Lady in a Cage (1964)

A Very Bad Day...

Olivia De Havilland stars as Ms. Hilliard, the title character in this 1964 grabber. Stuck in her private elevator due to a power outage, she can only watch as increasingly repugnant criminals enter and ransack her home. First, a homeless wino breaks in, scopes the place out, and steals a toaster and some wine. He returns w/ a hooker friend (Ann Sothern from The Killing Kind) and the two start gathering up the silver. Uh-Oh! It seems they weren't very careful, and a trio of young, psychotic crazies has followed them! Now the real fun begins. Led by the downright evil Randall (James Caan from Misery), these punks take over the operation, and they've got more than robbery on their deranged minds! Meanwhile, Ms. Hilliard goes through mental anguish while trying to find some way of escape. LADY IN A CAGE is a blunt, fairly graphic little movie w/ plenty of surprises for everyone involved. Highly recommended... P.S.- Watch for a young Scatman Cruthers (The Shining) as a thug... October 3, 2008

Terrible Acting and Script

Whatever possessed Olivia deHavilland to accept the role in this mess will never be known. The entire movie is one twisted, melodramatic mess!!

deHavilland's performance is campy and her characterization comes off rather stupid (this may be the director's fault and the fault of the script as well). What comes off as implausible and totally unbelievable could have been done very well with a better script.

The scenes at the end (which I won't reveal for spoiling them) are laughable.

The rest of the characters in the cast are throughly unlikeable!! You long to see them all dispatched. All in all this is a twisted film....especially the allusions to deHavilland being in love with her son (who is obviously gay and dominated by him).

This is NOT one of the better films of the sixties macabre period.
August 7, 2008

Has achieved cult status following...Quentin Tarantino would have been proud of it...

LADY IN A CAGE is a thriller that exploits the very subject matter it is trying to expose in such a grim manner. A wealthy lady (OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND) is recovering from a hip operation that forces her to use a self-operated "lift" in her home where she is surrounded by luxury items and a self-absorbed but orderly existence. She is exactly the sort of person unprepared for the invasion of a group of thugs who make her life a living hell when they intrude upon her household in the crudest possible way.

When the film first opened, it was received poorly by the film critics of the day who lambasted it for its graphic depiction of senseless violence and viewed it as no more than a cheap horror flick. However, the years have been kinder to it than anyone could have expected. Perhaps de Havilland was right when she judged that the film was "way ahead of its time" in dealing with this sort of subject matter because today it is much more highly regarded for what it is trying to say beneath the graphic brutality.

JAMES CAAN is the ruthless leader of the pack, obviously a delinquent of the first order who enjoys humiliating and playing mind games with the victimized woman in the cage. It is he who exposes her as a not very sympathetic woman who has smothered her son with affection to the point where he has left a suicide note addressed to her as "Darling". Caan's frank dialog is particularly rough here and his shoving around of the defenseless woman is not a pleasant sight to witness.

JEFF COREY overacts mercilessly as a vagrant with a thirst for any liquor he can get his hands on and ANN SOTHERN does an effective supporting role as a blowsy prostitute not above taking advantage of what looks to be a good situation. The less said about RAFAEL CAMPOS and JENNIFER BILLINGSLEY the better. Their overripe work is almost embarrassing at times.

It's obvious that Luther Davis was exposing the flaws in society that certainly came to the surface during the '60s, shortly before the Manson murders became widely known. The baby boomers of the drug generation certainly get their share of blame here.

Summing up: Not for the faint of heart, but a searing expose of certain societal ills in a not too subtle way. Olivia at least is highly convincing in what must have been an exhausting role to play and a most unusual one.

June 3, 2007

the clash of "old" and "new" Hollywood

An intense and unnerving movie experience, LADY IN A CAGE is not for the faint-hearted. The story revolves around Mrs Cornelia Hilyard (Olivia de Havilland), a woman trying to peacefully recover from a hip-replacement within the confines of her home. On a very hot day, she becomes stuck in her elevator, and is terrorised by a group of criminals and hoods who break in.

Ann Sothern turns in a fabulous performance as Sade, a hard-bitten prostitute; whilst James Caan--in only his second film--seems to be channeling Brando as he plays the menacing gang leader Randall Simpson O'Connell. Jennifer Billingsley plays the vile gang moll, Elaine.

Olivia de Havilland is heartbreaking as the terrorised Mrs Hilyard. This was the second 'scream queen' role which she played in 1964 (the other is "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte"). In the wrong hands this material could have become melodramatic, but de Havilland always was a very truthful and instinctual actress, and the same is true for her performance here.

Whenever I watch LADY IN A CAGE, I'm always struck by the notion that it's the clash of "Old Hollywood" and "New Hollywood". By that, I mean that you have two of the great Hollywood women--Olivia de Havilland and Ann Sothern--clashing literally and physically with much younger actors for whom their movies and work would have meant absolutely nothing. This film was made on the cusp of changes within Hollywood, too. Shortly the MPAA ratings system would be set into place, allowing movies to go further than they had ever been allowed to in the past.

So much of this film is completely unsettling, particularly as this pre-dates the Manson killings (and this film features scenes which would eerily echo in reality).

Certainly no feel-good movie, but worthy of any classic film collection. The DVD sadly does not feature any extras. April 29, 2007

Lady in a Cage

Lady in a Cage is a refreshing entry
into the B&W horror genre of the 60's.
I've always been a fan of Olivia de Havilland
so as I was reading the description and reviews
I wasn't sure if I really wanted to see this film.
Even while knowing that she's a great actress
it was hard for me to imagine her in such a bizarre role.
I was happy to see that she gave an excellent performance.

Unlike other movies of the genre, "Lady in a Cage" comes
off classy and refined, in spite of the violent subject matter.
There are no unconvincing actors to be found and the
suspense level puts this movie right on par with Hitchcock.
In fact, I was most suprised at how suspenseful this was
because the general plot description sounded so basic. Great
acting and creative cinematography puts the movie at the
helm of the genre.

The movie begins with a deceptively wholesome opening reminiscent
of a 1950's family sitcom and it actually never loses that feeling;
however, characters enter, plunder, and exit the home, thus providing
the action and suspense. At times, De havilland's overly
dramatic acting delivery seems a little contrived, but it's
the same style that won her two Oscars. Upon closer
examination one can see how her Puritan
character creates a glaring contrast to the
brutal juveniles, the repentant alcholic thief, and
the opportunistic female hustler. It's this contrast
that sets the scene for a heightened suspense factor.

This movie is great for purchase or rental. It's guaranteed
to provoke an endless range of emotions in the viewer.


February 28, 2007

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