Oh my, where to begin? Joan once said that she picked the best material that she was offered. Not many quality projects must have been flowing her way in 1963. The problem with this film is that it tries to be groundbreaking with its depiction of mental illness but this is something we have seen over and over again. This is essentially a poor man's version of The Snake Pit. While that classic touched your heart and cheered for the heroine, in The Caretakers, there is no likable character around.
Polly Bergan plays the nut, eh patient. Dressed in fashionable clothes and quaffed hair that reaches gigantic proportions, she gets hauled in when she freaks out at a local movie house. You know she's crazy when she doesn't even wait for her change! Not only does she freak out but she runs up to the movie screen doing her little "I'm crazy holding my head dance!" She gets hauled away by men in white coats. She then enters the world of The Caretakers. It should have been called General Hospitol because there is tons of conflama going on here. Joan must have had flashbacks when she played the same character in Possessed. A top notch thriller and a great performance.
Nurse Lucretia (Joan) is the head nurse who teaches her nursing staff karate during work hours so they can protect themselves from the patients. Robert Stack speaks so softly that I had to continually turn up my volume control. I guess that was his attempt to create drama, the earnest Doctor. This movie tries so hard to be groundbreaking and that is the problem. There's very little entertainment value here, no likable characters, and Joan looks totally plastic, including her hair which is Aqua-Netted to death. This film has a made for TV feel to it. I give this movie 2 limp bitch slaps out of 5. Seeing Joan in leotards earned and extra point from me.
Polly Bergan plays the nut, eh patient. Dressed in fashionable clothes and quaffed hair that reaches gigantic proportions, she gets hauled in when she freaks out at a local movie house. You know she's crazy when she doesn't even wait for her change! Not only does she freak out but she runs up to the movie screen doing her little "I'm crazy holding my head dance!" She gets hauled away by men in white coats. She then enters the world of The Caretakers. It should have been called General Hospitol because there is tons of conflama going on here. Joan must have had flashbacks when she played the same character in Possessed. A top notch thriller and a great performance.
Nurse Lucretia (Joan) is the head nurse who teaches her nursing staff karate during work hours so they can protect themselves from the patients. Robert Stack speaks so softly that I had to continually turn up my volume control. I guess that was his attempt to create drama, the earnest Doctor. This movie tries so hard to be groundbreaking and that is the problem. There's very little entertainment value here, no likable characters, and Joan looks totally plastic, including her hair which is Aqua-Netted to death. This film has a made for TV feel to it. I give this movie 2 limp bitch slaps out of 5. Seeing Joan in leotards earned and extra point from me.