Review #1,151: 'Die! Die! My Darling!' (1965)

After Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) made cinematic waves and raked in the profits as a result, studios were eager to deliver their own take on mad-man horror cinema. Hammer's unique brand of British gothic and literary monsters was begin to wobble as audience's tastes moved on as a result of the leaps and bounds being made in the genre in Europe and the U.S.. Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) made a success out of bringing a once-Hollywood great, Bette Davis, out of a forced early retirement and turning her into a screen psychopath. Hammer pinched Davis for themselves in The Nanny (1965), and repeated the trick again the same year with Tallulah Bankhead in Die! Die! My Darling!, or to give it its blander, more widely-used alternative title, Fanatic.

American Patricia Carroll (Stefanie Powers) arrives in London to marry her handsome beau Alan (Maurice Kaufmann). After admitting that she has been exchanging letters with the mother of her former, now-dead fiance, she heads off on her own to pay a visit to her would-be mother-in-law when Alan disapproves. Patricia believes that she is doing a nice thing. and the old lady Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead) seems harmless enough at first, if a little nutty. She is being guilt-tripped into staying the night, and ends up staying much longer than she had planned, as the true extent of Mrs. Trefoile's religious zealotry reveals itself. There are no mirrors in the house as vanity is a sin, lip-stick and red clothing are banned, and the food consists of unrecognisable slop. Just as Patricia is about to leave, she lets slip of her intention to re-marry, causing Mrs. Trefoile to lock the poor young lady away until she learns the evil of her ways.

It may not be the most memorable entry into the fleeting 'psycho-biddy' fad, but Die! Die! My Darling! has its fair share of moments courtesy of a tight and witty script by Richard Matheson, and a fiery performance by Bankhead, in what turned out to be her final appearance (she died the following year). Powers cuts a likeable but frustrating lead, as she fails time and time again to make any real attempts to escape outside of making the occasional feeble struggle. Any in the audience used to the hardened, capable heroines we tend to get nowadays will no doubt be shouting at the screen. There's a terrific supporting cast, which includes husband-and-wife servants Harry (Peter Vaughan) and Anna (Yootha Joyce), and a young Donald Sutherland as the simple-minded Joseph. You may not have the desire to see it more than once in your lifetime, but it makes for a cosy Saturday afternoon B-movie.


Directed by: Silvio Narizzano
Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughan, Yootha Joyce, Maurice Kaufmann, Donald Sutherland
Country: UK

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #655: 'Time Bandits' (1981)

If you were once a young boy (or girl) who enjoyed riding their bike at breakneck speed or got their thrills from wandering off to places you were forbidden to go to, then you will totally get Terry Gilliam's Time Bandits. If adventure and danger were what spurred you on as a child, then you no doubt fantasised about travelling through time and meeting the famous historical figures you learned about whilst falling asleep in history class. Time Bandits is pure Boys Own adventure, making idiots out of the likes of Robin Hood and Napoleon, and even bringing six dwarves along for the ride. The plot is muddled and nonsensical, but the plot is beside the point - arguably just a McGuffin for some childish fun.

It tells the story of eleven year old Kevin (Craig Warnock), who, when not being ignored by his lazy absent-minded parents, spends his time doting on history, particularly Ancient Greece. One night, six dwarves come crashing out of his wardrobe holding a map that they claim show the world's time portals, that they appear to have stolen from the Supreme Being (i.e. God, played at the climax by the wonderful Ralph Richardson). Kevin goes along for the ride, and finds himself meeting Napoleon (Ian Holm) during the Napoleonic Wars, Robin Hood (John Cleese) in the Middle Ages, and King Agamenmon (Sean Connery) in Ancient Greece (amongst others). Meanwhile, in the Fortress of Ultimate Darkness, the technologically obsessed Evil (David Warner) is planning to steal the map and take over the world.

The set design is fantastic in this film, and the main credit should go to that department. The sets look as if constructed from the mind of a child, paying no real attention to historical detail or a 'lived-in' feel - this is all pure fantasy. The film rushes at such a breakneck speed that we don't get to spend enough time with these characters in their times, and this was my main (and only) problem with Time Bandits. Thankfully, these scenes are packed with so much wit by writers Gilliam and Michael Palin (who also appears as the dim-witted romantic Vincent), that it is hard to care too much. This is not Monty Python though, there is humour here for children and adults both, but it's just as funny. John Cleese's over-enthusiastic Robin Hood was a particular stand-out for me.

Gilliam also uses the film to take some sly satirical digs at the emergence of technology, juxtaposing Evil's plan to use computers to carry out his evil deeds alongside Kevin's active imagination and sense of wonder. His parents are bone-idle idiots that get excited at the idea of a microwave cooking their dinner in quick time, and technology is clearly viewed by Gilliam as something that will rot the imagination. This isn't entirely true of course - technology can inspire innovation - but I often see young children staring open mouthed and expressionless at their mobile phones when they should be annoying their parents or getting up to something they shouldn't be, so I can certainly sympathise with Gilliam's concerns. But Time Bandits is mainly about adventure and the wonder of a child's imagination. Funny, manic, and occasionally moving, this is one of the definitive movies about childhood, and how we occasionally long for it.


Directed by: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Craig Warnock, John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Ralph Richardson, Peter Vaughan, David Warner
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie