The Glass Cage
Directed by Antonio Santean
Written by John Hoyt and Antonio Santean
1964/USA
Futuramic
First viewing/Amazon Instant
[box] The only safe thing is to take a chance. – Mike Nichols[/box]
On a shoestring budget, Antonio Santean crammed the only film he ever directed with every experimental device he could think of. The resulting psychological thriller/murder mystery is interesting if not great.
Ellen Sawyer is a prime suspect for the murder of a prowler in her apartment building. It is hard to believe such a delicate, sensitive, troubled girl could do such a thing. The prowler had been called into the police by Ellen’s sister Ruth. Detectives have a hard time tracking down the elusive Ruth. In the meantime, one of the cops starts to fall for Ellen who is having a hard time fighting off the advances of one of her neighbors. With Elisha Cook Jr. as the girls’ evangelist father.
The film’s low-budget origins are betrayed in the post-synched dialogue and no-name acting. However, the director used his artistic freedom with a lavish hand and there are many surreal sequences and unusual camera angles to enjoy. The mystery itself is easily solved by the observant early on.
No video from the film so here’s a candidate for unofficial theme song.
