When Joan Blondell appears in a movie or a TV show and she barely even gets any lines until the end, it's sadder than her few moments on screen in "Grease". Along with husband Steve Elliott, she runs a boarding house, and something is going on that leads to accident causing their deaths. The suspense comes through the dizzyingly blurry photography that adds an element of horror to the film that is missing in the actual story. The music, channeling eerie sounds from an organ that was obviously out-of-tune, also adds a bit of spookiness to the proceedings. It seems to be influenced by foreign cinema with its avant-garde attempts at New Wave, but a lack of real motivation and strength in the story leaves this one cold. Dorothy Hart is the only other actor to have any sing substantial, playing a tenant whom Blondell utilizes at the end to get into a room. Obviously, Blondell didn't take it just for her brief rant at the end, but the real mystery is why a star of her caliber would take on such a weekly plotted project.
Review of Vacancy for Death
