What would have been a rather tepid, ordinary hag horror film becomes a fascinating psychological study of a vain, passive/aggressive great lady, played here with ferocity by Lana Turner only slightly past her prime. She's a reclusive widow with a troubled son (Ralph Bates), married with one son, yet the subject of revenge by his mother simply because out of jealousy as a youngster, he drowned her favorite cat, Sheba, in a bowl of milk. The cats are apparently reincarnated, so there's Sheba #1, Sheba #2, etc. Sheba is the watchful eye over the family, keeping a protective watch over Turner who loves her cats more than she does her own son and grand baby. Turner was also subject to an abusive marriage, having married the chauffeur who allegedly pushed her down the grand staircase in her huge, Downton Abbey like mansion, leaving her leg shattered and a shell of her beautiful self.
The physical beauty has remained, but her hatred has grown, and her son is the one who becomes the victim of it, and of Sheba. The cat is seen prowling around the nursery, and within minutes, the mother (Suzan Farmer) finds her baby dead. Then, Turner arranges it so Farmer finds her husband in bed with her own nurse (Olga Georges-Picot), a situation which results in another death, all thanks to Sheba's presence at the top of the stairs. Bates is sent over the edge by all of this and seeks revenge on mama in the most bizarre of ways. Will it be the newest Sheba or Turner herself who ends up in the bowl of milk? That is after a visit to Sheba's grave site which is in the center of a frightful maze of shrubberies that had earlier put his wife in a panic.
It is the presence of the legendary Turner which keeps this film interesting, but there are so many absurd plot holes within the script that if it wasn't for the way Turner presents her character, the psychological aspects of her matron would be missing. Turner is surrounded by a very dreary supporting cast, and only one other name (Trevor Howard in what is essentially a very quick cameo plus several other brief scenes) is present. It is a lavish looking film, but often its bizarre antics keeps it from ringing completely true. Like other hag horror films (or psychological dramas with movie mavens past their prime), it has some fabulous unintentional laughs. Having seen this years before, I ranked it very low, but after re-visiting it, found some interesting aspects to update my rating to where it is merely just mediocre as opposed to my original trashy view of it.
The physical beauty has remained, but her hatred has grown, and her son is the one who becomes the victim of it, and of Sheba. The cat is seen prowling around the nursery, and within minutes, the mother (Suzan Farmer) finds her baby dead. Then, Turner arranges it so Farmer finds her husband in bed with her own nurse (Olga Georges-Picot), a situation which results in another death, all thanks to Sheba's presence at the top of the stairs. Bates is sent over the edge by all of this and seeks revenge on mama in the most bizarre of ways. Will it be the newest Sheba or Turner herself who ends up in the bowl of milk? That is after a visit to Sheba's grave site which is in the center of a frightful maze of shrubberies that had earlier put his wife in a panic.
It is the presence of the legendary Turner which keeps this film interesting, but there are so many absurd plot holes within the script that if it wasn't for the way Turner presents her character, the psychological aspects of her matron would be missing. Turner is surrounded by a very dreary supporting cast, and only one other name (Trevor Howard in what is essentially a very quick cameo plus several other brief scenes) is present. It is a lavish looking film, but often its bizarre antics keeps it from ringing completely true. Like other hag horror films (or psychological dramas with movie mavens past their prime), it has some fabulous unintentional laughs. Having seen this years before, I ranked it very low, but after re-visiting it, found some interesting aspects to update my rating to where it is merely just mediocre as opposed to my original trashy view of it.