Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds moved to California to escape from the scandal of their boys who killed a girl and went to prison for it, and all the gossip. Once there, they're still hounded by a stalker who keeps calling them. This all gives Shelley Winters a nervous breakdown. But, when did it really start, the viewer is thinking as the movie progresses. Shelley Winters is great as usual, as she is in everything she's in. And, the movie is successful in capturing the time period of the 30s/40s.But still, the movie, seen once, doesn't really require or demand a second viewing, in my opinion of course. Henry Farrell was obviously trying to emulate the success of "Baby Jane" and "Sweet Charlotte", both of which he wrote and became huge box office hits, and this is similar in tone. But it is in no way as good as either of them. If you want to see it, you'll be glad you did, in order to complete the horror genre with big stars in them. But, once you find out about Helen's problem, she's better left alone.

There's a lot the matter with Helen and none of it's good. Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds play mothers of a pair of Leopold & Loeb like killers who move from the mid-west to Hollywood to escape their past. Reynolds, a starstruck Jean Harlow wannabe, opens a dance studio for children and Winters is her piano player. Soon Winters (as Helen) begins to crack up. It's all very slow going and although there are moments of real creepiness (nasty phone calls, a visit from wino Timothy Carey), the movie is devoid of any real horror. Nevertheless, it's still worthy entertainment. The acting divas are fine and the production values are terrific. A music score by David Raskin, cinematography by Lucien Ballard and Oscar-nominated costumes contribute mightily. With this, A PLACE IN THE SUN and LOLITA to her credit, does anyone do crazy as well as Winters? Directed by Curtis Harrington, a master at this type of not quite A-movie exploitation. In addition to Carey, the oddball supporting cast includes Dennis Weaver, Agnes Moorehead (as a very Aimee Semple McPherson like evangelist), Yvette Vickers and Micheál MacLiammóir (the Irish Orson Welles) as Hamilton Starr, aptly nicknamed hammy.

A vastly underrated black comedy, the finest in a series of grand guignol movies to follow 'Baby Jane'. Reynolds and Winters are mothers of young convicted murderers (a nod to 'Compulsion') who run away to hide in Hollywood. They run a school for would-be movie tots, a bunch of hilariously untalented kids attended by awful stage moms. Debbie, in her blonde wig ('I'm a Harlow, you're more a Marion Davies' she tells Winters) leads the tots at their concert and wins a rich dad, Weaver. She also does a deliciously funny tango and, over all, gives an outstanding performance, unlike anything she'd done before. The atmosphere is a fine mix of comic and eerie. It looks wonderful with great period detail (30's). Lots of lovely swipes at Hollywood and the terrifying movie tot. Micheal MacLiammoir has a ball as the drama coach: 'Hamilton Starr', he purrs, 'two r's but prophetic nonetheless'. See it and love it.

DEBBIE REYNOLDS and SHELLEY WINTERS try to escape their sordid past (their sons were convicted of a brutal killing), so they flee to Hollywood in the 1930s and open a talent school for kiddies who want to become the next Shirley Temple.It's a fun idea for a black comedy, and director Curtis Harrington makes the most of a story by Henry Farrell that pretty much adapts some of the same material he used in other thrillers written exclusively to give aging divas the chance to do some melodramatic emoting. While this doesn't reach the heights (or depths) of BABY JANE or CHARLOTTE, it does provide a lot of camp fun for film addicts familiar with the '30s scene.DENNIS WEAVER has the only interesting male role, but the film belongs to Debbie (she sings and dances, too) and Shelley (who has a madcap time going insane) and there's even a shocking ending to keep the horror fans happy.If you enjoy this sort of thing, done previously in similar films like WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?, this one is easy to take.