What's the Matter with Helen?/Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

In 1972, I became an instant fan of Shelly Winters who starred in the blockbuster disaster movie "The Poseidon Adventure." I adored her as "the fat Mrs. Rosen" who saves Reverend Scott from drowning even though she suffers a deadly heart attack in the process. Around the same time period as "The Poseidon Adventure," Winters also starred in two psychological horror movies, "What's the Matter with Helen?" and "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?," in which she portrays two talented women who experience mental breakdowns that lead to psychotic, murderous behavior. Both were set in the Depression era and both were directed by Curtis Harrington; he also directed "How Awful About Allan," starring Anthony Hopkins of "Psycho" fame. "What's the Matter With Helen" is the masterpiece of this double feature. Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters are two friends who operate a dance studio; they are bound together by a trial in which their sons are convicted of brutally murdering a young woman and are imprisoned for life. A disgruntled relationship of the victim slices Winters' hand and makes threatening phone calls. The two women open up a dance studio in Hollywood but the stalker finds them and the nightmare begins afresh. Furthermore, Reynolds begins accusing Winters of trying to sabotage her relationship with a rich man (Dennis Weaver of "McCloud.") Meanwhile, Winter's sordid past begins slowly catching up with her until her mind snaps. This film is an enjoyable psychological horror slasher that has elements of "Psycho." Winters is the title character in "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo." Consider it to be a bonus film. It moves much slower than "What's the Mater With Helen?" and has a very low body count. Every Christmas, the children from an orphanage visit Auntie Roo for dinner, games, presents and a sleepover. Winters decides to kidnap a young girl, Katy, who resembles her dead daughter. I never understood why Auntie Roo didn't offer to adopt her. Katy's brother, Christopher (famous child actor Mark Lester of "Oliver" and "What the Peeper Saw"), believes Winters is a witch and comes looking for his sister. With its large house, séances, a mummified corpse, and a secret room, "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo" would be appreciated by fans of gothic horror. This double feature has given me a new respect for Shelley Winters. She was very convincing at portraying the psychologically disturbed. MGM has done a great job, as always, on restoring these rare films; the audio and video are superb. They would delight all fans of gothic horror and fans of the late Shelley Winters. I will always miss her.

I just got this DVD, having never seen "Helen". Well, aside from having Shelley Winters in common, both were directed by Curtis Harrington. It's a good lesson in what studio and budget can do for a film. "What's the Matter with Helen" is pure studio (United Artists) with high production values (Oscar nominated Costumes), true 30's period sets and a wonderful narrative written by Henry Farrell ("Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"). Shelley has never been better and Debbie Reynolds is absolutely marvelous, as the two play mothers of teen-age sons sent to jail and escape together to Hollywood. Debbie dances and Shelley plays piano; Debbie wants to be a Jean Harlow type, while Shelley slowly descends into her Bible study. I won't blab away any plot points, but there is a great cameo by Agnes Moorehead, and Dennis Weaver is quite fine as a rich "McCloud"-type. There is real suspense that kept me guessing, a few twists, which all add up to a great period piece that's loads of fun and craziness. There's also a wonderful performance by Michael MacLiammoir whose sinister presence adds to the suspense. "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" (released in America as "Who Slew Auntie Roo?"), on the other hand, was a quickie by Harrington, with lower production values and filmed in England. They were also capitalizing on young Mark Lester (from "Oliver!"). Shelley, in this one, overacts shamelessly, though with this type of film, it's appropriate. It's basically a re-telling of "Hansel and Gretel" with obvious modern twists. It's no less entertaining than "Helen", but as released by American-International, no other distributor would touch it. There are wonderful performances by the likes of Sir Ralph Richardson, Lionel Jeffries and Hugh Griffith, but it's super-campy (very "70's") and did well at the box-office. Shelley went on to receive the last of her many Oscar nominations the following year (1972) for her over-the-top hammy performance in "The Poseidon Adventure". Perhaps it was the Academy's way of rewarding her for the great performance in "Helen". In 1961, movies centering on evil old women seemed to thrive ("Baby Jane", "Strait Jacket", "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte", etc.), and, though "Helen" could stand on its own as classy entertainment, "Auntie Roo" kinda killed that genre. With its modest price and loads of the wonderful Shelley, this would be a welcome addition to your DVD library.

What's The Matter With Helen.Shelley Winters and Debbie Reynolds intruging story. At the beginning both are found not guilty at the court trial .Afterwards, they receive threating telephone calls and a man is out to kill them. They then travel 2000 miles to California, to start a fresh. Running dance classes and a teacher that Debbie Reynolds is she falls in love with one of her father's pupils : Dennis Weaver. They plan to get married. Helen is in the background a brillant pianoist, but feels left out. She has bad memories of her childhood, blamed for the accident of her brother's death. Tormented, how can Helen cope? Whoever Sloo Auntie Roo, a wealthy American woman living in her country mansion - invites ten of the children from the local school have to earn the privilege, for a Christmas gathering. Two childern who are not invited by the local school the brother and sister, sneek in the back of the butchers van, they are Mark Lester and his sister. She has been taken for a ride by her butler and Ralph Richardson, her fortune teller for years, conning her out of her money. Her daughter died also several years ago and there is an empty void in her life. Mark Lester and his sister need to break free, Brillant double Shelley Winters films and very good to watch.

Let me start with "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo". The film is loosely based on the fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, and can best be summed up as a psychological horror flick. It contains some of the essential ingredients of a good horror film, including the big scary mansion, a séance, a rotting corpse, together with a host of oddball characters. Shelly Winters plays Auntie Roo, a wealthy widow with time and money to play with. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, the picture isn't quite as rosey as you might think. You see, Auntie Roo lost her daughter, Katherine, very suddenly some time ago, and has never quite come to terms with what really happened. Cue the orphans. In the festive spirit, Auntie Roo invites some children from the nearby orphanage to her mansion (aka the gingerbread house) to celebrate Christmas. And when they arrive, Auntie Roo sets her sights on one little girl called Katy. What follows is a deadly game of cat and mouse. I won't give any more of the plot away, so give this film a go and find out for yourselves.Next under the spotlight, "What's the matter with Helen?". Also starring Shelly Winters (as Helen Hill), and co-starring the illustrious Debbie Reynolds (Adele Brackner), this film follows the lives of two mothers trying to escape from the publicity of a shameful truth. Their respective sons are convicted of murdering a girl called Ellie Banner at the outset of the film, and someone, somewhere, wants revenge for Ellie's death. Consequently, Helen and Adele go into hiding and start a new life together in Hollywood. Problem solved. Or is it? Over time, Adele begins to realise that Helen is perhaps not quite as stable as she thought. Gradually, Helen's fragile and disturbed mental state begins to seriously affect her behaviour, and the consequences are deadly. Overall, this is an enjoyable watch, and there are one or two great moments of suspense (and tap dancing!).If you buy this DVD, I would suggest that you watch "What's the matter with Helen?" first. That way you'll have the better of the two films still to look forward to when you're done!

Debbie Reynolds is terrific in this often very funny and atmospheric movie. Overlooked, it should be seen for a quartet of fine performances, many in-jokes that give laughs galore. Great period feel.

Virtually unknown gems!

Loved 'what's the matter with Helen' ...scared the wits out of us !!