Lady in a Cage (1964)

Lady in a Cage
Directed by Walter Grauman
Written by Luther Davis
1964/USA
AEC/Luther Davis Productions
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] Randall: [to George] We’re gonna kill you, pop. All of you. You… and the pig. And the human being.[/box]

Home invasion movies didn’t start with Funny Games. Here poor Olivia De Havilland is at the mercy of the scum of the earth.

Mrs. Cornelia Hilyard (De Havilland) is an independently wealthy poetess who lives with her grown son.  The son has left for the Fourth of July weekend.  Hilyard is recovering from a broken hip and uses a private elevator to move from the second to the ground floor.  An electrical outage traps her in the elevator.  In the days before cell phones, her only recourse is a feeble emergency alarm.

For some reason the mansion appears to be located on or near skid row.  The sound of the alarm only penetrates the feeble consciousness of a street preacher wino (Jeff Corey) who proceeds to break in and grab several bottles from the wine cellar and steal a toaster. When he goes to pawn the toaster a trio of crazed juvenile delinquents overhear his tale and decide to help themselves to some of the loot.  All the teenagers are psycho.  Their leader, Randall (James Caan) appears to be a homicidal psychopath.

The wino invites his “hustler” friend Sade (Ann Sothern) for a look at the wonders of the house.  The rest of the movie covers the many ways the intruders terrorize Mrs. Hilyard and each other.

This is a fun entry in the movies trying to capitalize on the success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1963) during the early 60’s.  The filmmakers really pulled out all the stops in the luridness department and the cast overacts with great gusto.  De Haviland maintains her dignity at all times.  Recommended if this kind of thing appeals.