Lady In A Cage (1964) Like An Animal Orgy House Invasion!

Opening with one of the best opening credit sequences I’ve seen for sometime, inspired Saul Bass on speed. Fast paced bold graphics flashing up harsh lines to the sound of suspenseful pounding free jazz beats. Then the credits change to strange images, with a sinister notion, with snap shots of photography close ups to unease you into this manic rollercoaster ride of a film. This is the sixties alright, the cinematography filming style and music let us know that straight from the get go.

Tagline – The Management warns you: “Because of its frank nature we also urge you: DO NOT SEE LADY IN A CAGE ALONE!”

Beatnik street kids, bums and drunks, a stark reality of dread can be felt in the claustrophobic movements from the close running, stream of cars right outside the house. The house where it will start, a day of pure terror for one very unlucky lady. This house is where Cornelia Hilyard (Olivia de Havilland) lives, an upmarket house in a poorer district. Cornelia is recovering from a broken hip and what with the trouble of the stairs, she’s had a lift installed. A rather posh elevator with plush metal cage doors and a top of the range safety package, alarm bell, light and a telephone, well not in the lift unfortunately!

Due to a freak mishap, a builders ladder unfortunately knocks the power line from the house electric junction box, resulting in a power cut. Poor Cornelia is happily working her way up to the top floor of her house when this happens, result, she is trapped. This film is exactly what it says on the tin, Lady In A Cage.

Unfortunately her emergency alarm bell to the outside world, deemed to save her, in fact attracts attention for all the wrong reasons. It’s not long before she has uninvited guests rooting around her house, sneaking from room to room. A series of intruders intent on helping themselves but will anyone help her? A young James Caan appears in his debut film role as a no good delinquent who likes to keep his shirt off when ever he can. Other players in all the crazy are two Hollywood greats Ann Sothern and Jeff Corey and the gorgeous Jennifer Billingsley with Rafael Campos.

It’s harsh, frantic and extremely brutal but filled with an experimental flare that I thought was thrilling and shocking. It’s like director Walter Grauman just had fun with an avant-garde art project and what with the off beat jazz soundtrack by composer Paul Glass it hit many original ideas in this unique psychological thriller. Finding this film is one of the main reasons I love doing this here film blog and will sit well with last months top find, The Incident. I tell you I was honestly buzzing from start to finish with this discovery. Let me know if you’ve seen this one or if you do, maybe pop on back. Thanks for reading, keep searching the vaults. Mikey Wolf.

Tagline – What happens in this elevator is not for the weak – it is, perhaps, not even for the strong!