I was expecting a bit of a campy farce a la Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, What's the Matter with Helen? etc., but this films delivers quite a taught little thriller once it gets going.
The central story: widowed Mrs. Marrable has inherited nothing besides sizeable debts and an archaic butterfly and stamp collection. To maintain her lifestyle she begins stealing the savings of her hired companions before doing them in and burying them in the garden.
The scripting could have done with tidying up to refine the central storyline and focus on the heart of the film: the-cat-and-mouse game developing between the arrogant and narcissistic Mrs. Marrable and her new live-in companion, the shrew Mrs. Dimmock, to whom there is more than meets the eye.
The real strength of the film is in the compelling performances of its two leads, Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon. Page especially bringing an unexpected pathos to the delusional Mrs. Marrable as the film takes its final turn.
The central story: widowed Mrs. Marrable has inherited nothing besides sizeable debts and an archaic butterfly and stamp collection. To maintain her lifestyle she begins stealing the savings of her hired companions before doing them in and burying them in the garden.
The scripting could have done with tidying up to refine the central storyline and focus on the heart of the film: the-cat-and-mouse game developing between the arrogant and narcissistic Mrs. Marrable and her new live-in companion, the shrew Mrs. Dimmock, to whom there is more than meets the eye.
The real strength of the film is in the compelling performances of its two leads, Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon. Page especially bringing an unexpected pathos to the delusional Mrs. Marrable as the film takes its final turn.