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.
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
Nominated for
1
Oscar.
See more awards »
Learn more
More Like This
Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
(1971)
Horror
|
Thriller
Director:
Curtis Harrington
Stars:
Shelley Winters,
Mark Lester,
Chloe Franks
Certificate: M
Crime
|
Drama
|
Mystery
Directors:
Lee H. Katzin,
Bernard Girard
Stars:
Geraldine Page,
Ruth Gordon,
Rosemary Forsyth
Games
(1967)
Thriller
Director:
Curtis Harrington
Stars:
Simone Signoret,
James Caan,
Katharine Ross
The Killing Kind
(1973)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Horror
Director:
Curtis Harrington
Stars:
Ann Sothern,
John Savage,
Ruth Roman
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
(1964)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Mystery
Director:
Robert Aldrich
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Olivia de Havilland,
Joseph Cotten
Night Watch
(1973)
Horror
|
Mystery
|
Thriller
Director:
Brian G. Hutton
Stars:
Elizabeth Taylor,
Laurence Harvey,
Billie Whitelaw
Strait-Jacket
(1964)
Drama
|
Horror
|
Thriller
Director:
William Castle
Stars:
Joan Crawford,
Diane Baker,
Leif Erickson
Beyond the Forest
(1949)
Drama
|
Film-Noir
|
Romance
Director:
King Vidor
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Joseph Cotten,
David Brian
Die! Die! My Darling!
(1965)
Horror
|
Thriller
Director:
Silvio Narizzano
Stars:
Tallulah Bankhead,
Stefanie Powers,
Peter Vaughan
The Star
(1952)
Drama
|
Romance
Director:
Stuart Heisler
Stars:
Bette Davis,
Sterling Hayden,
Natalie Wood
Valentino
(1977)
Biography
|
Drama
Director:
Ken Russell
Stars:
Rudolf Nureyev,
Leslie Caron,
Michelle Phillips
Autumn Leaves
(1956)
Drama
Director:
Robert Aldrich
Stars:
Joan Crawford,
Cliff Robertson,
Vera Miles
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Debbie Reynolds | ... | Adelle Bruckner aka Adelle Stuart | |
| Shelley Winters | ... | Helen Hill aka Helen Martin | |
| Dennis Weaver | ... | Linc Palmer | |
| Micheál MacLiammóir | ... | Hamilton Starr (as Micheal Mac Liammóir) | |
| Agnes Moorehead | ... | Sister Alma | |
| Helene Winston | ... | Mrs. Greenbaum | |
| Peggy Rea | ... | Mrs. Schultz | |
| Logan Ramsey | ... | Detective Sgt. West | |
 |
Paulle Clark | ... | Mrs. Plumb |
| Yvette Vickers | ... | Mrs. Barker | |
| Molly Dodd | ... | Mrs. Rigg | |
|
|
Samee Lee Jones | ... | Winona Palmer (as Sammee Lee Jones) |
| Robbi Morgan | ... | Rosalie Greenbaum | |
| Timothy Carey | ... | The Tramp | |
|
|
Swen Swenson | ... | The Gigolo |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Set in the 30s, Helen and Adelle are two women whose sons commit a gruesome murder. After their conviction, they move to Hollywood change their names and open a dance school for girls. Adelle is looking for a good life and when one of the parents of her students who is wealthy takes a liking to her she thinks she's got it made. Helen thinks that someone who blames them for what their sons did is stalking them. But Adelle thinks it's all in her mind. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com
Taglines:
Why are they all dying so violently?... even the little rabbits! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
13 April 1972 (Mexico) See more »Also Known As:
The Box Step See more »Filming Locations:
General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USACompany Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoAspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
Edit
Written by Ray Henderson, Jack Yellen & Irving Caesar
Performed by Robbi Morgan
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Piano music with Ginger Rogers on the cover for "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" from "Gold Diggers of 1933" can be spotted on the piano. See more »Goofs
There's a bible on the desk to the left of Helen as she talks to the detective and clasps her hands together. Suddenly her hands are outstretched across the desk and the bible's in the center. See more »Soundtracks
Oh, You Nasty ManWritten by Ray Henderson, Jack Yellen & Irving Caesar
Performed by Robbi Morgan
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.Contribute to This Page
Explore popular action and adventure titles available to stream with Prime Video.
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.