Die! Die! My Darling! -1965
Director Silvio Narizzano
Starring Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughn
Scott’s Review #1,437
Reviewed September 2, 2024
Grade: B
Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) is a British horror film released under this name in the United States but originally titled Fanatic in the United Kingdom. This was frequently done for marketing purposes.
The film follows a young woman played by Stefanie Powers who wanders into the clutches of an old wacko played by legendary actress, Tallulah Bankhead. The once-sultry actress is unrecognizable as an elderly, hobbling old crone who is a religious freak.
She blends well into the 1960s trend of a once sexy and acclaimed actress going the horror route sans glamour or makeup. Bette Davis did the same thing most notably in 1962’s What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? who Bankhead’s character is similar to.
One could argue that Davis led the pack with heavyweights like Joan Crawford, Joan Fontaine, and Veronica Lake.
Patricia Carroll (Powers) plays an American woman who travels to London to marry her boyfriend, Alan (Maurice Kaufmann). While there, Patricia decides to visit Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead), the mother of her deceased ex-fiancé, to pay her respects and chat with the woman before marrying Alan.
Upon arriving, however, Patricia discovers that Mrs. Trefoile’s grief over her son’s has transformed her into a lunatic and the woman plans to ‘save’ Patricia by holding her prisoner and helping her see God’s light.
Along for the ride are Mrs. Trefoile’s staff: housekeeper, Anna (Yootha Joyce), groundsman, Harry (Peter Vaughn), and mentally challenged, Joseph (Donald Sutherland).
The film is a perfect late-night watch and not to be taken too seriously. Once Patricia is locked in the upstairs bedroom of the quaint English cottage it’s no surprise that she will eventually escape.
The fun is watching her many attempts at freedom and the inevitable conclusion.
Director, Silvio Narizzano, provides some genuine thrills and peril that would make Hitchcock proud. When Patricia crafts a makeshift rope by tying bed linens together to climb down the side of the house I held my breath hoping she would make it as she carefully scales past two characters chatting near a window.
The comical element is how she cannot physically overpower the old woman or Anna. She is younger and stronger than either and has the will to survive.
But, Die! Die! My Darling! also isn’t meant to be analyzed but merely enjoyed. Narizzano fulfills that request with a nice set design of the cottage interiors, superior acting by Bankhead and Powers mainly, and real moments of peril the audience can enjoy.
As the viewer, I felt emotionally invested in the characters and couldn’t wait for Patricia to escape and Mrs. Trefoile to get her just desserts.
I mostly enjoyed Patricia’s determination and going toe-to-toe with the wicked old woman. Some characters might have cow towed to her demands but Patricia remains strong in what undoubtedly was an effort to provide 1960s feminism.
This counterbalances nicely with Mrs. Trefoile’s old-fashioned religious fanatism. It’s the old versus the new especially when Patricia admits she’s not into religion.
Bankhead is the highlight and I could only imagine Davis playing the role instead. Bankhead plays the part magnificently and real glamour shots of Bankhead appear to have been used to show a younger Mrs. Trefoile who used to be an actress.
The film is a cat-and-mouse affair and begins with a quick graphic of a cat chasing a mouse and fans familiar with Hammer Horror Productions can rest assured that the cheap but effective sets are on full display.
A creak here and there and battered couches and walls only enhance the experience.
Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) is recommended for horror fans or fans of Bankhead seeking a glimpse of her stripped down and only three years before she died at age sixty-six.