Lady in a Cage

Starring:Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Jennifer Billingsley, Jeff Corey, Ann Sothern, Rafael Campos, William Swan, Charles Seel, Scatman Crothers, Ron Nyman
Director: Walter Grauman
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

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In Lady in a Cage, Olivia de Havilland plays an aging, wealthy widow who is recuperating from a recent hip operation and is forced to use an elevator to get from one story of her home to the other. While she's headed for the upper story of the house, a power failure occurs that leaves her stranded in the elevator car 12 feet off the ground. The elevator's alarm bell arouses the curiosity of a passing wino, who comes in and helps himself to the widow's wine cellar. The transient and a friend begin looting the house until they are one-upped by a trio of feral, neobeatnik thugs (led by a very young James Caan). All the invaders merely ignore the widow's pleas for help as they toss her house in an orgy of violence. The thugs torture and kill the wino and hold his friend hostage along with the widow, until the tables are turned on them once again. For 1964, this is a surprisingly harsh and overwrought movie, easily 10 or 15 years ahead of its time; its nasty view of human nature and graphic violence led to its being banned in Britain entirely. James Caan, in his second movie role, is chillingly convincing as the pack leader whose violent streak comes as casually as, say, tying his shoelaces. Fans of Paul Schrader, Scorsese, or Tarantino films should especially take notice: Lady in a Cage is a nerve-racking viewing experience, one that still packs a noxious punch, with an ending that's a real jaw-dropper. --Jerry Renshaw

Description

Destroying her well-oriented world, the elevator, nine feet from the floor, becomes a torture chamber--a cage. Unable to escape, her situation becomes desperate when the emergency alarm attracts a drunken derelict (James Caan) and his boozy prostitute friend, both bent on robbery

Customer Reviews:

Has achieved cult status following...Quentin Tarantino would have been proud of it..........2007-06-04

LADY IN A CAGE is a thriller that exploits the very subject matter it is trying to expose in such a grim manner. A wealthy lady (OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND) is recovering from a hip operation that forces her to use a self-operated "lift" in her home where she is surrounded by luxury items and a self-absorbed but orderly existence. She is exactly the sort of person unprepared for the invasion of a group of thugs who make her life a living hell when they intrude upon her household in the crudest possible way.

When the film first opened, it was received poorly by the film critics of the day who lambasted it for its graphic depiction of senseless violence and viewed it as no more than a cheap horror flick. However, the years have been kinder to it than anyone could have expected. Perhaps de Havilland was right when she judged that the film was "way ahead of its time" in dealing with this sort of subject matter because today it is much more highly regarded for what it is trying to say beneath the graphic brutality.

JAMES CAAN is the ruthless leader of the pack, obviously a delinquent of the first order who enjoys humiliating and playing mind games with the victimized woman in the cage. It is he who exposes her as a not very sympathetic woman who has smothered her son with affection to the point where he has left a suicide note addressed to her as "Darling". Caan's frank dialog is particularly rough here and his shoving around of the defenseless woman is not a pleasant sight to witness.

JEFF COREY overacts mercilessly as a vagrant with a thirst for any liquor he can get his hands on and ANN SOTHERN does an effective supporting role as a blowsy prostitute not above taking advantage of what looks to be a good situation. The less said about RAFAEL CAMPOS and JENNIFER BILLINGSLEY the better. Their overripe work is almost embarrassing at times.

It's obvious that Luther Davis was exposing the flaws in society that certainly came to the surface during the '60s, shortly before the Manson murders became widely known. The baby boomers of the drug generation certainly get their share of blame here.

Summing up: Not for the faint of heart, but a searing expose of certain societal ills in a not too subtle way. Olivia at least is highly convincing in what must have been an exhausting role to play and a most unusual one.

the clash of "old" and "new" Hollywood.......2007-04-29

An intense and unnerving movie experience, LADY IN A CAGE is not for the faint-hearted. The story revolves around Mrs Cornelia Hilyard (Olivia de Havilland), a woman trying to peacefully recover from a hip-replacement within the confines of her home. On a very hot day, she becomes stuck in her elevator, and is terrorised by a group of criminals and hoods who break in.

Ann Sothern turns in a fabulous performance as Sade, a hard-bitten prostitute; whilst James Caan--in only his second film--seems to be channeling Brando as he plays the menacing gang leader Randall Simpson O'Connell. Jennifer Billingsley plays the vile gang moll, Elaine.

Olivia de Havilland is heartbreaking as the terrorised Mrs Hilyard. This was the second 'scream queen' role which she played in 1964 (the other is "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte"). In the wrong hands this material could have become melodramatic, but de Havilland always was a very truthful and instinctual actress, and the same is true for her performance here.

Whenever I watch LADY IN A CAGE, I'm always struck by the notion that it's the clash of "Old Hollywood" and "New Hollywood". By that, I mean that you have two of the great Hollywood women--Olivia de Havilland and Ann Sothern--clashing literally and physically with much younger actors for whom their movies and work would have meant absolutely nothing. This film was made on the cusp of changes within Hollywood, too. Shortly the MPAA ratings system would be set into place, allowing movies to go further than they had ever been allowed to in the past.

So much of this film is completely unsettling, particularly as this pre-dates the Manson killings (and this film features scenes which would eerily echo in reality).

Certainly no feel-good movie, but worthy of any classic film collection. The DVD sadly does not feature any extras.

Lady in a Cage.......2007-02-28

Lady in a Cage is a refreshing entry
into the B&W horror genre of the 60's.
I've always been a fan of Olivia de Havilland
so as I was reading the description and reviews
I wasn't sure if I really wanted to see this film.
Even while knowing that she's a great actress
it was hard for me to imagine her in such a bizarre role.
I was happy to see that she gave an excellent performance.

Unlike other movies of the genre, "Lady in a Cage" comes
off classy and refined, in spite of the violent subject matter.
There are no unconvincing actors to be found and the
suspense level puts this movie right on par with Hitchcock.
In fact, I was most suprised at how suspenseful this was
because the general plot description sounded so basic. Great
acting and creative cinematography puts the movie at the
helm of the genre.

The movie begins with a deceptively wholesome opening reminiscent
of a 1950's family sitcom and it actually never loses that feeling;
however, characters enter, plunder, and exit the home, thus providing
the action and suspense. At times, De havilland's overly
dramatic acting delivery seems a little contrived, but it's
the same style that won her two Oscars. Upon closer
examination one can see how her Puritan
character creates a glaring contrast to the
brutal juveniles, the repentant alcholic thief, and
the opportunistic female hustler. It's this contrast
that sets the scene for a heightened suspense factor.

This movie is great for purchase or rental. It's guaranteed
to provoke an endless range of emotions in the viewer.

Fear And Loathing In L.A........2007-01-24

This is one hell of a mean-spirited, people-loathing movie. This is the kind of movie John Waters wishes he could make. Negative, negative, negative... vicious... every character is a monster.

"Lady In A Cage" is clearly the vision of its producer/writer, Luther Davis. He has an agenda the size of Los Angeles, and he piles it on high, for nerve-wracking, disturbing effect.

I haven't seen a movie in a long time that disturbed me like this did. And it's symptomatic of a number of downright-sick and mean films from the early '60s. It's much like 1963's "The Sadist" in its unremitting anger, violence and hopelessness.

The performances are caricatures, and all are dialed up past 11. The leering, mugging and telegraphing of the actors are all in accord. Olivia DeHavilland's performance, ironically, is the most low-key in the entire film.

One weird thing about the film: what happens to Ann Sothern's character? She's locked in a room by James Caan, and that's the last we see or hear of her. Presumably, she survives... or did I blink and miss something?

This Luther Davis cat must have had one chip on his shoulder. "Lady In A Cage" is fascinating, absurd, sickening and highly anti-social filmmaking.

Olivia.......Olivia........Nothing Bad You Can Say About Her Acting.......2007-01-04

During the era of promoting these great actresses in not so big budget films was a learning experience for the viewer. Here you can get an idea of how good an actor can do without the big expense of special effects and multiple set designs. James Caan also does a great job in one of his first movies as a street thug. But Olivia can do it all. Would have loved to seen her in a one woman play on Broadway. The days of Baby Jane and Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte are evident in this production made around the same time.

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