Lady In A Cage (1964)

Last Sunday, we took a week off from Sunday At The Classics, but this week we wanted to get back into the game and I truly believe we have something good for you. While I was searching through HULU looking for a film to watch, I stumbled on a film that while it is listed technically as a horror film, I would say it was more thriller and that is 1964's Lady In A Cage which was directed by Walter Grauman (The Old Man Who Cried Wolf). The film stars Olivia de Havilland (The Adventures Of Robin Hood) as Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard, a wealthy older woman who lives with her 30 year old son while she recovers from hip surgery. In order to get around the house, Ms. Hilyard needs to use an elevator, but one faithful day the power is taken out while poor Ms. Hilyard is trapped inside of it. Then the unthinkable happens as she is terrorized in her own home by some hoodlums who are looking to make a buck. The film also stars James Caan (The Godfather) in his very first role as Randall Simpson O'Connell, Jennifer Billingsley (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) in her first role as Elaine, Rafael Campos (Shirley Temple's Storybook) as Essie, Jeff Corey (Beneath The Planet Of The Apes) as George L. Brady Jr. aka Repent, Ann Sothern (A Letter To Three Wives) as Sade, and  William Swan (The Twilight Zone) as Malcolm Hilyard.

One of the things I took from this film upon watching it is that I could definitely see this film as being used as a source of inspiration for future horror films especially those of the 1970's. I mean the formula may not be that new, but a group of thugs terrorizing people in their own homes or in their homes. Doesn't that sound familiar to any of you out there? I'll name a few like The Last House On The Left or even The Hills Have Eyes, but there are other factors that make me come to my conclusion. One of other factors is the character of James Caan who appears to be an attractive bad boy with a few loose screws, but he is charismatic and commanding of the screen much like David Hess was in The Last House... film or even Otis from The Devil's Rejects trilogy. You know that character who has been through so much that he makes his own set of rules and he lives and dies by them. Jennifer Billingsley's character could very well compare to that of Sherri Moon Zombie's character of Baby, but the difference is Sherri took hers to a whole other level. I thought for the most part that this was a pretty decent film, but the true magic is in the performances of the actors and for that Caan and Olivia de Havilland deserve all the credit for carrying this film and Olivia was masterful as she quickly realizes that she is not so innocent herself. The only thing that frustrated me was the fact that they were spewing out there names like this was a Cagney 1930's gangster movie. No one does that and if you do come up with a cool name instead of reading out you whole birth name. With that being said, I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.