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16 out of 16 people found the following review useful: For Geraldine Page Fans, 23 September 2004 Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas
Geraldine Page and a lively script lift this otherwise b-grade film to the status of cult classic. With her unique voice and mannered style of method acting, Page has never disappointed me in any of her many performances. And in this thriller, Theodore Apstein's clever screenplay gives the inimitable Page ample opportunity to portray a woman who, although inwardly venomous, amuses viewers in a stylized, aristocratic sort of way. In a major support role, feisty Ruth Gordon adds spunk. All of which adds up to 101 minutes of viewing fun, despite a grating, fingernails-on-the-blackboard music score, and dubious production values which, toward the film's end, have a black Lincoln turning yellow, then black, then yellow again, and back to black, in the span of 43 seconds. Charming.
17 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Geraldine Page is the poster woman for psycho-biddies everywhere with her chilling performance in `Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?', 28 August 2000 Author: Queen Bea
What's a poor widow to do when her husband dies and leaves her penniless? Move to the Arizona desert, start a pine tree garden, and fertilize it with human mulch? Well.wouldn't you?? Geraldine Page has quite the green thumb as Mrs. Claire Marrable--the wicked widow with the pine tree fetish--in the chilling thriller "Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice?"Grand dame Bette Davis once quipped: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy night!" Bette, you are so right! If you remember Geraldine Page as the sweet li'l ol' lady from `Trip to Bountiful'.FUGETABOWTIT! Page does a 180 as she transmogrifies from helpless Southern widow to cool, calculating murderess with money and murder on the brain--and a means to achieve both. Page hits the bulls-eye with each scene. All of her nervous ticks are appropriately timed. She is at her best when putting on airs and verbally sparring with unarmed opponents. What a stellar performance! Geraldine, girlfriend, you is flawless!!Many deliciously diabolical scenes abound, like when pesky canine Chloe threatens to dig up the dirt on her murderous past-time, Page as Marrable barks back: "I have not taken loving and diligent care of my garden to have it wrecked by this vagrant bitch!" Page's character is equally disenchanted with her new next door neighbor, Ms. Vaughn, whom she refers to as "crabgrass, never really quelled, only cropping up secretly and victoriously in another spot". The only one Page can stomach is Ruth Gordon as the inquisitive Aunt Alice--an undercover housekeeper on a mission to get to the root (haha) of all evil and discover the whereabouts of a friend last seen in Page's employ. But when she's tardy serving up cocktails, an impatient Geraldine rips her a new one: `Punctuality is essential to a gracious way of life, which I do not intend to give up on account of you.' Ruth returns fire: `If you wanna live like some Dutchess of Maharati, you better learn how to behave like one!' Geraldine shakes furiously from head to toe after a fiesty Ruth flat-out inquires: "How MANY women have you killed?" Try to suppress a snicker as you watch a pint-sized Ruthie scamper away from Page, who smugly stalks her throughout her secluded desert home to the beat of bongos and a psychotic musical score. Page's wicked laughter is sprinkled spuriously throughout the film to the backdrop of swaying pine trees-how ingenious! Not even Bette Davis cackled with such nefarious mirth as Baby Jane Hudson!Praise be the master of psycho-shrews on film, Robert Aldrich--who directed the cult smash "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"--for producing this special gem, and a hearty kudos to Lee Katzin for his superlative directing skills. This movie will make you bow down and pray to the Church of Geraldine Page. So what are you waiting for? Rent it tonight.and START PRAYING!!
16 out of 19 people found the following review useful: ''What a fraud you are!'', 30 August 2005 Author: phillindholm from Rohnert Park, CA
Not-so-grieving widow Claire Marrable is horrified to hear that her supposedly wealthy husband has apparently left her penniless. But, being a practical (and resourceful) type, she hits on a scheme to keep her in the comfort to which she wishes to become accustomed. Relocating to the Arizona desert, she hires elderly housekeepers with no known relatives (but tidy nest eggs) and sends them to their rewards a bit sooner than they planned. And their remains become mulch for the widow's growing garden as each is buried under a quickly flourishing sapling. This later entry in the "horror hag" sweepstakes features absolutely wonderful performances from Geraldine Page, who has a high old time as the haughty, demented and thoroughly relentless Mrs. Marrable, and Ruth Gordon, as Alice Dimmock, her new housekeeper, who isn't quite what she seems to be. On the sidelines are Rosemary Forsyth, herself a (young) widow with a nephew, Robert Fuller as Miss Gordon's nephew, and Joan Huntington as the scheming wife of Page's nephew. With a cast made up of widows and nephews, how scary can "Aunt Alice" be? Not very. But it's a delicious black comedy which allows Page and Gordon the opportunity to give the performances of their lives. There's also a neat cameo from Mildred Dunnock ("Death Of A Salesman") as the luckless servant who precedes Miss Gordon. One of the best "Grand Guignol" films ever made!
11 out of 12 people found the following review useful: one of my favorites, 28 August 2004 Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY
Hey now, this is one of my favorite movies. A woman living in an isolated house near the desert (in Arizona) is having trouble with housekeepers. None of them seem to stay very long. But every time a housekeeper leaves, a new tree gets planted along the driveway? Hmm. Well, along comes Ruth Gordon, who seems to have lost one of her friends somewhere along the way and this house is the last place of residence. So Ruth goes "undercover" as a feisty and weird housekeeper to Geraldine Paige (who fancies herself to be quite the goddess, I reckon, expecting the housekeeper to light her smokes and fix her drinks). Ruth though, is in cahoots with her nephew, the dude that played a doctor on Emergency eons ago. So while she's sticking her neck out, he's got her covered. Or does he? Hmm. Anyway, this is a VERY well done and awesome whodunnit, with more than a few creepy overtones. Anyone that enjoys the late Ruth Gordon will delight in this. Highly recommended!
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Marvelously enjoyable thriller, 23 February 2003 Author: heathnick69 from Stonehaven, Scotland
Although this movie looks a tad dated in certain respects - for instance a stupid subplot could have been eliminated and no one would have missed a thing - it works because of the brilliant playing of Ruth Gordon and - especially - Geraldine Page. I first watched this film at age the age nine when it was released theatrically: it was actually more enjoyable than the supposed "bigger" picture of the double feature! It is very obvious that Geraldine Page relished playing her role of Claire Marrable: she's totally awesome, so witchy and natural-like in her acting technique. Ms Marrable is a rather narcissistic woman who goes through an astonishing array of household help. Enter Ruth Gordon, a sly fox who comes to Marrable for a position in her lovely desert home. Once hired, the viewer is in for a tour-de-force game of cat-and-mouse. Played to the hilt, this little sleeper creeper is most enjoyable.
7 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Whispering Pines in the Desert, 14 June 2001 Author: BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC
Claire Marrable has just lost her husband, her fortune, and her rich and refined way of life. What is a spoiled, wealthy, egotistical woman to do? Why pack up and move to Arizona to be near your nephew, and begin killing housekeepers/live-in companions for their life savings of course. Aunt Claire seemingly has a green thumb as she transplants her housekeepers to the ground and plants a pine tree over them. As we see in the first part of the film, there are at least three pine trees before we see the first woman bashed in the head with a rock and then planted. We then see another housekeeper, Edna Tinsley, killed in similar fashion with a shovel. Now, five pine trees in the desert. Enter Mrs. Dimmock, a woman in disguise as a housekeeper out to find out what happened to her long-time friend Edna. This cat and mouse relationship between Claire and Mrs. Dimmock serves as the basis of the film. This film was produced by Robert Aldrich, who was responsible for bringing us films like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush..Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Aldrich made films that had older female protagonists popular in the sixties by giving these starring roles to ladies that were a bit aged and considered passe. Geraldine Page stars in this film as Aunt Claire, and if you had any doubts about her talent as an actress prior to seeing this film, no doubts should have remained afterward. Page is simply stunning. She has an aura and charm about her. She has a wonderfully sadistic and maniacal laugh. She has an ability to take dialogue which would not work for any one else and make it sound meaningful. Her portrayal of this wicked, cruel, greedy woman is one of the best I have seen for roles of this ilk. Aiding Ms. Page is Ruth Gordon. Ms. Gordon gives a very good performance as Mrs. Dimmock out to find the truth no matter what the cost might be. Gordon and Page act and interact very well together, and it is their relationship which really makes this film work. The rest of the cast is okay and the direction is okay, but everything is brought up a notch by the two outstanding performances of these two incredible actresses. After seeing this film twice in two days, I am still stunned at the magnificent performance given by Geraldine Page. WOW!
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: A Memorable Performance by Geraldine Page, 26 June 2005 Author: aimless-46 from Kentucky
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This is a fun little black comedy from television director Lee Katzin. Playing off the title of "Whatver Happened to Baby Jane", it is not ruined by its television look and feel because of a particularly memorable performance by Geraldine Page.Page plays an older women who has essentially been driven mad with rage after her husband dies and leaves her only his debts and .the contents of his briefcase. She moves to the desert and lives very comfortably by dispatching a series of live-in housekeepers who have turned over their life savings to her. Katzin tells the story mostly from the POV of Page's character so that after a while the audience is actually identifying with her.Ruth Gordon is essentially wasted in a very straight role. Rosemary Forsyth and Robert Fuller make an appealing couple but are very minor to story.Page is absolutely brilliant and plays the ironic twist at the end of the film beautifully (recently reprised in "The Upside of Anger"). At the same time that she is found out, she finds out that her husband actually made a provision for her to live comfortably after his death. She plays this final scene in such a way that we understand that discovering he actually loved her is far more important to her than getting away with murder.
6 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Creepy...., 23 August 2000 Author: Teenie from Warwick, Pa.
Geraldine Page gives a stellar performance as a whacked-out nutzo who delights in making compost out of her housekeepers and then stealing their money. Alas, along comes Ruth Gordon (at her snoopiest, sneakiest best) to investigate her friend's death, and then the gray hair flies. The scene in which these two senior citizens duke it out makes you see that adrenaline still pumps after age 60 (see Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck in the climax of "The Boys from Brazil" if you don't believe me). Ruth Gordon's character reminds me of a sweet yet feisty grandma who wouldn't hesitate to deck you with a right hook if her words didn't get to you. I actually wanted to jump in there and help her kick butt since I liked her character so much. If you like the kind of film that startles you to attention, check this one out. It's very much worth a look.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: "How does your garden grow?" might have been a better title..., 2 October 2006 Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.
Lots of mordant humor and a clever plot twist at the end are sufficient reason for watching WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?, but when a cast includes GERALDINE PAGE, RUTH GORDON and MILDRED DUNNOCK and promises to be a suspenseful film along the lines of BABY JANE and HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE, you owe it to yourself to watch it.It works not so much because the story (an eerie one, to be sure) is so original, but because the cat-and-mouse aspect of the story which has Geraldine Page and Ruth Gordon as adversaries in a household fraught with suspicion (of murder), is what hooks the most interest in this vastly entertaining little shocker.However, it's a quiet one, building its suspense slowly as we come to realize just how manipulative and cunning Page's character is. She's a woman, believing her husband has left her penniless, who moves to Arizona where she will be near her nephew. But she's intent on hiring lonely housekeepers and murdering them to steal their savings. (Not unlike some real-life events depicted in a gruesome TV documentary recently). After disposing of her victims she buries them in her garden and plants another tree to mark the spot. It seems they flourish nicely, hence my suggestion above for a better title.Gordon pretends to apply for a job after the last housekeeper has gone missing and is actually doing some detective work on her own. It's her scenes with Page that make the whole film so satisfying.It's not a great horror film but it does have its moments, thanks mostly to GERALDINE PAGE who does a marvelous job at showing us all the tics and nuances of a very eccentric woman who means to get her way, no matter what she has to do. It's a ruthless, cunning role and Page makes the most of it.
4 out of 4 people found the following review useful: 'Help Wanted: Live-in Housekeeper, Very Short-Term', 17 October 2005 Author: Estelle Edwards (libertarianlass@yahoo.com) from Riverhead, L.I., New York
This might have been an ad that Mrs. Marrable ran in the local papers. But prospective applicants would have been better off applying for work as stable hands! This was an independent film. Although it wasn't one of ABC's television movies, it quickly became a favorite on the the 'Movie of the Week' line-up because of its suspense factor. It still creeps me out to this day. Nobody can play disturbed female characters like Geraldine Page! She even starred in an episode of Rod Serling's 'Night Gallery'.The irony of the film is her finding out that she didn't have to go through all that trouble to keep living comfortably. Turns out that her late husband's stamp collection - that she used to bribe the next door neighbor's son - was a lot more valuable than she thought. I absolutely loved this movie!
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