Strait-Jacket is a 1964 Columbia Pictures horror/thriller/mystery motion picture starring Joan Crawford. Others in the cast include Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John, John Anthony Hayes, Rochelle Hudson, George Kennedy, Edith Atwater, Vicki Cos, and Lee Majors.
Directed and produced by William Castle, and co-produced by Dona Holloway, the script was by Robert Bloch (also known for writing the novel Psycho, upon which the film is based), with original music composed by Van Alexander. Crawford's make-up was done by Monty Westmore.
After the phenomenal success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Crawford and other aging actresses, including Davis and Stanwyck, made numerous horror movies throughout the 1960s. Strait-Jacket is a rather shlocky but one of the more notable examples of the genre referred to as psycho-biddy or Grande Dame Guignol. Despite the amateurish, low-budget tone of the film, its shuddery flavor (combined with Crawford's powerhouse performance) has kept it a macabre cult favorite for decades.
The DVD release has special features that include two brief axe-swinging screen tests, a collection of make-up and costume tests and a documentary, Battle-Axe: The Making of Strait-Jacket, featuring interviews with Castle, Baker, and Bloch.
Lucy Harbin has been in an asylum for 20 years after axing her husband and his mistress during a crime of passion, witnessed by her young daughter, Carol. While trying to renew ties with Carol, who is now a young woman about to be married, heads begin to roll again. Is Lucy repeating her past? Written by Ray Hamel
