Oddly enough I’d never heard of this movie in spite of
reading that it was a favorite of horror host programs over the years.
Reflecting back that could be because I’d moved from a location that had the
bests hosts (in my opinion Cleveland will always be that) to an area where
there was none to be found by the time this movie was making the rounds on
those sort of programs. I wish I’d found it sooner because it was a wonderfully
atmospheric horror film that I’m certain fans would enjoy.
The movie opens in the past with a young woman named Luddy
Dublin preparing to go out for the evening. As she talks to her mother the
camera focuses on her getting ready and it isn’t long before we realize she’s
covered in blood. As she moves from one room to another we find her mother dead
and chopped into pieces. Luddy has killed her mother and is arrested and sent
to a mental institution.
Fast forward 30 years or so down the line and we see Luddy
being released, rehabilitated and ready to enter the world. While watching a
group of young people in the park they accidentally hit her in the head.
Richard (Robert Gentry) and Ellen (Elizabeth Eis) insist on taking her home
with them to make sure she’s okay. When they find she has no place to go they
introduce her to the family matriarch Delilah Charles (Agnes Moorehead) who
hires her to help around the house.
The Charles family is an unusual, one of those classic
Southern families who have an air of faux aristocracy and antebellum charm to
their behavior and attitudes in spite of their quirks. Helping Delilah is her
attorney Roy Jurroe (Will Geer) an old potential boyfriend who is now friend
only. Living in the house and first taking care of Luddy is her brother Alonzo
(Dennis Patrick), the town doctor and a heroin addict his drugs provided by
Richard. Her sister Grace (Anne Meacham) also lives in the house, a pleasant
alcoholic who is sleeping with Richard on the side. Rounding out the home is
Richard and Ellen, apparently married with Ellen being Delilah’s niece and
nurse.
Delilah calls together the entire family with news. This
includes her other brother Morgan (Michael Ansara) who brings along his
girlfriend Buffy (Ruth Baker). After dinner Delilah tells them she has important
news for them. As usual she chastises them for abandoning the ways of her
father and falling on hard times. She tells them her health is failing and she
isn’t long for this world. She then lets them know she’s changed her will and
is leaving the estate and its contents to the state to turn it into a museum.
The money that once flowed freely has dwindled to little and she provides each
with $5,000.
But she provides them with another tidbit of information. It
seems that their father long ago was involved in a shady deal that left him
with just over $500,000 which he hid on the estate. Delilah found the money but
left it where it lay. Now she offers them the chance to do the same and she
tells them that whoever finds it may keep it. The search is on.
From their greed raises its ugly head and bodies begin to
drop with the killer never identified. The fact that an axe murderer now lives
in the house means the possibility of Luddy being the killer is always there.
Add to that the fact that she seems to always be the first to find the bodies
and helps to stash them away so they aren’t found and she becomes a prime
suspect. But when you consider the greed of the family members with each in
need of funds for one reason or another, the list of suspects is vast.
Written and directed by author John Farris (his only
directorial credit) the film is fueled by some of the best dialogue written for
the screen. His being a writer shows in those moments between characters as
they speak to one another, something missing in many films these days. It’s
surprising that he stopped with this film or that more of his work hasn’t been
adapted for screen. Only three other items are shown as credits, THE FURY, WHEN
MICHAEL CALLS and BECAUSE THEY’RE YOUNG. While the film has a gritty appearance
in no doubt due to time and wear and tear it still is effective and engrossing.
This was Moorehead’s last feature film where she was visible
on screen before passing away and she turns in an amazing performance. With her
character wheelchair bound and dripping with charm while at the same time
berating all of those around her, she carries it off with ease showing the
ability she no doubt learned while working with Orson Welles in the past. The
rest of the cast does and equally admirable job. Patricia Carmichael in her
only feature film role is the weakest member of the cast but still pulls off
the character of Luddy quite well.
The final revelations at the end might be surprising to some
and expected by others but the ending isn’t one most will see coming. Suffice
to say that it is satisfying and left an opening for more stories had Farris
chosen to do so, not in the same vein as say a Freddy Krueger or Jason Voorhees
but still a potential left open. The movie also featured what was considered
shocking gore effects for the time but by today’s standards seem rather tame.
It’s interesting to note what was stunning to audiences at one time and how
that’s changed to a period where a film like this might be able to be aired on
prime time today.
Vinegar Syndrome has done another great job with this
offering. Given that the original source for the film offered a grainy film to
begin with it still looks good with a newly scanned and restored in 2k from
35mm vault elements. Extras are limited but that’s to be expected with a film
this old whose cast for the most part has passed away. Included in the extras
are FAMILY SECRETS: THE MAKING OF DEAR DEAD DELILAH an interview with
director/writer John Farris, a promotional still and article gallery and reversible
cover artwork.
If you’ve never seen the film before then by all means look
for it. You’ll have an interesting film with plenty of horror on hand for fans
of the genre as well as a solid mystery to solve before the end credits.
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