In order to collect inheritance money, a slacker tries to induce a heart attack in his invalid grandmother by convincing her that she's become the target of youth supremacists who want to en... Read allIn order to collect inheritance money, a slacker tries to induce a heart attack in his invalid grandmother by convincing her that she's become the target of youth supremacists who want to enact a genocide on the elderly.In order to collect inheritance money, a slacker tries to induce a heart attack in his invalid grandmother by convincing her that she's become the target of youth supremacists who want to enact a genocide on the elderly.
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I do not think that this film was released in the UK.It certainly has not made it out on DVD.It is a rather strange film.It takes an awful long time to get to its climax and when it does all you can think its"so what".In fact when the couple go into see the solicitor about the reading of the will you think ,rightly,from that moment on that everything is about to go downhill.It is difficult to know why the makers thought this film was worth making.It is not a horror film,it is not sexploitation it is not a mystery thriller,it is just a mess.One can only feel pity for dear old Mona Washbourne that she felt that she had to appear in this.Although only 69 when the film was made she looks absolutely dreadful.
This unjustly neglected Amicus horror gem remains a deliciously twisted tale of opportunistic Octogenarian offing, and diabolical delinquency. Duplicitous, ardently inheritance-coveting, Johnnie Tallent (Paul Nicolas) and his avidly callous conspirator, Jill Standish (Vanessa Howard) plan and evilly execute the cruel death of Johnnie's loving Gran, Alice Tallent (Mona Washbourne). Bill Bain's dark, wickedly entertaining psychodrama is enlivened by compelling performances, with a mesmerisingly malevolent turn from the nubile, electrifyingly libidinous strumpet, Vanessa 'Girly' Howard.
The fine filmmaking by director, Bain making the most of notable writer, Roger 'The Avenger's Marshall's blackened, bracingly nihilistic text. The dour suburban milieu of loneliness and seething discontent is palpable. Paul Nicholas plays the ambivalent, coldly scheming, Johnnie with remarkable fluency, utilizing subtler shades suggesting, perhaps, at one time, he may actually have had some genuine affection for his poor Gran. While lurid, and undeniably exploitative in nature, there's an innate melancholy, a dark pathos, redolent of the glumly melodramatic, socially conscious kitchen sink doom-fests of the mid to late 60s. A skewed 70s Brit-Horror delight, 'What Became of Jack And Jill' ranks highly in the pantheon of terror-tweaked 70s shock, and the lack of a HD restoration is conspicuous!
The fine filmmaking by director, Bain making the most of notable writer, Roger 'The Avenger's Marshall's blackened, bracingly nihilistic text. The dour suburban milieu of loneliness and seething discontent is palpable. Paul Nicholas plays the ambivalent, coldly scheming, Johnnie with remarkable fluency, utilizing subtler shades suggesting, perhaps, at one time, he may actually have had some genuine affection for his poor Gran. While lurid, and undeniably exploitative in nature, there's an innate melancholy, a dark pathos, redolent of the glumly melodramatic, socially conscious kitchen sink doom-fests of the mid to late 60s. A skewed 70s Brit-Horror delight, 'What Became of Jack And Jill' ranks highly in the pantheon of terror-tweaked 70s shock, and the lack of a HD restoration is conspicuous!
What Became of Jack and Jill is an extremely rare British psycho chiller, and a rather good film to boot. The film takes on the idea of 'murder for profit' and mixes it with a family theme and the idea of lazy youngsters not wanting to get a job. I do have to admit that the copy I saw was sourced from a very old VHS and thus the quality was rather shabby; but in spite of that, it's still clear to see that Bill Bain's film is very well made and effective, despite not having the luxury of a big budget and star names on the cast list. The film actually has nothing to do with the classic nursery rhyme - and I'm not sure where the title comes from considering the male lead's name is 'Johnny'. Anyway, we focus on a young man living with his grandmother, who just happens to be sitting on a fortune. Naturally, the grandson wants to get his selfish mits on this fortune and so does his girlfriend; so the two hatch a plot to send the grandmother insane; leading to her death and leaving the pair free to spend all her money. However, things do not exactly go to plan.
The film is actually quite slow and the plot very relaxed in terms of it's plotting; but while the film is not particularly exciting, the slow plot does benefit it in that we get time to know the characters and the situation to ensure that the film is always intriguing. The acting is fairly decent too with the three central performers doing well in their roles. Paul Nicholas ('Blind Terror') convinces in his role as the grandchild that wants his grandmother out of the way so he can enjoy life, while Vanessa Howard (the biggest standout in Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly) is ice cold as his scheming girlfriend. Mona Washbourne ('Fragment of Fear') rounds off the central cast and gives the only likable character of the whole piece. The film is much better while there are three leads in it; after the death of the grandmother, there's some amusement in the aftermath but the rest of the film doesn't live up to the promise of what went before it. Still, What Became of Jack and Jill, while not a classic, is certainly an interesting little film and it's worth a look if you can find a copy.
The film is actually quite slow and the plot very relaxed in terms of it's plotting; but while the film is not particularly exciting, the slow plot does benefit it in that we get time to know the characters and the situation to ensure that the film is always intriguing. The acting is fairly decent too with the three central performers doing well in their roles. Paul Nicholas ('Blind Terror') convinces in his role as the grandchild that wants his grandmother out of the way so he can enjoy life, while Vanessa Howard (the biggest standout in Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly) is ice cold as his scheming girlfriend. Mona Washbourne ('Fragment of Fear') rounds off the central cast and gives the only likable character of the whole piece. The film is much better while there are three leads in it; after the death of the grandmother, there's some amusement in the aftermath but the rest of the film doesn't live up to the promise of what went before it. Still, What Became of Jack and Jill, while not a classic, is certainly an interesting little film and it's worth a look if you can find a copy.
This is one of those films almost no one living seems to have seen, yet remember. I only caught it once in '72 or '73 but found it great fun. An opportunistic young couple are after an elderly lady's money ... their plot & how they set it up is absorbing. This is a half-remembered movie, probably in line with the youth-oriented '70's American flicks like Three in the Attic and Wild in the Streets, which I would welcome enjoying again. It's not great, but it's very enjoyable "black humour".
Jack lives with his elderly grandmother who he looks after . He hates this and resents caring for her . Along with Jill his gold digging girlfriend they hatch a plan to get rid of her
If the premise above reads as a bit too simplistic then you'd probably have a point . It's the old Shakespearian tragedy of a young weak greedy man listening too much to a slutty greedy woman and coming to regret it . However this isn't enough to to condemn the film as being bad in anyway and while it's not terribly good neither is it terribly bad , just a little bit predictable
The cast are somewhat one note with Paul Nicholas as a hip early 1970s young cat brooding that the best years of his life will revolve around looking after his elderly grandmother who he has murderous fantasies towards . Vanessa Howard plays Jill who is a bit too slutty to be entirely credible but if you're a hip young cat then the tail wags the dog if you know what I mean and Mona Washbourne plays Gran who despite being a coffin dodger isn't written or portrayed as being insufferably selfish , just old
The directing by Bill Bain is rather static and workman like which is not too surprising since most of his prior and subsequent work was in the field of television . One interesting aspect Bain does bring to the film is a cinematography featuring muted sepia tones which is the only real remarkable thing in an unremarkable film
If the premise above reads as a bit too simplistic then you'd probably have a point . It's the old Shakespearian tragedy of a young weak greedy man listening too much to a slutty greedy woman and coming to regret it . However this isn't enough to to condemn the film as being bad in anyway and while it's not terribly good neither is it terribly bad , just a little bit predictable
The cast are somewhat one note with Paul Nicholas as a hip early 1970s young cat brooding that the best years of his life will revolve around looking after his elderly grandmother who he has murderous fantasies towards . Vanessa Howard plays Jill who is a bit too slutty to be entirely credible but if you're a hip young cat then the tail wags the dog if you know what I mean and Mona Washbourne plays Gran who despite being a coffin dodger isn't written or portrayed as being insufferably selfish , just old
The directing by Bill Bain is rather static and workman like which is not too surprising since most of his prior and subsequent work was in the field of television . One interesting aspect Bain does bring to the film is a cinematography featuring muted sepia tones which is the only real remarkable thing in an unremarkable film
Did you know
- TriviaFinanced by Amicus pictures in 1970 as "Romeo and Juliet '71" in an attempt to capture the ever-growing grindhouse/exploitation market. The experiment worked too well, as the final product proved to be too nihilistic for Amicus executives, who were still used to the more benign, supernatural films they had produced in the 1960s. Amicus shelved the film for two years until it was picked up for distribution by 20th Century Fox, who successfully marketed the film on the American grindhouse circuit.
- Quotes
Johnnie Tallent: Well here's how they figure it, Gran. The Middle-aged are like customers in a swank restaurant sitting over a slap-up meal, see? Everything's rosy so why worry about tomorrow? But the young, well they're like hungry people standing in a queue outside, noses pressed up against the glass, waiting for a table.
Gran Alice Tallent: And the old? What do they say about the old?
Johnnie Tallent: Ah, the old. Well, they've finished their scoff, Gran. But they just sit on and on and on; just don't know when to get up and go.
- ConnectionsReferenced in The Killing of America (1981)
Details
- Runtime
- 1h 33m(93 min)
- Color
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