Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice?
(1969)
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Oscar winner Geraldine Page (THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL) stars as Claire Marrable, an Arizona widow with a habit of murdering her housekeepers and stealing their savings. Enter Aunt Alice (Ruth Gordon), a close friend of Claire's last victim who poses as her next housekeeper in order to find out what happened to her predecessor. As the two shrewd ladies match wits, secrets are uncovered, including a particularly nasty one concerning Claire's garden. Robert Aldrich (WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE |
And wouldn't her family like to know? Produced by Robert Aldrich, who directed Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in the classic gothic drama What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, this scary story isn't quite in the same class. Ruth Gordon poses as a housekeeper to Geraldine Page, who's got into the unpleasant habit of disposing of her domestic help. Director Lee H Katzin contrives a baleful bitches' brew of women at war with each other, and he maintains the suspense with considerable skill right up to the nail-biting conclusion.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Ladylike shocker with some black humour and good performances.