Homicidal

Homicidal (1961)

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HOMICIDAL

Reviewed by Heather Picker

Directed by William Castle. Screenplay by Robb White. Starring Jean Arless, Glenn Corbett and Patricia Breslin, with Eugenie Leontovich, Alan Bunce, and James Westerfield. 1961, 87 minutes, Not Rated.

Homicidal kicks off in Solvang, California during the summer of 1948 in a little girl's room. Bad acting abounds as the girl's brother steals her doll and watches her cry. When my brother stole my dolls I never cried, I just called him names and told on him. Anyway, flash forward to Ventura, California, "today." A mysterious blonde (Jean Arless) checks into a hotel under the name Miriam Webster and, um, acts mysteriously. Coincidentally, Miriam and I share a hotel routine: get to the room, put away the Bible, disrobe for a shower, and inquire as the square-jawed young bellhop's marital status. (Okay, maybe I don't do the last part but my friend Tom does.)

Director William Castle wastes no time building suspense; at the Hotel Ventura Miriam tips bellboy a hundred bucks, and offers him $1900 more if he'll marry her the next day. She assures him she'll seek an annulment immediately, and he consents. Bellboy smells a rat but goes along with the plan, which comes to a startling end when Miriam, in a sequence so bizarre I couldn't determine if it was poorly acted or just awkwardly staged, draws a knife and stabs the presiding justice of the peace before fleeing into the night. I went to a wedding where that happened. Very depressing.

Castle brings out the cheap thrills as Miriam has a close call (or – cue suspenseful music – does she?) with the police and her crime is announced on the radio. In a scene that recalls Psycho, she rinses off the knife in a bathroom and coolly informs a paralyzed, terrified-looking old woman, later identified as Helga (Eugenie Leontovich), that "justice of the peace Adrims died tonight, screaming." Well sweet dreams to you, too, Miriam.

Another surprise comes the next morning, when Miriam Webster is greeted by none other than… Miriam Webster? The real Miriam (Patricia Breslin) greets the impostor as Emily, and the two have a less than pleasant exchange that provides a bit of background: Emily is staying at the house to look after Helga, former nanny to Miriam and the conspicuously absent Warren, her doted half-brother. Ms. Webster is obviously suspicious of Emily, and rightly so: her brother's girlfriend still has murder on her mind.

If you place Homicidal in its historical context (it hit theaters a year after another, more influential black and white horror flick scared scores of filmgoers) you may not be as enthused as the oblivious viewer, but with a trim running time of 87 minutes it will surely hold your attention. The acting is what you'd expect from a B-picture of the period: comically over (or frequently way, way under) the top, with a classic performance by the talented Arless, and an interchangeable cast of actors (of the men, only toothy Warren's mug stands out) with a limited range of concerned to confused facial expressions. But a film like Homicidal benefits from cheesy acting, which keeps your attention away from the gaping plot holes.

Castle's gimmick here, a "fear clock" allowing the audience 45 seconds in which to leave the theater (for the coward's corner, where they had to stay until the film let out so people could point and laugh, which I personally do at the theater, anyway) if they're too terrified to stay for the ending, isn't as smart as The Tingler's Percepto ploy but it doesn't slow the momentum built by Castle and editor Edwin H. Bryant. The screenplay, by Robb White (House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts), is laugh out loud bad yet serviceable, which is perhaps the mark of a great schlock script, and provides a derivative but well executed final twist that will send camp fans clamoring for the rewind button. Casually eyeing the line between art and trash and flicking its cigarette ashes onto the "art" side, Homicidal is one of the underrated Castle's most interesting films.

DVD Details: New to DVD from Columbia, Homicidal has been remastered in high definition. The anamorphically enhanced full screen presentation is above average for a 41 year old film. Though detail is lacking, grain and artifacting are minimal. The mono soundtrack is, again given the film's age, perfectly acceptable. I had to adjust the volume once or twice to hear dialogue, but everything was intelligible.

A seven minute featurette entitled "Psychette: William Castle and Homicidal" accompanies trailers for Mr. Sardonicus and Strait-Jacket as the supplementary material. "Psychette" includes commentary from historian Don Glut, "enthusiast" Bob Burns, Columbia dude David Del Valle, and director Fred Olen Ray, who rhapsodize on reaction to the film's ending and Castle's attention-grabbing methods of promotion. Interactive menus, scene selections, and English and French subtitles round out the package. Recommended.

Availability: Homicidal is available on DVD.

Related reading: Castle aficionados will want to track down a copy of his autobiography, Step Right Up!: ... I'm Gonna Scare the Pants Off America, which is currently out of print.

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