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The Science Fiction Horror and Fantasy Film Review

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Theme: Grand Dame Guignol

What is variously referred to as Grand Dame Guignol, Batty Old Dames, the Psycho Biddy or Grand Old Dame film was a sub-genre of the Psycho Film that was created with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). This featured Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, two Hollywood stars who were past their prime, in a work that made them up to look as hideous as possible, showing Bette going rafter-rattlingly over the top as she psychologically tortured a wheelchair-ridden Joan.

Both Bette and Joan received newfound fame as a result and were packaged in other similar psycho films that showed them going dementedly over-the-top. A number of other actresses past their prime were brought back in similar psycho-thrillers. The genre died out by the early 1970s, although there have been later works that could be said to belong to the genre.


The Attic (1980)

17 November 202117 November 2021

Rating: ★★½

Gothic Madness and Family Secrets

Director: George Edwards
Actors: Carrie Snodgress, Ray Milland, Ruth Cox, Rosemary Murphy, …
Category: Horror

The Baby (1972)

6 January 200419 October 2019

Rating: 0­

Demented Lunacy/Man with a Child’s Mind

Director: Ted Post
Actors: Ruth Roman, Anjanette Comer, Marianna Hill, Suzanne Zenor, …
Category: Horror

Berserk (1967)

4 April 201313 November 2019

Rating: ★★½

Circus Murders

Director: James O'Connolly
Actors: Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Diana Dors, Ty Hardin, …
Category: Horror

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker (1981)

30 July 200316 March 2020

Rating: ★★★

Psycho Stepmother

Director: William Asher
Actors: Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson, Jimmy McNichol, Marcia Lewis, …
Category: Horror

Dear Dead Delilah (1972)

12 February 201930 November 2021

Rating: ★

Grand Dame Guignol/Southern Murder Plot

Director: John Farris
Actors: Agnes Moorehead, Dennis Patrick, Michael Ansara, Will Geer, …
Category: Horror

Hush (1998)

18 November 200713 December 2024

Rating: ★

Psycho Mother-in-Law

Director: Jonathan Darby
Actors: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Lange, Johnathon Schaech, Nina Foch, …
Category: Horror

Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

12 April 200313 December 2024

Rating: ★★★★

Southern Gothic Psycho-Thriller

Director: Robert Aldrich
Actors: Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Agnes Moorehead, Joseph Cotten, …
Category: Horror

Persecution (1974)

29 July 20022 January 2024

Rating: ★★

Psycho-Thriller

Director: Don Chaffey
Actors: Ralph Bates, Lana Turner, Olga Georges-Picot, Suzan Farmer, …
Category: Horror

Strait-Jacket (1964)

6 April 200417 June 2021

Rating: ★★★

Psycho-Thriller

Director: William Castle
Actors: Joan Crawford, George Kennedy, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, …
Category: Horror

Torn Hearts (2022)

14 May 202313 November 2023

Rating: ★★★

Batty Old Dame

Director: Brea Grant
Actors: Katey Sagal, Abby Quinn, Alexxis Lemire, Joshua Leonard, …
Category: Horror

What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969)

23 February 200829 September 2019

Rating: ★★★★

Batty Old Dames Psycho-Thriller

Director: Lee H. Katzin
Actors: Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsythe, Robert Fuller, …
Category: Horror

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

22 February 200524 July 2021

Rating: ★★★★

Batty Old Dames Psycho-Thriller

Director: Robert Aldrich
Actors: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Anna Lee, …
Category: Horror

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (1972)

23 October 202423 October 2024

Rating: ★★★

Grand Old Dame Thriller

Director: Curtis Harrington
Actors: Shelley Winters, Mark Lester, Chloe Franks, Michael Gothard, …
Category: Horror

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  • Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025)
  • The Assessment (2024)
  • The Mighty Gorga (1969)
  • Empire of the Apes (2013)
  • The Holy Virgin Versus the Evil Dead (1991)
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  • Tarantulas: The Deadly Cargo (1977)
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Theme Essays

  • Films About Atlantis
  • Werewolf Films
  • Virtual Reality
  • Imprisonment Thrillers
  • Films Depicting NASA and the Space Program
  • Human Bloodsports and Death Games
  • Animals Attack Films
  • Films About Plague and Pandemic
  • Disaster Movies
  • Steampunk Films
  • Documentaries
  • Films About Halloween
  • Films About Prophecy
  • Magicians and Sorcerers
  • Secret Societies
  • Real-Life People in Fiction
  • Techno-Thrillers
  • Twins in Fantastic Cinema
  • Asylums
  • Possession Films
  • Films About Imaginary and Magical Lands
  • Religion in Fantastic Cinema
  • Romantic Comedies
  • Film Noir
  • Spy Films
  • Jekyll and Hyde Films
  • Films That Make Dubious Claims to Being True Stories
  • Coming of Age Stories in Fantastic Cinema
  • Films About Cryogenics and Suspended Animation
  • Alternate History Films
  • Disturbed Psychology as Portrayed on Film
  • Law Enforcement in Fantastic Cinema
  • Weird Westerns
∧

Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2025

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