Maltin must have been on drugs when he gave this juvenile attempt at psychological drama three stars. "Bone-chilling?" Much of this terrible script elicits laughter (my favorite was de Haviland's "Stone Age, here I come!". She must have been cursing her agent as she delivered that one.) "Allegorical tale?" Yes; it's a good approximation of a junior high attempt at allegory, complete with forced Oedipal references. As subtle as the crash of the Hindenburg. "Truthful and prophetic?" Yeah; it foretells how bad movies were going to become. "Starkly directed?" The movie spares no pains to throw in as much cheaply sensational sex and violence as it can on its obviously limited budget, and within the standards of taste and decency that were beginning at that time to unravel. "Well acted?" Puh-leez!! Olivia deHaviland (cursing her agent) does as well as she can with this lousy material, and James Caan ditto (especially for his first leading role). But Jennifer Billingsley's idea of what drugged-out looks like is laughable, and Rafael Campos' level of wiredness is ridiculous. Ann Sothern's efforts here belong in the Acting Hall of Shame. The movie ends with no attempt to resolve or make sense of the portentous "allegorical" issues it tries to raise. This dog looks like something made for tv (badly), which figures from a look at the director's record. A worthy companion to "Plan 9 from Outer Space".
Review of Lady in a Cage
