrell ("Hush
Hush
Sweet Charlotte") in charge, it became a beautiful and almost enchanting mixture of themes and genres. The basic plot of the film is definitely horrific, but there's a lot more to experience, like love stories, a swinging 1930's atmosphere and a whole lot of singing and tap-dancing! The setting is unquestionably what makes this movie so unique. We're literally catapulted back to the 1930's, with a sublime depiction of that era's music, religion, theatrical business and wardrobes. Following the long and exhausting trial that sentenced their sons to life-imprisonment for murder, Adelle (Debbie Reynolds) and Helen (Shelley Winters) flee to California and attempt to start a new life running a dance school for young talented girls. Particularly Adelle adapts herself perfectly to the new environment, as she falls in love with a local millionaire, but poor old Helen continues to sink in a downwards spiral of insanity and paranoia. She only listens to the ramblings of a radio-evangelist, fears that she will be punished for the crimes her son committed and slowly develops violent tendencies. The script, although not entirely without flaws, is well written and the film is adequately paced. There's never a dull moment in "What's the matter with Helen", although the singing, tap-dancing and tango sequences are quite extended and much unrelated to the actual plot. But the atmosphere is continuously ominous and the film definitely benefices from the terrific acting performance of Shelley Winters. She's downright scary as the unpredictable and introvert lady who's about to snap any second and, especially during the last ten minutes or so, she looks more petrifying than all the Freddy Kruegers, Jason Voorhees' and Michael Myers' combined! There are several terrific supportive characters who are, sadly, a little underdeveloped and robbed from their potential, like Michéal MacLiammóir as the cocky elocution teacher, Agnes Moorehead as the creepy priestess and Timothy Carey as the obtrusive visitor to the ladies' house. There are a couple of surprisingly gruesome scenes and moments of genuine shock to enjoy for the Grand Guignol fanatics among us, but particularly the set pieces and costume designs (even nominated for an Oscar!) are breathtaking.
One strange film
BandSAboutMovies19 November 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I like to play this game where any time the title of the movie is mentioned, I scream and cheer like I'm Pee Wee sitting on Chairy. Good news for me - What's the Matter with Helen? says it's title more than once, leading to me wondering if I should invest in the paper bags full of confetti that Rip Taylor always seems to have to throw around.
Two young men are going to jail for life after murdering an older woman. Then, we see their mothers - played by Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds - as they bravely face an angry mob and drive away. As they make their way home, an anonymous phone call takes credit for the attack which bloodied up Winters' character Helen. Reynolds character Adelle then reveals her plan to pack up her cardboard standup of herself and move to California to start a dance studio. Soon, the two ladies have changed their last names and gone west.
This is a movie packed with odd situations and even odder characters, like elocution teacher Hamilton Starr and a tramp who continually bothers Adelle. And oh yeah - Helen is madly in love with her friend and becomes insanely jealous to the point that she often sticks her fingers into metal fans when she isn't listening to Sister Alma (Agnes Moorehead) on the radio. Alma is obviously Aimee Semple McPherson, the 1920's and 30's celebrity whose Foursquare Church's faith healing radio broadcasts were the forerunner of modern televangelism and charismatic Christianity.
Adelle falls for Lincoln Palmer (Dennis Weaver), the father of one of her students. He's rich as it gets, rich enough to pay for gigolos to dance with her while he watches in yet another one of those moments that would get explored in a modern movie and are just another creepy aside in this one.
Between Helen murdering people who break into their house, then trying to be forgiven by Sister Alma all while having flashbacks to her husband being run over by a plow, her madness soon overtakes the film and things proceed to a rather sudden and shocking conclusion. There's also an extended miniature golf sequence and numerous rabbit murders, as well as the reveal that Helen may have been right to kill at least one of the intruders.
This movie happened when director Curtis Harrington (Night Tide, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?) and producer George Edwards approached writer Henry Farrell (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) became a hit. was a hit, hoping to get a screenplay. Hagsploitation was in, baby, and these dudes wanted in on the action!
According to Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters's psychiatrist had warned her not to take this movie, as she was about to play a woman having a nervous breakdown while she was actually having one. She claims that Winters became her character to the point that the studio considered replacing her with Geraldine Page, who had plenty of hagsploitation cred after starring in Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?
Winters also totally caught the lesbian undercurrents - well, they're not so well hidden, so let's say overcurrents - in the movie, but the scenes where she really played it up were left on the cutting room floor.
It's worth noting that this was an Oscar-nominated film - for Reynolds outfits, that is. If you have a Debbie Reynolds crush, good news. This is the movie for you. This is also the movie for you if you love musical numbers about animal crackers.
Every single person in this one is disreputable, even the children, who are forced to dress as showgirls and purr songs like "Oh, You Nasty Man." This posits What's the Matter with Helen? as a forerunner of calling out the blatant sexuality of child beauty pageants years before Jon Benet was murdered.
I've always wanted to see this movie, despite its trailer and poster giving away the ending. What were they thinking? That said, there's enough weirdness here to sustain my interest, even if I knew how it was all going to turn out.
Two young men are going to jail for life after murdering an older woman. Then, we see their mothers - played by Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds - as they bravely face an angry mob and drive away. As they make their way home, an anonymous phone call takes credit for the attack which bloodied up Winters' character Helen. Reynolds character Adelle then reveals her plan to pack up her cardboard standup of herself and move to California to start a dance studio. Soon, the two ladies have changed their last names and gone west.
This is a movie packed with odd situations and even odder characters, like elocution teacher Hamilton Starr and a tramp who continually bothers Adelle. And oh yeah - Helen is madly in love with her friend and becomes insanely jealous to the point that she often sticks her fingers into metal fans when she isn't listening to Sister Alma (Agnes Moorehead) on the radio. Alma is obviously Aimee Semple McPherson, the 1920's and 30's celebrity whose Foursquare Church's faith healing radio broadcasts were the forerunner of modern televangelism and charismatic Christianity.
Adelle falls for Lincoln Palmer (Dennis Weaver), the father of one of her students. He's rich as it gets, rich enough to pay for gigolos to dance with her while he watches in yet another one of those moments that would get explored in a modern movie and are just another creepy aside in this one.
Between Helen murdering people who break into their house, then trying to be forgiven by Sister Alma all while having flashbacks to her husband being run over by a plow, her madness soon overtakes the film and things proceed to a rather sudden and shocking conclusion. There's also an extended miniature golf sequence and numerous rabbit murders, as well as the reveal that Helen may have been right to kill at least one of the intruders.
This movie happened when director Curtis Harrington (Night Tide, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?) and producer George Edwards approached writer Henry Farrell (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) became a hit. was a hit, hoping to get a screenplay. Hagsploitation was in, baby, and these dudes wanted in on the action!
According to Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters's psychiatrist had warned her not to take this movie, as she was about to play a woman having a nervous breakdown while she was actually having one. She claims that Winters became her character to the point that the studio considered replacing her with Geraldine Page, who had plenty of hagsploitation cred after starring in Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?
Winters also totally caught the lesbian undercurrents - well, they're not so well hidden, so let's say overcurrents - in the movie, but the scenes where she really played it up were left on the cutting room floor.
It's worth noting that this was an Oscar-nominated film - for Reynolds outfits, that is. If you have a Debbie Reynolds crush, good news. This is the movie for you. This is also the movie for you if you love musical numbers about animal crackers.
Every single person in this one is disreputable, even the children, who are forced to dress as showgirls and purr songs like "Oh, You Nasty Man." This posits What's the Matter with Helen? as a forerunner of calling out the blatant sexuality of child beauty pageants years before Jon Benet was murdered.
I've always wanted to see this movie, despite its trailer and poster giving away the ending. What were they thinking? That said, there's enough weirdness here to sustain my interest, even if I knew how it was all going to turn out.
Two women move to 1930's Hollywood in order to build new lives.
verna5515 September 2000
Slick, colorful Gothic horror tale features the veteran leading ladies in top form. Debbie Reynolds perfects that 1930's platinum blonde/Jean Harlow image, and Shelley Winters gives what is possibly her all-time best performance as the maniacal Helen. The film was directed by cult favorite Curtis Harrington, and was written by Henry Farrell author of the novel on which the classic film WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? was based. Farrell has concocted an equally effective mixture of horror and hollywood here. Harrington's next venture into the macabre was the similarly Gothic and atmospheric WHO SLEW AUNTIE ROO?, also featuring the inimitable Shelley Winters in the titular role.
Let alone Baby Jane, Aunty Roo or Charlotte
ptb-824 February 2004
Yes, a tap dancing horror thriller........with Shelley and Debbie! Goody Goody. This is demented and campy fun and part of the guignol cycle of the 60s that leaked into the 70s. Released as a double feature with the Burt Reynolds comedy FUZZ this mad scare is so bonkers as to be throughly entertaining. Like a mix of DAY OF THE LOCUST, THE OTHER and BABY JANE, I suggest any prospective viewer take on the idea that this is almost meant to be skew-iff and sit with someone with whom you can shriek and elbow all through it. Actually, get drunk whilst you watch it.....on cheap champagne. Again, with many 30s film ideas they are also about delusion; the struggle of the time for a better life getting bitter and twisted by emotional madness falling into murder. But this one is just plain crazy. It also reminds me a lot of BLOODY MAMA the De Niro - Winters shlock fest that makes this film look positively glorious.
Helen's Problem?!
JLRMovieReviews12 October 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds moved to California to escape from the scandal of their boys who killed a girl and went to prison for it, and all the gossip. Once there, they're still hounded by a stalker who keeps calling them. This all gives Shelley Winters a nervous breakdown. But, when did it really start, the viewer is thinking as the movie progresses. Shelley Winters is great as usual, as she is in everything she's in. And, the movie is successful in capturing the time period of the 30s/40s.
But still, the movie, seen once, doesn't really require or demand a second viewing, in my opinion of course. Henry Farrell was obviously trying to emulate the success of "Baby Jane" and "Sweet Charlotte", both of which he wrote and became huge box office hits, and this is similar in tone. But it is in no way as good as either of them. If you want to see it, you'll be glad you did, in order to complete the horror genre with big stars in them. But, once you find out about Helen's problem, she's better left alone.
But still, the movie, seen once, doesn't really require or demand a second viewing, in my opinion of course. Henry Farrell was obviously trying to emulate the success of "Baby Jane" and "Sweet Charlotte", both of which he wrote and became huge box office hits, and this is similar in tone. But it is in no way as good as either of them. If you want to see it, you'll be glad you did, in order to complete the horror genre with big stars in them. But, once you find out about Helen's problem, she's better left alone.
More Hammy Than Scary
wes-connors18 July 2012
After a sensational 1930s murder trial sends their sons to prison, middle-aged mothers Debbie Reynolds (as Adelle Bruckner) and Shelley Winters (as Helen Hill) decide to escape the glare of photographers and nosy reporters. They move to Hollywood, California. Possessing an obvious skill in dance, Ms. Reynolds decides she and Ms. Winters should start a school for mothers who think their little girls have what it takes to be the next Shirley Temple. With platinum-dyed hair, Reynolds patterns herself after Jean Harlow. Reynolds inexplicably tells Winters she looks like Marion Davies...
Both women reveal more in their past than murderous sons. Winters is the winner when we see a flashback to her plowing mishap. Mystery man Micheal MacLiammoir (as Hamilton Starr) joins the dance school as a voice coach. Reynolds begins seeing wealthy Texan Dennis Weaver (as Lincoln "Linc" Palmer). Winters is jealous. Increasingly loony, she visits religious talk-show host Agnes Moorehead (as Alma). "What's the Matter with Helen?" will be answered. This cycle began with "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) and Winters went directly into "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" (1972).
****** What's the Matter with Helen? (6/30/71) Curtis Harrington ~ Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver, Micheal MacLiammoir
Both women reveal more in their past than murderous sons. Winters is the winner when we see a flashback to her plowing mishap. Mystery man Micheal MacLiammoir (as Hamilton Starr) joins the dance school as a voice coach. Reynolds begins seeing wealthy Texan Dennis Weaver (as Lincoln "Linc" Palmer). Winters is jealous. Increasingly loony, she visits religious talk-show host Agnes Moorehead (as Alma). "What's the Matter with Helen?" will be answered. This cycle began with "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?" (1962) and Winters went directly into "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" (1972).
****** What's the Matter with Helen? (6/30/71) Curtis Harrington ~ Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver, Micheal MacLiammoir
Two divas, a few rabbits and Dennis Weaver
JasparLamarCrabb4 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
There's a lot the matter with Helen and none of it's good. Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds play mothers of a pair of Leopold & Loeb like killers who move from the mid-west to Hollywood to escape their past. Reynolds, a starstruck Jean Harlow wannabe, opens a dance studio for children and Winters is her piano player. Soon Winters (as Helen) begins to crack up. It's all very slow going and although there are moments of real creepiness (nasty phone calls, a visit from wino Timothy Carey), the movie is devoid of any real horror. Nevertheless, it's still worthy entertainment. The acting divas are fine and the production values are terrific. A music score by David Raskin, cinematography by Lucien Ballard and Oscar-nominated costumes contribute mightily. With this, A PLACE IN THE SUN and LOLITA to her credit, does anyone do crazy as well as Winters? Directed by Curtis Harrington, a master at this type of not quite A-movie exploitation. In addition to Carey, the oddball supporting cast includes Dennis Weaver, Agnes Moorehead (as a very Aimee Semple McPherson like evangelist), Yvette Vickers and Micheál MacLiammóir (the Irish Orson Welles) as Hamilton Starr, aptly nicknamed hammy.
One of Curtis Harrington's best horror films
Woodyanders21 April 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The 1930s. Classy, elegant Adele (marvelously played with dignified resolve by Debbie Reynolds) and batty, frumpy Helen (the magnificent Shelley Winters going full-tilt wacko with her customary histrionic panache) are the mothers of two killers. They leave their seamy pasts in the Midwest behind and move to Hollywood to start their own dance school for aspiring kid starlets. Adele begins dating dashing millionaire Lincoln Palmer (the always fine Dennis Weaver). On the other hand, religious fanatic Helen soon sinks into despair and madness.
Director Curtis ("Night Tide," "Ruby") Harrington, working from a crafty script by Henry Farrell (who wrote the book "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" was based on and co-wrote the screenplay for "Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte"), adeptly concocts a complex and compelling psychological horror thriller about guilt, fear, repression and religious fervor running dangerously amok. The super cast have a ball with their colorful roles: Michael MacLiammoir as a pompous elocution teacher, Agnes Moorehead as a stern fire-and-brimstone radio evangelist, Yvette Vickers as a snippy, overbearing mother of a bratty wannabe child star, Logan Ramsey as a snoopy detective, and Timothy Carey as a creepy bum. An elaborate talent recital set piece with Pamelyn Ferdin (the voice of Lucy in the "Peanuts" TV cartoon specials) serving as emcee and original "Friday the 13th" victim Robbi Morgan doing a wickedly bawdy dead-on Mae West impression qualifies as a definite highlight. David Raskin's spooky score, a fantastic scene with Reynolds performing an incredible tango at a posh restaurant, the flavorsome Depression-era period atmosphere, Lucien Ballard's handsome cinematography, and especially the startling macabre ending are all likewise on the money excellent and effective. MGM presents this terrific gem on a nifty DVD doublebill with "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?;" both pictures are presented in crisp widescreen transfers along with their theatrical trailers.
Director Curtis ("Night Tide," "Ruby") Harrington, working from a crafty script by Henry Farrell (who wrote the book "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" was based on and co-wrote the screenplay for "Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte"), adeptly concocts a complex and compelling psychological horror thriller about guilt, fear, repression and religious fervor running dangerously amok. The super cast have a ball with their colorful roles: Michael MacLiammoir as a pompous elocution teacher, Agnes Moorehead as a stern fire-and-brimstone radio evangelist, Yvette Vickers as a snippy, overbearing mother of a bratty wannabe child star, Logan Ramsey as a snoopy detective, and Timothy Carey as a creepy bum. An elaborate talent recital set piece with Pamelyn Ferdin (the voice of Lucy in the "Peanuts" TV cartoon specials) serving as emcee and original "Friday the 13th" victim Robbi Morgan doing a wickedly bawdy dead-on Mae West impression qualifies as a definite highlight. David Raskin's spooky score, a fantastic scene with Reynolds performing an incredible tango at a posh restaurant, the flavorsome Depression-era period atmosphere, Lucien Ballard's handsome cinematography, and especially the startling macabre ending are all likewise on the money excellent and effective. MGM presents this terrific gem on a nifty DVD doublebill with "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?;" both pictures are presented in crisp widescreen transfers along with their theatrical trailers.
lust for fame creates a moral gray area
lee_eisenberg15 April 2013
Curtis Harrington's "What's the Matter with Helen?" probably looks corny today. Even so, I derived that overall it deals with moral gray areas. Helen comes across as insane according to the clinical definition, but Adelle is insane in another sense: she's hellbent on fame and prestige at any cost. Large numbers of people moved to Hollywood in the hope of making it big but most likely saw their hopes dashed, as seen in "The Day of the Locust". One might call this movie a dark spin on "TDotL".
Aside from all that, it was interesting seeing Debbie Reynolds in this sort of movie. I'm used to seeing her in wholesome roles (or knowing her as the mother of a certain actress who played a certain princess in a galaxy far, far away). True, her character is the perky one in contrast to Shelley Winters's disturbed one, but when was the last time that you saw Debbie Reynolds in a movie dealing with murder? Agnes Moorehead's character is also a shocker. I'm used to seeing her as Endora on "Bewitched", but here she's an evangelist (although her character IS kind of a witch). Goody goody indeed.
In the end, the movie has sort of a silly feeling, but it's a very enjoyable movie. You might take some time to see it.
So yes, DID you ever see a dream walking or hear it talking?
PS, I recently got to meet Peggy Walton-Walker by pure chance. She told me that she appeared in an uncredited role in the scene with Agnes Moorehead. She also co-starred in "Pumpkinhead".
Aside from all that, it was interesting seeing Debbie Reynolds in this sort of movie. I'm used to seeing her in wholesome roles (or knowing her as the mother of a certain actress who played a certain princess in a galaxy far, far away). True, her character is the perky one in contrast to Shelley Winters's disturbed one, but when was the last time that you saw Debbie Reynolds in a movie dealing with murder? Agnes Moorehead's character is also a shocker. I'm used to seeing her as Endora on "Bewitched", but here she's an evangelist (although her character IS kind of a witch). Goody goody indeed.
In the end, the movie has sort of a silly feeling, but it's a very enjoyable movie. You might take some time to see it.
So yes, DID you ever see a dream walking or hear it talking?
PS, I recently got to meet Peggy Walton-Walker by pure chance. She told me that she appeared in an uncredited role in the scene with Agnes Moorehead. She also co-starred in "Pumpkinhead".
oddly uncompelling
SnoopyStyle4 July 2021
Helen Hill (Shelley Winters) and Adelle Bruckner (Debbie Reynolds) are mothers of troubled young men sentenced to life in prison for a gruesome murder. They are harassed by the public and threatened by a stalker. They head out to Hollywood under new names to open a dance school. The constant threats send Helen into madness.
I don't much like Helen or her dire situation. In a way, it may be more intriguing to dive head-first into her madness. Instead, she's doing mad-melodramatic-acting. It's probably more a problem of Adelle. She's always shocked that Helen's doing crazy stuff. How can she be shocked? She's all clutching her pearls. The movie has a veneer of old style melodrama and it's not a good look. Despite the murders, it's not thrilling. It could have leaned harder on the mystery of the caller but Helen's madness overshadows it. It tries to be camp late with the ending image but it's too late. It's oddly uncompelling.
I don't much like Helen or her dire situation. In a way, it may be more intriguing to dive head-first into her madness. Instead, she's doing mad-melodramatic-acting. It's probably more a problem of Adelle. She's always shocked that Helen's doing crazy stuff. How can she be shocked? She's all clutching her pearls. The movie has a veneer of old style melodrama and it's not a good look. Despite the murders, it's not thrilling. It could have leaned harder on the mystery of the caller but Helen's madness overshadows it. It tries to be camp late with the ending image but it's too late. It's oddly uncompelling.
Scary, Believable And Real, Psychological Creeper
johnstonjames18 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Curtis Harrington is the most. i'd say to die for but that would be a pun that waxes ironic. but Harrington makes creepy psychological horror that is hard to resist not only because of the morbidity of their fascination but because they are so elegant, refined and obviously tailored to be so entertaining and fun.
'What's The Matter With Helen' is a lot of creepy fun but it is also very stylish and extremely well crafted stuff. not only are Reynolds and Winters outstanding and memorable, but the production design and screenplay are above par. not to mention one of the wickedest and slyest sense of humour in dark comedy. the humour is so sly and subtle that it never relies on obvious or out and out gags. most people would hardly even realize there is even humour at play here.
there have been complaints about there being too many plot holes within the story here. i disagree. you just have to pay more attention to the situation. if there is any fault here with the story is that there is possibly too much happening for the viewer to comprehend easily on one viewing. but the plot is coherent and tied together correctly, it just gets a little hard to follow with all the events that transpire. but in the long, it all makes perfect sense. there is also a real sense of believable timing here like in the suddenness of Helen's homicidal rage.
as with Harrington's 'Auntie Roo', i feel like i'm giving short change by only rating this with eight stars. his film's have so much quality you feel they warrant more consideration. possibly so. maybe time will tell. where i'm concerned, Harrington's film's feel too entertaining and are too much fun, and that seems to be the ultimate point to them, which makes their contributions seem somewhat light and superficial. as far as entertaining fun goes, they are cinema classics.
at any rate i think this film is a real hoot and holler. there may be better horror films and thrillers than this, but few as perfectly done and few are as fun as this.
'What's The Matter With Helen' is a lot of creepy fun but it is also very stylish and extremely well crafted stuff. not only are Reynolds and Winters outstanding and memorable, but the production design and screenplay are above par. not to mention one of the wickedest and slyest sense of humour in dark comedy. the humour is so sly and subtle that it never relies on obvious or out and out gags. most people would hardly even realize there is even humour at play here.
there have been complaints about there being too many plot holes within the story here. i disagree. you just have to pay more attention to the situation. if there is any fault here with the story is that there is possibly too much happening for the viewer to comprehend easily on one viewing. but the plot is coherent and tied together correctly, it just gets a little hard to follow with all the events that transpire. but in the long, it all makes perfect sense. there is also a real sense of believable timing here like in the suddenness of Helen's homicidal rage.
as with Harrington's 'Auntie Roo', i feel like i'm giving short change by only rating this with eight stars. his film's have so much quality you feel they warrant more consideration. possibly so. maybe time will tell. where i'm concerned, Harrington's film's feel too entertaining and are too much fun, and that seems to be the ultimate point to them, which makes their contributions seem somewhat light and superficial. as far as entertaining fun goes, they are cinema classics.
at any rate i think this film is a real hoot and holler. there may be better horror films and thrillers than this, but few as perfectly done and few are as fun as this.
WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? (Curtis Harrington, 1971) ***
Bunuel197619 May 2007
I had watched (and recorded) this a few years back on local TV and, having been underwhelmed by it, I subsequently erased the tape; however, when it was released by MGM as part of a "Midnite Movie" double-feature DVD of Curtis Harrington/Shelley Winters films for a very affordable price, I couldn't resist giving it a second look (this has since gone out-of-print). Actually, I received the DVD a few months ago but only now, with Harrington's passing, did I get to it; thankfully, this time around I was more receptive to the film and, in fact, now consider it one of the more satisfying WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962) imitations (with whom, incidentally, it shared screenwriter Henry Farrell).
The film offers a splendid evocation of 1930s Depression America - with its child-star craze and sensational murders (exploited during the fake newsreel opening); it's stylishly made (kudos to Lucien Ballard's cinematography and the set design by Eugene Lourie') and boasts an effective David Raksin score. Shelley Winters, Debbie Reynolds and Michael MacLiammoir deliver excellent performances; the latter is especially impressive as the larger-than-life and vaguely sinister diction coach (though he ultimately proves a mere red herring!). Also featured are Dennis Weaver and Agnes Moorehead (hers is only a cameo, really, as the evangelist she plays is mostly heard over the radio).
Many seemed to regret the inclusion of musical numbers by the kids (including an amusing Mae West imitation), but I personally wasn't bothered by them; the film does slightly overstay its welcome due to an unhurried pace and (perhaps needlessly) convoluted plot. Reynolds - a musical star herself - is ideally cast as the dancing-school owner and, despite their on-set rivalry, she and Winters work well together. The latter, in fact, gives a more balanced depiction of paranoia and insanity than in WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? (1971); the narrative, then, comes up with a number of ironic twists that lead up to the expected Grand Guignol-type denouement. Apparently, the film was toned down (it originally contained more gore and even a suggestion of lesbianism!) by producer Martin Ransohoff - against Harrington's wishes - in order to get a PG rating...
The film offers a splendid evocation of 1930s Depression America - with its child-star craze and sensational murders (exploited during the fake newsreel opening); it's stylishly made (kudos to Lucien Ballard's cinematography and the set design by Eugene Lourie') and boasts an effective David Raksin score. Shelley Winters, Debbie Reynolds and Michael MacLiammoir deliver excellent performances; the latter is especially impressive as the larger-than-life and vaguely sinister diction coach (though he ultimately proves a mere red herring!). Also featured are Dennis Weaver and Agnes Moorehead (hers is only a cameo, really, as the evangelist she plays is mostly heard over the radio).
Many seemed to regret the inclusion of musical numbers by the kids (including an amusing Mae West imitation), but I personally wasn't bothered by them; the film does slightly overstay its welcome due to an unhurried pace and (perhaps needlessly) convoluted plot. Reynolds - a musical star herself - is ideally cast as the dancing-school owner and, despite their on-set rivalry, she and Winters work well together. The latter, in fact, gives a more balanced depiction of paranoia and insanity than in WHOEVER SLEW AUNTIE ROO? (1971); the narrative, then, comes up with a number of ironic twists that lead up to the expected Grand Guignol-type denouement. Apparently, the film was toned down (it originally contained more gore and even a suggestion of lesbianism!) by producer Martin Ransohoff - against Harrington's wishes - in order to get a PG rating...
What's the Matter With this Film? **
edwagreen4 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
The film is almost laughable with Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters teaming up as the mothers of convicted murderers. With the horrible notoriety after the trial, the two women team up and leave N.Y. for California in order to open and song and dance studio for Shirley Temple-like girls.
From the beginning, it becomes apparent that Reynolds has made a mistake in taking Winters with her to California. Winters plays a deeply religious woman who increasingly seems to be going off her rocker.
To make matters worse, the women who live together, are receiving menacing phone calls. Reynolds, who puts on a blond wig, is soon romanced by the wealthy father of one of her students, nicely played by Dennis Weaver.
Agnes Moorehead, in one of her last films, briefly is seen as Sister Alma, who Winters is a faithful listener of.
The film really belongs to Shelley Winters. She is heavy here and heaviness seemed to make her acting even better. Winters always did well in roles testing her nerves.
The ending is of the macabre and who can forget Winters at the piano banging away with that totally insane look?
From the beginning, it becomes apparent that Reynolds has made a mistake in taking Winters with her to California. Winters plays a deeply religious woman who increasingly seems to be going off her rocker.
To make matters worse, the women who live together, are receiving menacing phone calls. Reynolds, who puts on a blond wig, is soon romanced by the wealthy father of one of her students, nicely played by Dennis Weaver.
Agnes Moorehead, in one of her last films, briefly is seen as Sister Alma, who Winters is a faithful listener of.
The film really belongs to Shelley Winters. She is heavy here and heaviness seemed to make her acting even better. Winters always did well in roles testing her nerves.
The ending is of the macabre and who can forget Winters at the piano banging away with that totally insane look?
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