Lizzie (1957)

During the 1950s, a Los Angeles psychiatrist uses hypnosis to treat a 25 year old woman who's suffering from multiple personality disorder.

Director:

Hugo Haas

Writers:

Mel Dinelli, Shirley Jackson (novel)

Stars:

Eleanor Parker, Richard Boone, Joan Blondell

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Eleanor Parker	...	Elizabeth / Lizzie / Beth Richmond
Richard Boone	...	Dr. Neal Wright
Joan Blondell	...	Aunt Morgan James
Hugo Haas	...	Walter Brenner
Ric Roman	...	Johnny Valenzo
Dorothy Arnold	...	Elizabeth's Mother
John Reach	...	Robin
Marion Ross	...	Ruth Seaton
Johnny Mathis	...	Piano Singer

Storyline

Elizabeth has reoccurring headaches and trouble sleeping. Threatening letters signed by Lizzie are given to her, but she does not know anyone named Lizzie. As her situation deteriorates, she goes to a Dr. Wright who hypnotizes her. Deep in her subconscious, Dr. Wright finds three personalities; Elizabeth, the shy one that everyone knows; Lizzie, the wild one like her mother; and Beth, the good one she should have become. Dr. Wright must help the personality of Beth become the only one.

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Plot Keywords:

woman | 1950s | hypnosis | psychiatrist | multiple personality | 

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Taglines:

A shocker to hold you spellbound!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 January 1958 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Hidden Faces

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$361,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$280,000, 31 December 1957

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$555,000, 31 December 1957

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Aunt Morgan's front-loading washing machine that she has in the kitchen is a Bendix model "S", circa 1947 - one of the first home front-loaders sold after WWII.

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Goofs

In Mathis' first scene at the bar, the position of the microphone head and the drink near it on the piano keep changing positions between shots.

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Soundtracks

It's Not For Me To Say
Written by Al Stillman and Robert Allen
Performed by Johnny Mathis

User Reviews

Good, bad, better!

Shirley Jackson's "The Bird's Nest" has always been one of my favorite novels, so I was excited to find that it had been made into a movie (albeit one that's nearly impossible to find) 'way back when. The film's black-and-white 1950s graininess perfectly evokes its era, as do the starchy clothes and rigid hair of the characters, and the dreadful, over-the-top "score" of shrieking, dissonant violins. The beginning of the movie promised an experience so terrible that I was tempted to hold off watching it till I could gather some of my snarkier friends, but it was already too late -- I'd been sucked in and was having too much fun to quit. As the movie goes on, it gets much better, yet it remains enjoyable, every now and again flinging itself headlong into vertiginous swoops of insane bathos. All in all, I found it perfectly delightful, and can only summarize it by plagiarizing Mae West: When it's good, it's very good, and when it's bad, it's better.