Strait Jacket

Strait-Jacket DVD
1963 Columbia Pictures

Directed by Willaim Castle

Written by Robert Bloch

Runtime 93 Minutes Unrated

Cast:
Joan Crawford: Lucy Harbin
Diane Baker: Carol Harbin
Leif Erikson: Bill Cutler
Howard St. John: Raymond Fields
John Anthony Hayes: Michael Fields
Rochelle Hudson: Emily Cutler
George Kennedy: Leo Krause
Edith Atwater: Mrs. Fields
Mitchell Cox: Dr. Anderson

"Strait-Jacket" is a very well acted, well made, character driven thriller. It is about a woman (Joan Crawford) coming home from an asylum after 20 years for slaughtering her husband and lover with an axe. She is trying to put her life back together and reunite with her daughter (Diane Baker). A series of murders start happening, which causes doubts of Crawford's sanity.

Before seeing this movie, I dont think I've ever seen a Joan Crawford film before. She really chews the scenery and puts on a creepy, yet enthralling, performance. I can see why she's a legend! The film takes it's time in telling you what is going to happen. The only problem I had with the film is that I was able to predict the ending and events before they happened. It is not a problem with the film so much, it's more the fact that it's dated.

Picture:
Columbia released "Strait-Jacket" in the film's original 1:85:1 aspect ratio remastered for high-definition TVs. The black and white picture suffers from age quite a bit. At times it looks nice and clean, but yet will turn dirty and grainy the next, even in the same scene. I am assuming the elements are suffering.

Sound:
Mild cracks and pops, but nothing too major to report. The film is presented in 2 channel mono. Pretty much everything was coming from the center channel and no LFE action.

Extras:
There is an approximately 15 minute featurette on the making of "Strait-Jacket". It has interviews from Diane Baker and a few film historians, who are obviously fans of Director/Producer William Castle. They talk about how Castle had always wanted to do a film with Crawford ever since he saw "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" many times. Everyone had something to say about Crawford.

There are also screen tests for the axe swinging scene which runs about 30 seconds long, a wardrobe/ makeup test for Joan Crawford, and a few trailers offered on this DVD.

The Butler's Final Serving:
This is a decent way to kill a couple hours for any old horror fan. If you like Alfred Hitchcock or William Castle, check out "Strait-Jacket".

Rating (out of four):

Film: ***
Picture **1/2
Sound ***
Extras **1/2

Special Treat from Peter West: Strait Jacket has a incredible set of artwork in the opening credits click on this link to check it out! Strait Jacket Artwork