BRAND NEW HD MASTER FROM A 4K SCAN OF THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE! Oscar winners Geraldine Page (The Trip to Bountiful, Sweet Bird of Youth) and Ruth Gordon (Harold and Maude, Rosemary’s Baby) sharpen their claws on each other in this chilling thriller about a lost fortune, a mad heiress and a housekeeper hell-bent on digging up the truth. Mrs. Marrable (Page) is a society matron who’s had some shocking news: her late husband left her only a stamp collection. Determined to maintain her extravagant lifestyle, she takes advantage of an unlikely new source of income—her housekeepers, by robbing them not only of their life savings, but also their lives. The turnover rate for help speeds faster than a revolving door… until Mrs. Marrable’s latest hire, Mrs. Dimmock (Gordon), develops a drive to unearth the terrible secret buried in the front yard. Directed Lee H. Katzin (Le Mans) and co-starring Rosemary Forsyth (How Do I Love Thee?). Produced by Robert Aldrich (The Grissom Gang).

Jamie’s Take  (3 / 5)

Following on the heels of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte, director Robert Aldrich decided to take on the producing role, allowing Lee H. Katzin to direct. While What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice doesn’t hold a candle to the other two films, Aunt Alice is still an interesting, at times entertaining thriller that is saved by it’s two female leads, Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon.

Page stars as the bitchy widower Mrs. Marrable, a late 40’s rich housewife who finds out her recently deceased husband has left her with bills and debt, rather than riches and fortune. Shocked over what has happened, the unbalanced Mrs. Marrable decides to knock off her housekeepers one by one, taking their life savings in a stock scheme that seems rather unbelievable but yet these naive women fall for it.

After getting away with murder by knocking off her housekeepers and burying their bodies in her garden, Mrs. Marrable’s next housekeeper happens to be Mrs. Dimmock (played by the great Ruth Gordon). Different from her other housekeepers, Mrs. Dimmock seems like she too can be a loose cannon and there is more to her than what she is allowing Mrs. Marrable to see and know.

The twist of the film is revealed a little too soon, causing the viewer to be a step ahead of the characters in the movie thus causing the film to become dull. I admit I had a hard time staying awake once I found out who Mrs. Dimmock was, wishing the 101 minute running time was cut down to a shorter 90 minutes. What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice isn’t a bad film as I really enjoyed the concept, but the final execution was disappointing.

The movie’s saving grace are the two leads, especially Page who I couldn’t wait to see her get her comeuppance. I did have a hard time believing these housekeepers would take her shit and not just quit but I remember also working for a dick of a boss back in my 20’s where I continued to go to work, hating my life, waiting for that paycheck at the end of the week until I eventually found something better. Hard for me to throw stones at these women when yours truly suffered the same fate back in the day. Ugh, wish I didn’t bring that up, that sonofabitch sucked…ok, back to the review…sorry folks. Needless to say, Page is great!

I also need to point out another saving grace for this film is the music. Composed by Gerald Fried (Soylent Green, The Killing, and one of my favorite made for TV movies, A Killer in the Family). His experimental sounding music is out of the norm and so original that I wished this blu ray came with an isolated score.

Speaking of the blu ray, the transfer looks good however I did notice that fleshtones looked rather pinkish and there still seems to be some minor print damage remaining. What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice is a colorful film and Kino’s transfer really shines in making all the colors pop. While not perfect, this is a decent transfer.

The only special feature aside from the obligatory trailer is an audio commentary track by film historian Richard Harland Smith who does provide some great insight on the making of this supposed troublesome production. Fans will want to give this a listen.

While I am glad I saw the film and enjoyed watching the performances, What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice isn’t a very memorable movie. It passes the time and it’s for the most part entertaining but it’s flawed screenplay I found brought this movie down.

Treasure or Trash?

Jamie's Take:	(3 / 5)
Blu-ray Extras:	(3 / 5)
Average:	(3 / 5)

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