Roddy
McDowall is a gardener for an old rich widow.
One day, he snaps and cuts off her head with his gardening shears, but
not before burning up his employer’s money.
Or did he? Stuart Whitman is an
actor who gets hired to infiltrate the insane asylum where McDowall’s been
institutionalized and find what’s left of the money. The only problem: McDowell’s crazy shrink wants to get her
hands on the loot too.
Shock
Treatment has a durable premise. It’s
just that the execution is lacking.
There doesn’t seem to be much urgency to the proceedings and the whole
thing just seems too… respectable to really kick into gear. The ending features at least one
semi-gruesome death, but the film needed more of these juicy moments to come to
life.
Part
of the problem is the casting. Whitman
is just too handsome and mild-mannered to pass himself off as crazy. He’s a solid leading man and I’ve enjoyed his
work in many films. He’s just all wrong
for the role.
Speaking
of being wrong for the role, let’s talk about the film’s biggest problem. I’ve refrained from stating the identity of McDowall’s
doctor, not because it’s a spoiler, but because you just won’t believe the mad
doctor is played by… LAUREN BACALL?!?! I
mean she’s one of Hollywood’s finest actresses, but playing a conniving shrink
who willingly gives sane people shock treatments and LSD is far removed from
her wheelhouse. Nobody played a femme
fatale like Bacall. As a mad doctor, she’s
ludicrously miscast.
Still,
whatever energy the film has comes from McDowall. His understated performance gives his
character a tinge of sympathy, but he’s still fun to watch whenever he
occasionally goes off the rails. Timothy
Carey makes an impression in a bit part, and it’s a shame he wasn’t given more
to do.
Director
Denis Sanders went on to direct Invasion of the Bee Girls.
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