Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

todd1952-781-456531 Not only is this film awful, but it's a perfect example of typecasting with Joan Crawford as a woman who is of unsound mind.

classicsoncall You know how young kids sometimes get their consonants mixed up when they're learning new words? Well if you ax me, this flick has one seriously demented performance by the late, great Joan Crawford in what has to be one of her better remembered films on the way down. She actually had me a little frightened watching the picture in scenes where people still had their heads on straight. Man, that scene with her daughter's boyfriend was creepy wasn't it? Sidling right up to him and putting her paws all over his face like that made me wonder why Carol Harbin (Diane Baker) wanted to take the patience and understanding route with dear old Mom in the first place. We find out later why, but gee, swinging the old axe the way she did was a little extreme just so she could blame it on Mommie Dearest and marry Michael (John Anthony Hayes) above his parents' objections. But I guess having seen it up close and personal as a kid, it wasn't too surprising to see where Carol got her instincts from. With a bit of a '"Psycho" flavor to keep things moving, this has just enough misdirection to keep you guessing, and the final ten minutes of the story will have you at the edge of your seat. So much so that even the Columbia logo lady lost her head over the end credits. If you ax me.

AaronCapenBanner William Castle directed this (for its time) gory thriller that stars Joan Crawford as Lucy Harbin, recently released from a mental asylum after 20 years for murdering her husband and his girlfriend with an ax. Lucy comes home to stay with her now grown daughter Carol(played by Diane Baker) who had witnessed the crime, but seems to have adjusted well, and is planning on getting married when a new series of ax murders occur. Is Lucy reverting back to her old ways, or is someone trying to frame her? Unappealing and ridiculous film is solely for die-hard fans of Joan Crawford, the unmistakable star of this film, though Diane Baker is quite good in her role...pity about the twist ending!

LobotomousMonk Unobtrusive mobile framing and creative use of depth of field have Strait-Jacket starting out on the right footing. The use of music sets up a humorous tone that will permeate the film experience, while the voice over narration creates a pseudo-documentary mood (and all the better for close psychological examination by the audience). Castle employs a lot of useful techniques in his direction in order to emphasize the psychological. The first murder sequence uses great alternating shot scale, effective montage and superimposition of frames. This sequence is a clever and thoughtful bridge for the ellipsis and then title card/opening credits. This opening sequence is also a perfect conduit for properly establishing the psychological relationship of the mother (Crawford) and daughter (Baker). Castle was living his dream with this film as he was able to "partner" with Crawford and "poach" Bloch (writer of Hitchcock's Psycho). The script flows evenly and every scene progresses the dramatic value of the story. Bloch includes lots of cute theme-related puns. The haunting children's rhymes remind one of Craven's Elm Street. Amazing tension is created throughout and advanced especially with the use of sound. The cigarette lighting moment becomes a film classic (in this reviewer's opinion). The butcher scene with George Kennedy is a close second on the visual front at least. The studio distributors had advised Castle to turn away from using gimmicks... although he cheated somewhat, I believe that the film is much better for his decision to secure Crawford in the role and please the distributors. One final note would be to relate Strait-Jacket's moral to that of Renoir's adaptation of Zola's La Bete Humaine in 1938. It may be considered a stretch by some, but the concept of 'hereditary insanity' is a provocative link between the works.