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As Good As It Gets

The acting in this movie is really good.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The inheritance of a wicked woman who expired mysteriously in a fire is contended by her alternately scheming, resentful and disturbed surviving family members. After years pillaging the Sci-Fi genre, the director turns his attention this time out to the 'Grand Guignol'-type thrillers popularized by Robert Aldrich's WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962); to his credit, Gordon's contribution – though essentially dreary – is no worse than most efforts in this vein…but therein lies the problem, for we have all been here once too often. Typically, we have a fine cast letting their hair down, in this case: Don Ameche (as the patriarch), Martha Hyer (as his daughter's governess, whom he loves), Wendell Corey (possibly inebriated judging from his slurred delivery of lines!) as the family lawyer, Signe Hasso (as the nun who raised Ameche's traumatized daughter), Zsa Zsa Gabor (as Ameche's late, egotistical wife) and Anna Lee (as a society matron). Also involved in the sinister goings-on are the director's own daughter Susan (the progeny of Ameche and Gabor) and menacing, facially-scarred butler Maxwell Reed. Interestingly, the film starts with Gabor's death which is elaborated upon intermittently throughout the film in red-tinted flashbacks and comes full circle with history repeating itself…only with a different, if equally deceitful, victim this time around. Apparently, Gene Tierney and Hedy Lamarr were considered for the roles eventually played by Hyer and Gabor!

PICTURE MOMMY DEAD had the potential to be more than a little potboiler. Photographed handsomely in Pathe color amid elaborate settings, its look is far beyond that of the average programmer.But two things defeat it: an absurd plot and a dreadful performance by Susan Gordon in the central role as the traumatized victim of a horrible murder scene.The adults are a little over-the-top in performing--especially Don Ameche, Martha Hyer (looking very glamorous), and Maxwell Reed. No doubt they knew the melodramatic material was so overly meller that it didn't matter much. Hyer at least is convincing as a greedy woman who has only one objective: to get her hands on as much estate money as possible after the death of the girl's wealthy mommy and especially a glittering diamond necklace.Zsa Zsa Gabor flits about once in awhile when flashbacks permit the girl to remember a few events as they unfolded in the past. She's every bit the glamorous creature she always set out to be, and mercifully is not burdened by too much dialog.Most surprising is that this wasn't photographed in low-budget style in B&W. Instead, the sharp color photography puts it on a higher level than the script would suggest.The story lacks credibility as it goes along, becoming more and more improbable by the time it reaches a predictable conclusion.Summing up: Watchable, but hurt by a central performance that is cringe worthy.

One of those low budget films that had lots of style. Filmed at the famous Doheny Mansion in Beverly Hills, opening scene has a horrendous bedroom fire consuming the dead body of Zsa Zsa Gabor. I first saw this in the 70's and being a teenage pyro I was fascinated by the fire sequences. Teenage girl Susan Gordon (Producer Bert Gordon's daughter) gets let out of a convent 7 years after her mother (Zsa Zsa) gets crispy in the previously mentioned fire. Seems the girl still has some issues and things get wierd after her dad (Don Ameche) brings her back to the house where it happened! (How tacky is that?) Enter her old nanny (Martha Hyer) who just wed Daddy Don Ameche. Seems Martha wants to get her hands on an old Diamond necklace Zsa Zsa reported missing before the fire. Seems Martha is a bit of a tramp and will let anyone grab a hold of her Double D cups that will tell her where the jewels are hidden. Dig the crazy scene where Susan scratches a portrait of Zsa Zsa and the picture starts to bleed! They don't make 'em like this anymore. Wendell Corey makes a rare appearance (right before he died) as a surly character who likes tormenting Susan with remarks about the fire like "it must be what hell is like" just to watch Susan twitch out big time. Great bit of film noir (even in color) this movie has lots of shadows, great photography & direction, even the scene where the bedroom is ablaze is photographed in an almost beautiful way with the flames towering up expensive drapes and ashed slowly cascading down. Great fun, it's on video I hope they put this film on DVD. Of course, anything with Zsa Zsa Gabor is a hoot, even though here she is essentially playing herself.

Martha Hyer, Don Ameche, and Zsa Zsa Gabor in a horror film?-- It's definitely cult material. The three stars give unusually good performances for this type of film, with the rest of the cast over and under-acting. Truly an unusual horror film, the plot of this haunted mansion-whodunit isn't as predictable as it would seem. It's hard to find, but worth it.