{"id":48821,"date":"2020-05-20T16:08:25","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T23:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=48821"},"modified":"2020-12-10T22:38:51","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T05:38:51","slug":"pretty-poison-1968","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=48821","title":{"rendered":"Pretty Poison (1968)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Our mission needs ice-cold nerves.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Poster-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-48823\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Poster-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Poster.jpg 666w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn inmate (Anthony Perkins) released from an insane asylum receives help from his parole officer (John Randolph) in finding a job in a lumber company, and woos a beautiful teen (Tuesday Weld) he meets at a hot dog stand by telling her he is a CIA agent. Soon the young couple are committing crimes, and after Weld kills a guard, Perkins realizes he&#8217;s in over his head &#8212; especially when Weld reveals the depth of her frustration with her controlling mother (Beverly Garland).\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anthony Perkins Films<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Black Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Ex-Cons<\/li>\n<li>Femmes Fatales<\/li>\n<li>Mental Illness<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Tuesday Weld Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;sometimes violent black comedy&#8221; &#8212; &#8220;written by Lorenzo Semple (from <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stephen_Geller\">Stephen Geller&#8217;s<\/a> novel), and directed by Noel Black&#8221; &#8212; is &#8220;one of the few still-sparkling gems of the late sixties&#8221;, and notes it&#8217;s a &#8220;terrific film&#8221; with a &#8220;cult following&#8221; (he writes about it at length in his first <em>Cult Movies<\/em> book). He points out the &#8220;sharp humor scattered throughout its serious framework&#8221;, writing that &#8220;its style reminds [him] of William March&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2070\"><em>The Bad Seed<\/em><\/a>&#8221; &#8212; indeed, &#8220;17-year-old Sue Ann [Weld] might well be the diabolical eight-year-old Rhoda Penmark grown up.&#8221; Peary asserts that that &#8220;picture&#8217;s theme, as reflected in the paradoxical title and as embodied by Sue Ann, is that paranoid America is not so much in danger from foreigners as it is from evil, epidemic-like forces that are spreading in America&#8217;s heartland&#8221;, with the &#8220;small, peaceful Massachusetts town&#8221; where the film takes place &#8220;a microcosm of a sick, self-destructive America.&#8221; He adds that &#8220;Weld is great and Perkins matches her, properly playing Dennis as a man who is very much a boy.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>In his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, Peary names Weld Best Actress of the Year for her portrayal as &#8220;a typical American teenage innocent, a pretty, high-spirited blonde, who is on the honor roll, takes hygiene classes, and carries the American flag while marching with her school band&#8221;, but who actually represents psychopathy hiding in plain sight. He posits that &#8220;as Sue Ann grew up she refined, even perfected, her evil, keeping it veiled under a cheery veneer&#8221; &#8212; and now it &#8220;corresponds with her sexual amorality&#8221;. Weld &#8220;gives Sue Ann the comic edge to match Perkins&#8217; oddball Dennis&#8221;: &#8220;no matter what ludicrous idea Dennis cooks up, Sue Ann is willing; in fact, she&#8217;s one scheme ahead of him&#8221;, and &#8220;no one is better than Weld at showing excitement at acquiring things&#8221;. Peary reminds us that after her debut role in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=33\"><em>Rock! Rock! Rock!<\/em> (1956)<\/a>, Weld was best known for her &#8220;memorable, money-hungry&#8221; character &#8220;Thalia Menninger on television&#8217;s <em>The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis<\/em> &#8212; her prototypical role &#8212; and her manipulative teenager in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5317\"><em>Lord Love a Duck<\/em><\/a>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In <em>Cult Movies<\/em>, Peary elaborates upon Perkins&#8217; character Dennis, noting he &#8220;reminds [him] of the scene in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5177\"><em>Psycho<\/em> (1960)<\/a> in which Perkins, as Norman Bates, loses his cockiness when the car containing Janet Leigh&#8217;s body momentarily fails to sink in the lake. At this moment, Norman realizes that he can be caught&#8221;, just as he is time and again in <em>Pretty Poison<\/em>. Speaking of <em>Psycho<\/em>, Stuart Galbraith IV points out in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/23769\/pretty-poison\/\">review for DVD Talk<\/a> that, &#8220;For 1968 audiences, part of the film&#8217;s surprise is that it completely flip-flops audience expectations. They were still avoiding those late-night, home alone showers in the wake of <em>Psycho<\/em>, so Anthony Perkins in another fresh-out-of-the-nuthouse role strongly suggested another Norman Bates-like character&#8221; &#8212; whereas his character here actually elicits &#8220;relative sympathy&#8221; compared to Sue Ann, thus throwing &#8220;audiences off-balance&#8221;. Also of note is the small but crucial supporting role played by Beverly Garland, giving a &#8220;deliciously cold performance&#8221; as Weld&#8217;s shrewish mother; we understand Weld&#8217;s animosity towards her, but also feel sympathy about her untimely demise given that she&#8217;s &#8220;being nice to Sue Ann for the only time in the picture&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tuesday Weld as Sue Ann<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2-1024x568.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"355\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-48826\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2-1024x568.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2-300x166.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2-128x71.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2-768x426.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2-1536x852.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Weld2.png 1769w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Anthony Perkins as Dennis<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins-1024x594.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"371\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-48825\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins-1024x594.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins-300x174.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins-128x74.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins-768x446.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins-1536x892.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Perkins.png 1759w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Beverly Garland as Mrs. Stepanek<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland-1024x585.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"366\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-48827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland-1024x585.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland-300x171.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland-768x439.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland-1536x877.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Garland.png 1777w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography-1024x587.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"367\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-48828\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography-1024x587.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography-768x440.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography-1536x881.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Cinematography.png 1753w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2-1024x582.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"364\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-48829\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2-1024x582.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2-300x171.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2-768x437.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2-1536x873.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pretty-Poison-Still2.png 1761w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a still-enjoyable cult favorite. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0063456\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/23769\/pretty-poison\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=6232&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/87078\/pretty-poison#articles-reviews\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Our mission needs ice-cold nerves.&#8221; Synopsis: An inmate (Anthony Perkins) released from an insane asylum receives help from his parole officer (John Randolph) in finding a job in a lumber company, and woos a beautiful teen (Tuesday Weld) he meets at a hot dog stand by telling her he is a CIA agent. Soon the young couple are committing crimes, and after Weld kills a guard, Perkins realizes he&#8217;s in over his head &#8212; especially when Weld reveals the depth&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=48821\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48821"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56990,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48821\/revisions\/56990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}