Joan Crawford’s Tailor-Made ‘Strait-Jacket’ 1964

Joan Crawford's Lucy Harbin has an ax to grind with cheatin' hubby and his bimbo,
in 1964's thriller, "Strait-Jacket."

Joan Crawford’s post-studio contract films were often beyond over the top. But Strait-Jacket is right up there with Johnny Guitar as a bizarro bonanza. After the surprise success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Joan appeared in a solo suspense film, Strait Jacket, while Bette Davis made Dead Ringer.

Did Adrian design Joan's "Strait-Jacket?"

The lighting a match on the record player scene never fails to make me laugh.
I wish that Carol Burnett had spoofed Strait-Jacket on her classic TV series.

So much has been written about this camp classic, that I chose to note things about Strait-Jacket that I found personally interesting. The set up is about a young woman who catches her husband in bed with another woman upon returning home late one night. She responds by chopping their heads off with an ax. Done and dusted! She then spends the next twenty years in an asylum. Upon returning home to her grown daughter, creepy things begin to happen. And when the tensions really rise, heads begin to roll!

Frank Harbin and his bar pickup look laid out just like corpses! That's Lee Majors,
in his film debut, about to get the ax by Joan Crawford in 1964's "Strait-Jacket."

Lucy Harbin’s scrapbook, with pics of her 7 years younger hubby Frank, played by Lee Majors. In reality, Lee was almost 35 years younger than Joan! Note the pics in Strait-Jacket with hubby’s heads cut out. Shades of Uncle Greg in Mommie Dearest!

Strait-Jacket was written by Robert Bloch of Psycho fame. Producer/director William Castle worshiped Psycho director Alfred Hitchcock, which he demonstrated by totally copying him! Castle also admired the old-time stars, so getting Joan Crawford for this B thriller was a coup in his mind.

Ankle straps are a few of Joan’s favorite things, all on display in Strait Jacket!

Joan’s introduction as Lucy Harbin in Strait-Jacket is very similar to her
Sadie Thompson in Rain, another “big” performance!

Mama 'pank hard! Joan Crawford as a hoochie mama at the choo-choo station
makes me think of Bette Davis’ small town overripe vamp in Beyond the Forest:
the black fright wig, drag makeup, peasant dresses, and ankle strap shoes. 

The result is a fun fright flick that is presented in a stylish way. What undercuts Strait-Jacket is the dialogue and the story's plotting. All this and Joan Crawford working overtime to sell you that she’s 29 and later 49 at almost 60 sends the movie straight into camp orbit. Joan gives it her all and works well with Diane Baker, as her daughter. But Joan stands out in the wrong way against the weathered character actors who are her age, and the younger actors who actually look youthful. Contrasted against all of this is Joan, looking like a hillbilly Natasha Fatale.

Note the clap board. Joan plays 29 as Lucy Harbin in the opening set piece of 
Strait-Jacket. Crawford then plays her at 49 thereafter; Joan was 60-ish at the time.

“My mother, an ax murderer! Aren’t the pie slices bad enough? Must you degrade
 us?” Diane Baker as daughter Carol recalls her mother's history for the audience
and her boyfriend in Strait-Jacket's prologue!

Strait-Jacket was made on an even smaller budget than Baby Jane but was a moderate hit, helped by Joan’s tireless promotion. The downside was that it further stamped Joan as a hag horror film star.

Joan Crawford promoted her later movies and Pepsi with equal vigor. She even got
 Pepsi's PR vice-president a role as her psychiatrist in "Strait-Jacket!" 

George Kennedy, as Strait-Jacket's farm hand, who leers in his spare time. Isn’t it interesting that future “realistic” stars like Kennedy, Bruce Dern, James Caan, and Donald Sutherland started out playing "challenged" characters?

Time is a great healer and Joan’s star reputation has overcome the latter day downturns of Crawford’s life and career. Enjoy Strait-Jacket for what it is, one of Joan’s last gaudy jaunts at the Hollywood rodeo.

I love this candid from the wardrobe tests for Strait-Jacket. Joan’s silvery gray hair, simple make up, and smiling. This is much more appealing than the increasingly grim drag queen look Crawford sported in her later years.

Here’s my deep dive into Joan’s Oscar-winning Mildred Pierce, made 20 years before Strait-Jacket: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-joan-crawford-became-mildred-pierce.html

So my mother's an ax murderer! Mainstreaming Mommie has its challenges in 1964's
  Strait-Jacket. Joan with Rochelle Hudson, Diane Baker, and Leif Erickson.

Stanwyck Saves ‘The Night Walker’ 1964

 

Barbara Stanwyck reunited professionally with ex-husband Robert Taylor in
William Castle's 1964 suspense starrer, "The Night Walker."

Cheap thrills artist William Castle’s The Night Walker, was really more suspense than shock. The flamboyant producer/director played up the scares to ride the early ‘60s wave of post-Psycho/Baby Jane style fright flicks, but this outing was light on horror.

The 1964 film was hardly “hag horror” as star Barbara Stanwyck played a perfectly normal person being tormented and looked quite attractive at age 57. Stanwyck was teamed opposite former husband Robert Taylor, who actually did look very haggard and prematurely aged at 53. They worked together as professionals and without feuding, unlike other stars with histrionic “history.” Five years later, Taylor would be dead of lung cancer, after a lifetime of chain-smoking.

Producer/Director William Castle with his stars, Robert Taylor &
Barbara Stanwyck,  for 1964's "The Night Walker."

The premise of this moody noir-like movie is that after the death of her unstable scientist husband (Hayden Rorke in disfigured makeup), Stanwyck’s Irene Trenton returns to her beauty salon to take her mind off hubby’s sudden death. Irene’s dreams have become increasingly romantic, which had inflamed her jealous husband, convinced that she had a lover. Well, we see at least in her dreams that she has one, played by that unctuous smoothie, Lloyd Bochner of Dynasty fame. At least he doesn’t wear his usual smoking jacket and ascot! He’s quite young and handsome, in his aquiline way.

That's quite a liplock dream lover Lloyd Bochner lays on
Barbara Stanwyck in 1964's "The Night Walker."

The dreams become more intense and dire, as Mr. McDreamy wants to marry her. Are the dreams becoming reality? Is Irene in danger? Or is she merely wigging out? With the rather small cast, there are not a lot of suspects to choose from. The plot of The Night Walker is as slim as Stanwyck’s figure. And you know that Barbara Stanwyck, one of the most sensible stars ever, is not going berserk like Joan Crawford or all “Baby”-ish like Bette Davis. So “the how” of this mystery is more the question than whodunit.

Stanwyck is supposed to go over the top in response to her mental torture, but acting a hysterical scream queen is not Barbara’s bag. “Stany” is best when she’s down to earth or cool and understated. In her best film noirs or suspense films, Barbara Stanwyck is the acting equivalent of Peggy Lee, slyly insinuating without going big. Overall, Stanwyck’s performance is her usual total pro turn, with natural empathy. But when she starts screaming and hollering, it feels false and falls flat.

Barbara Stanwyck bellowing hysterically was not a good look for the cool actress!

I think Stanwyck aged quite gracefully and strikingly, with her gray hair now silver, in a subtle hairstyle and makeup. This is a far cry from most of her contemporaries who were becoming increasingly cartoonish looking or just going to seed. Stanwyck looked her age, but with great style.

Barbara Stanwyck was subtle and stylish in her older years, here in 1964's "The Night Walker." Thankfully, "The Big Valley"was just around the corner, a big career boost.

As the family lawyer in The Night Walker, Robert Taylor acts like a sleep walker. As he aged in dog years, Bob looked increasingly dour, much like Alan Ladd. Taylor also didn’t have Gable’s strong personality or Tyrone Power’s warm charm. The long-time MGM star seemed to be put increasingly out to pasture in westerns. Still, this horror film was a hiccup in both Bob and Bab’s careers.

Robert Taylor was a rough-looking 53 when he made 1964's "The Night Walker."

Producer-director William Castle used great imagination to stretch his B-movie budgets. In The Night Castle, the intro, complete with spoken work creepiness by Paul Frees, is visually striking if not terribly related to the movie itself. The score is by Vic Mizzy, the prolific composer who famously came up with The Addams Family theme. One recurring riff sounds amazingly like “Food, Glorious Food” from the Broadway musical Oliver!, which made its Broadway debut around this time. Coincidence? Who can say?

No, Hayden Rorke and Robert Taylor aren't debating who's the hotter dude for Barbara Stanwyck! From 1964's "The Night Walker."

The dream scenes are stylishly done and subtly, too, except when the courtroom wedding scene is populated by puppets that look like life size versions of The Thunderbirds. Hilariously camp, especially when the chandeliers catch fire and spin, with Stanwyck’s smoky voice emitting raspy screams!

No, this isn't Raymond Burr with blonde hair from "Rear Window," it's one of the creepy puppets/mannequins from 1964's "The Night Walker." Bizzaro!

This film has a thin plot, low budget, and loony logic, typical of William Castle. As a mood piece, it’s quite entertaining and shows some style, along with some eye-rolling chills! The Night Walker pairs well with Stanwyck’s half-baked ‘40s WB thriller, Cry Wolf, with Barbara’s character dealing with the loony men in her life, and a secret lab!

Below is a link to "The Night Walker."
Enjoy!

Here is an excellent, free copy of The Night Walker to watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5RYClikxcc&t=5s

Below is the link to my review at Stanwyck's
"Sorry, Wrong Number."

Here’s my look at Barbara’s best “woman in jeopardy” role, 1948’s “Sorry, Wrong Number”:  https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2025/06/stanwycks-fatal-phone-call-sorry-wrong.html