Lady in a Cage
Lady in a Cage is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed by Walter Grauman, written and produced by Luther Davis, and released by Paramount Pictures. It stars Olivia de Havilland and James Caan in his first substantial film role. Plot. When an electrical power failure occurs, Cornelia Hilyard (Olivia de Havilland), a wealthy widow recuperating from a broken hip, becomes trapped between floors in the cage-like elevator she has installed in her mansion. With her son, Malcolm (William Swan), away for a summer weekend, she relies on the elevator's emergency alarm to attract  attention, but the only response comes from an unsympathetic alcoholic derelict, George Brady (Jeff Corey), who steals some small items from her house. The wino sells the stolen goods to a fence, Mr. Paul (Charles Seel), then visits his hustler friend, Sade (Ann Sothern), and tells her of the treasure trove he has stumbled upon. The expensive goods George fences attract the attention of three young hoodlums, Randall O'Connell (James Caan), Elaine (Jennifer Billingsley) and Essie (Rafael Campos). They follow George and Sade back to the Hilyard home, where they discover the trapped Cornelia. Cornelia begs them for help, offering  to let them take whatever they want and promising not to report them to the police so long as they free her. Instead, the intruders mock her as they ransack her home and become roaring drunk on the contents of her liquor cabinet. As Cornelia watches in horror, the intruders conduct a violent orgy, ultimately killing George and locking Sade in a closet. Randall then pulls himself up to the elevator and taunts Cornelia by suggesting that her son Malcolm might be gay. Randall shows her a letter that Malcolm left on her nightstand that morning, in which Malcolm threatens  suicide because of her domineering manner. Shocked by the revelation, Cornelia faints. Shortly afterwards, Paul and his goons arrive to steal the goods from the hoodlums' car. After Cornelia regains consciousness, she manages to break open the elevator door, using the broken pieces of the door to make a pair of shivs. She leaps from the open door to the floor, injuring herself, but manages to crawl to the front door just as Randall returns. As he drags Cornelia back inside the house, she stabs him in the eyes with her makeshift weapons. He finds his way back into the  house, and commands his accomplices to bring her inside. Once in the doorway, Cornelia mocks Randall's blindness and his cohorts join in, leaving him to stumble aimlessly through the living room. Her act of violence, coupled with the stress of the whole ordeal, causes Cornelia to experience temporary insanity that leaves her disoriented. As the thieves start to leave, Cornelia mistakes Essie for Malcolm and speaks to him in a daze, expressing guilt over her monstrous hold on her son. She crawls out the front door again and Randall goes after her. In their struggle, Randall stumbles onto the  busy street, where he is struck by a car; a second car runs over his head, killing him. Numerous witnesses stop for the accident, only to discover the weak and injured Cornelia. As the police arrive, Essie and Elaine attempt to flee in a car only to crash into Cornelia's electric box, which restarts the power in the house, causing the elevator to finally descend. The surviving intruders are arrested, while strangers comfort the distraught Cornelia. Production. The film is based on an original idea by Davis, when he was working on a play about the effects of a  power outage on the inhabitants of a house in oil country in the Midwest. The incident turned into a battle for survival, one in which Davis shifted the action in his story from a house to an elevator "since like so many New Yorkers I have a sense of claustrophobia in these little automatic elevators." He later said he was also inspired by the New York blackout of 17 August 1959. He knew a lady who was trapped in the elevator of a private residence on the city's Upper East Side. She called for help and was heard by  two men who raped her. During his research, he learned that all elevators in New York have to be equipped with a phone, which would have ruined the story, so the film is set in an unnamed city. The film was announced in August 1962 with Ralph Nelson to direct and Robert Webber attached as star. Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Montgomery were being sought for the female lead. Rosalind Russell was offered the part but turned it down. In December 1962 Olivia de Havilland was announced as the star. Her fee was $300,000. Grauman signed to make his feature  debut as a director. Filming took place in February 1963. It took fourteen days and de Havilland called the experience "wonderful" praising the talent of James Caan. Reception. Commercially, the film was profitable for Paramount. The film was initially received with negative reviews from critics who considered it to be vulgar and sub-par for an actress of de Havilland's stature. Bosley Crowther wrote a special column in the "New York Times" criticising the film, calling it "reprehensible" which led to a press controversy. Columnist Hedda Hopper wrote "The picture should be burned (...) Why did Olivia do it?" "Variety  said that there is not a single redeeming character or characteristic" in the "vulgar screenplay", criticizing de Havilland's performance as Oscar bait and Caan's as a copy of Marlon Brando. "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette" also negatively compared Caan's performance to that of Brando and criticized the plot holes of the movie. "Time" mentioned that the film "adds Olivia de Havilland to the list of cinema actresses who would apparently rather be freaks than be forgotten". Re-evaluated decades later, the film is now seen as one that presented the turbulence and changes of society in the 1960s, and  a "deeply disturbing thriller". TV Guide gave it 3 stars out of 5 and called it a "realistic, intense thriller". Home video. "Lady in a Cage" was released by Paramount Home Entertainment on March 29th, 2005 as a Region 1 DVD.