{"id":6366,"date":"2009-04-03T10:03:31","date_gmt":"2009-04-03T17:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6366"},"modified":"2021-01-30T23:56:18","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T06:56:18","slug":"whats-the-matter-with-helen-1971","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6366","title":{"rendered":"What&#8217;s the Matter With Helen? (1971)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Helen, you do act like a killjoy sometimes.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Poster-182x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"182\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-67290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Poster-182x300.jpg 182w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Poster-77x128.jpg 77w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Poster-163x270.jpg 163w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Poster.jpg 363w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 182px) 100vw, 182px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen the mothers (Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters) of two convicted murderers receive threatening phone calls, they flee to Hollywood, where they establish a song-and-dance studio for aspiring kid stars. Reynolds finds happiness by dating a wealthy admirer (Dennis Weaver), but Winters&#8217; increasingly unstable mental state puts both their lives at risk.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Agnes Moorehead Films<\/li>\n<li>Debbie Reynolds Films<\/li>\n<li>Hollywood<\/li>\n<li>Horror<\/li>\n<li>Mental Breakdown<\/li>\n<li>Shelley Winters Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>What&#8217;s the Matter With Helen?<\/em> was written by <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Henry_Farrell\">Henry Farrell<\/a>, best known for penning the Grand Guignol classic <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2144\"><em>Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?<\/em> (1962)<\/a> and its successor, 1964&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4490\"><em>Hush&#8230; Hush, Sweet Charlotte<\/em><\/a> (based on his short story &#8220;Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?&#8221;). Farrell was clearly interested in milking the theme of &#8220;things happening&#8221; to middle-aged women with troublesome pasts &#8212; yet unlike in either <em>&#8230;Jane<\/em> or <em>&#8230;Charlotte<\/em>, it&#8217;s obvious from the beginning of <em>&#8230;Helen<\/em> which of the two female leads will eventually show evidence of having a few too many screws loose. <\/p>\n<p>While <em>&#8230;Helen?<\/em> offers some enjoyment in its recreation of 1930s Hollywood &#8212; complete with eerie Shirley Temple- and Mae West-wannabes dancing their hearts out for hypothetical talent scouts in the audience &#8212; it ultimately fails to generate the same type of twisted energy as its cinematic predecessors, due primarily to the rather tame central relationship between Winters and Reynolds. Ironically, 40-year-old Debbie Reynolds&#8217; uber-trim, youthful appearance (she looks not a day over 30) works to her detriment here, given that she never comes across as either middle-aged or pathetic &#8212; and her friendship with Winters, based purely on the circumstance of their sons&#8217; hideous crime, lacks the emotional gravity of the contentious familial relationships grounding both <em>&#8230;Jane<\/em> and <em>&#8230;Charlotte<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>As a result, Winters&#8217; gradual descent into madness exists in a weird parallel universe to the somewhat mundane path taken by Reynolds (who seems to want to be in a romantic musical &#8212; note her two impressive dance scenes). There&#8217;s some tension to be had in the underlying question of who&#8217;s been making threatening calls to the two ladies, and whether or not Reynolds&#8217; convenient new love interest (nicely played by Dennis Weaver) will care about her grown son&#8217;s infamous record &#8212; but a potential subplot about Winters&#8217; obsession with a charismatic female evangelist (Agnes Moorehead in a criminally small cameo) sadly fails to go anywhere, and the climactic ending, while shocking, feels like a bit of an emotional cheat. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Effective 1930s set designs and (Oscar-nominated) costumes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Set-Design.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Set-Design.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"596\" height=\"333\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67293\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Set-Design.png 596w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Set-Design-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Set-Design-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Set-Design-483x270.png 483w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>The surreal &#8220;kiddy revue&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Revue.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Revue.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"593\" height=\"335\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67292\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Revue.png 593w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Revue-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Revue-128x72.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Revue-478x270.png 478w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 593px) 100vw, 593px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Dennis Weaver as &#8220;Linc&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Weaver.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Weaver.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"329\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67291\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Weaver.png 598w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Weaver-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Weaver-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/WTMWH-Weaver-491x270.png 491w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 598px) 100vw, 598px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s worth a one-time look.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0067975\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1971\/07\/01\/archives\/film-whats-the-matter-with-helendebbie-reynolds-stars-with-shelley.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/whats-the-matter-with-helen-1971\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=385&#038;aff=13\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s586roo.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/whats-the-matter-with-helen\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Helen, you do act like a killjoy sometimes.&#8221; Synopsis: When the mothers (Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters) of two convicted murderers receive threatening phone calls, they flee to Hollywood, where they establish a song-and-dance studio for aspiring kid stars. Reynolds finds happiness by dating a wealthy admirer (Dennis Weaver), but Winters&#8217; increasingly unstable mental state puts both their lives at risk. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Agnes Moorehead Films Debbie Reynolds Films Hollywood Horror Mental Breakdown Shelley Winters Films Review:&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6366\"> 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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366","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=6366"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67295,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366\/revisions\/67295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}