Themes: Amateur Sleuths, Murder Investigations, Serial Killers
Main Cast: Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth, Robert Fuller, Mildred Dunnock
Release Year: 1969
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
Mrs. Marrable (Geraldine Page) is a bereaved widow who takes to hiring housekeepers then kills them for their money in this shadowy macabre drama. When Miss Tinsley (Mildred Dunnick) disappears, her former employer Alice (Ruth Gordon) investigates. Posing as a maid, she gains employment with the murderous Mrs. Marrable. Her nephew Mike (Robert Fuller) helps Alice and manages to fall in love with the girl next door (Rosemary Forsythe). When Alice exposes the murderess, she risks her life, and her disappearance leads to the title of the film. Look for Second City alumnus Peter Bonerz in a minor role. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
This Robert Aldrich production is a second-tier version of the thrills he pioneered in his self-directed film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? The problem is simple: Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? has the stars right, but the material is underdeveloped. The script has an engaging premise that would be a perfect vehicle for all sorts of creepy thrills, but the story never capitalizes on the possibilities of its memorable lead character duo. Instead, it wastes time on a soap opera-esque romantic subplot and limps to an anti-climactic ending that doesn't deliver the expected battle royale. Still, Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? delivers some fun moments despite its mediocre storyline, thanks to powerhouse performances from Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon. Page is deliciously evil as the ultimate example of social-climbing greed gone bad, and Gordon provides an equal match as the tough, temperamental old biddy determined to bring her to justice. The film around them feels like a TV-movie version of its Aldrich-helmed predecessors, but Page and Gordon's performances ensure that Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? will inspire a few smiles in fans of the "murderous matriarchs" genre. ~ Donald Guarisco, All Movie Guide
Joan Huntington - Julia Lawson; Peter Brandon - George Lawson; Michael Barbera - Jim Vaughn; Peter Bonerz - Mr. Bentley; Richard Angarola - Sheriff Armijo; Claire Kelly - Elva; Valerie Allen - Dottie; Jack Bannon - Olin; Seth Riggs - Warren; Lou Kane - Telephone man; Martin Garralaga - Juan; Howard Wright - Mourner
Credit
William Glasgow - Art Director, Renie - Costume Designer, Lee H. Katzin - Director, Frank J. Urioste - Editor, Peter Nelson - Executive Producer, Gerald Fried - Composer (Music Score), William Turner - Makeup, Joseph Biroc - Cinematographer, Robert Aldrich - Producer, John Brown - Set Designer, Dick Church - Sound/Sound Designer, Theodore Apstein - Screenwriter, Ursula Curtiss - Book Author
