Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) User Reviews

Chew! Chew! The Scenery!

[gbrumburgh · 6/10 · 8 February 2001]

What inspired casting! The libidinous Tallulah Bankhead as a drab, sober, religious zealot! That alone is worth the price of admission. Thanks to Bette and Joan, the 60s era of Grand Guignol brought some of our favorite glossy "middle-aged" legends back to the somewhat less glossy cinematic limelight. Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Olivia de Havilland, Geraldine Page, Agnes Moorehead, and Ruth Gordon all took the Gothic plunge. The prerequisites? Simple. Look like hell and act like a mad bull in a china shop. So why not grand ol' Tallulah, dahling?

Here, the "Alabama Foghorn," as Fred Mertz once called her when she guested (hilariously so) on an episode of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," is called upon to play the prim, tight-lipped Mrs. Trefoile, a wacko bible-thumper whose only child died a short time before. When her dead son's fiancee (Stefanie Powers) comes to pay an overdue visit out of respect, she makes a big whoops and tells the old lady that she is about to marry another man. And now the fun begins...

Urged on by her Maker (of course) to exorcise the young girl's demons and restore her purity (she wears that blasphemous red lipstick, you see) and, oh yeah, also to punish her (of course)for her mortal wickedness and ultimate betrayal to her dead son, the old lady (of course) imprisons the young damsel in her medieval-styled lair for a week's worth of (naturally) bible verse and repentance. But then the old crackpot decides she'd be better served if she (you know) takes it up a notch and makes her (of course) a sacrificial lamb instead. See, Trefoile finds out that the girl is still a virgin so (of course) if the girl's still a virgin, her soul can still be (you know) saved and, at the same time, she can be reunited with Trafoile's dead son in heaven, which better serves his memory. You know, kill, I mean save, two birds with one stone.

Seeing Bankhead cavorting around as a dowdy, highly repressed teetotaler while spewing passages from Revelations is an admittedly sinful pleasure. What's even better is that the old girl gets away with it. As bizarre and campy as one could hope for, Bankhead's Mrs. Trefoile is still all prickly seriousness and deadly menace, possessing a convincingly firm, fervent gait. She doesn't really play the joke. Moreover, she manages to slightly stroke audience sympathy with human shadings of loneliness and utter despair. The atmosphere is appropriately claustrophobic and suspense is built up expertly too, with every Bankhead entrance punctuated by creepy, stringy harpsichord music.

Fun too is watching Bankhead's Addams Family-like household run amok, especially Donald Sutherland as a mute, dim-witted servant -- a role I'm sure he'd love to erase permanently from his resume. Poor bruised and bloodied Stefanie Powers does yeoman's work here, gaining our sympathy from the onset and making a wonderfully feisty "straight man" to the Bankhead histrionics.

And just wait until the skeletons come out of the closet. Like you knew they would! Bankhead's final curtain in the flick is a great wallow. And speaking of final curtains, this was regrettably her last feature film.

You gotta admire Tallulah!

[Sardony · 7/10 · 28 August 1999]

Two ways we enjoy movies are 1) to share the emotional life of characters in a great story, regardless of the performer, and 2) to watch a great performer, regardless of the story. "Die! Die My Darling" "Fanatic"] falls into the latter category; here, Tallulah Bankhead is the great performer. Bankhead was, it is popularly believed, in the depths of alcohol abuse when she made this classic melodramatic thriller. Yet, she turns-in a terr(or)ific performance. Alcohol abuse may have helped her to slur some lines in that unique drawl of hers, but the well-experienced actress that she is - underneath the numb - shines thru by having clearly planned ahead to alternate her episodes of sweetness and rage, and performs them with well-crafted notes. It's an absolute tour-de-force: That ET-like bourbon voice of hers croaking out commands to her servants; like a witch shrieking "Liar!" to Stefanie Powers (and slapping her silly!); and looking like a backsliding soul at her most pitiful digging in her closet for a secret stash. And my favorite image: force-feeding a sermon to Stefanie Powers at gunpoint (Bankhead holding the Bible *and* a gun in her hands!). The story that sets all this into motion: Bankhead receives a visit from her dead son's one-time fiance, played by Stefanie Powers. Bankhead, a religious fanatic [thus the other title to this movie], presumes her son's betrothal to Powers means that they *are* husband and wife - FOR ETERNITY! Powers plays along, at first, but reveals little truths that counter the religious Bankhead's plans for her son's eternal peace; Bankhead, then, turns determined to "save" her son's Grace by keeping Powers pure. And so it goes from that, with escalating animosity. Bankhead is great. The production design is great (sets and color), and Yootha Joyce as the housemaid Anna is also terrific. Powers, however, grossly overacts; but, to her credit, she lets Yootha Joyce really lay into her with obviously no stunt-doubles between them. That was fun. Oh, there's also a couple homage to PSYCHO: recall that scene in Psycho when Vera Miles screams and flails an arm to set swinging the overhead lamp upon entering the fruit cellar. There's an instance when Powers screams and does the same with an overhead lamp. At that moment, listen to the soundtrack: it shrieks for a measure or two like Psycho's shower scene shrieking violins. Cool. I'll let you find the second "borrowing" from Psycho; it's not as obvious. For some campy fun, definitely rent this'n. Powers is a snitty over-acter, and she'll annoy you, but you'll feel she gets what she deserves when the Ol' Lady smacks the stuffing out of her. Plus, Bankhead simply saying the line "Milk?!" will make it all worthwhile - and that's just at the beginning...!

A creepy/campy good time from Hammer!

[capkronos · 7/10 · 8 May 2003]

Scandal queen Tallulah Bankhead rips into the role of Mrs. Trefoile, ultimate mother-in-law from hell! She's a snarling, hypocritical religious fanatic who invites her dead son's ex-girlfriend Patricia (Stefanie Powers) to her secluded country home, then imprisons her in a room with steel bars over the windows. She thinks Patricia is a sinner because she wears red make-up and clothes ("The devil's color!") and decides to "cleanse her soul" through torture with scissors, a gun, broken glass, starvation and, worst of all, droning daily bible sermons. She also has an altar down in the basement where she plots to sacrifice Patricia so her soul will be reunited with her dead sons! A maid (Yootha Joyce) and two handymen (including Donald Sutherland in an early role as the retarded Joe) assist her.

Richard Matheson's script (based on Anne Blaisdell's book "Nightmare") keeps things credible, fun and engrossing the entire time. Bankhead, in her final starring role, is pretty horrifying ("Filth! Corrupter!") and the supporting cast (especially Yootha Joyce) is excellent, making this one of the best of the Hammer psychological horror films.

Act, Act Tallulah!

[Poseidon-3 · 5 March 2002]

Bette and Joan got the ball rolling and, thankfully, Tallulah hopped on board and got in on the mid-'60's bandwagon of formerly glamorous mega-stars starring in exploitive suspense films. This film was made, literally, during Bankhead's last gasps of life and she gives it her ALL. She plays a fanatical widow, deeply devoted to her dead son and husband and steeped in literal Biblical translations and practices. When her late son's girlfriend (Powers) comes for a visit, she attempts to forge a spiritual bond with her and indoctrinate her into the rigid and fundamental ways of her life. However, worldly Powers will have none of it and soon has to pay for her transgressions. The thing kicks off with a symbolic, so-1960's credit sequence of a cat chasing a mouse (while blaring music blasts away.) Soon Powers arrives at Bankhead's rundown estate and the fun begins. Every glance, every nuance, every crackled, garbled word of Bankhead's performance is so interesting and right on, it is REQUIRED VIEWING to watch her a second time in order to catch all the hooty lines she spits out. Her inimitable growl of a voice ranges from blithely polite (as she spouts her platitudes on the simplicity of a clean life) to outright maniacal ("He died in a car accident!!") and she's a complete joy to behold. The woman was almost never seen without her smear of make-up and her shoulder length hair, but here she dissolves into character with almost no make-up and her hair in a sedate bun. Even though Powers often overacts certain reactions and intentions, she makes a good adversary for Bankhead. They square off against each other pretty well. Some decent British supporting actors round out the cast including a menacing and bothersome Vaughn and a barely recognizable Sutherland, quite convincing as a mentally handicapped odd job man. The film is dated in its hair/clothing and some of it's jerky camera work and music, but still manages to be quite creepy and suspenseful. It's Tallulah's show all the way, though. The relish with which she attacks this final screen role is a treasure to witness. Unforgettable.

"Go and remove that FILTH at once!"

[bensonmum2 · 7/10 · 10 April 2006]

The story: A young woman named Pat Carroll (Stefanie Powers) pays a courtesy call on Mrs. Trefoile (Tallulah Bankhead), the mother of Pat's dead fiancé. Pat plans to stay one night and be on her way. But Mrs. Trefoile has other ideas. She sees it as her mission to "cleanse" Pat and keep her pure for the day Pat will join her son in the afterlife. To accomplish her mission, Mrs. Trefoile locks Pat in an upper room of her crumbling mansion and preaches to her with a bible in one hand and a gun in the other.

Tallulah! That's all you really need to know about Die! Die! My Darling! Tallulah Bankhead's performance is so over-the-top, so wonderfully demented, so full of campy entertainment that she dominates every aspect of this movie. Stefanie Powers is good, but she and the rest of the cast are completely overshadowed by Tallulah. I just can't imagine anyone else (and that includes the likes of Bette Davis or Joan Crawford who were also part of the aging actress playing a crazed nut in a horror movie) in the role of Mrs. Trefoile - she's that good. I'll go so far as to say that Tallulah's performance in Die! Die! My Darling! is one of my two or three favorite pieces of acting from any horror movie I've seen. Amazing!

More than lives up to its lurid U.S. title...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 25 January 2007]

TALLULAH BANKHEAD, looking like a ravaged reject from a summer stock version of "The Little Foxes", delivers an appropriately over-the-top performance from this Hammer schlock that borrows from every madhouse movie ever made.

STEFANIE POWERS is the unlucky victim, a young woman who makes a courtesy call on the mother of her dead fiancé, only to discover that she's a religious zealot and a complete madwoman looking for sin in every fabric of Powers' too glamorous wardrobe and make-up. Not only is Bankhead mad, but her servants are enough to scare anyone within sight--including DONALD SUTHERLAND as a retarded man, and YOOTHA JOYCE and HARRY VAUGHAN as an unethical couple badly in need of cash.

Most unrealistic aspect of the story has strong-willed Powers submitting meekly to outrageous requests Bankhead makes upon her arrival instead of packing her things and leaving immediately. But when she fights back, she has to deal with Tallulah and her loyal servants, all of whom make for heavy combat.

Well photographed with some appropriately melodramatic musical flourishes to pump up the fright element, it nevertheless seems like a freak show by the time it reaches its harrowing conclusion. Not until the last moment, does the heroine get some much needed help from a boyfriend who returns for no apparent reason after Bankhead assures him that Powers has already left.

Summing up: Talllulah looks a fright but performs befitting the material--adding horror to the kind of role attracting overage stars in the '60s.

Tallulah is Great Fun if You Can Overlook the Plot Holes

[ScottAmundsen · 7/10 · 19 January 2014]

As thrillers go, DIE! DIE! MY DARLING! really isn't all that bad; it has all the necessary elements of the genre and the acting is several steps above the average for this kind of film.

The plot is a tad bit predictable, but not uninteresting: Patricia Carroll (Stefanie Powers) comes to London to marry her fiancé Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufmann). One day she decides to pay a visit in the country to Mrs Trefoile (Tallulah Bankhead in her final film), the mother of her former fiancé Stephen, who died in a car accident. Why? We're not sure; to pay respects, maybe.

BIG MISTAKE. Because the old woman is certifiable, blames Pat for her son's death, and before either we or Pat know what we are about, the old bat has the poor woman locked in a room, refusing to give her food, and reading daily to her from the Bible to "purify" her for her "reunion" with Stephen (whose death we find out at some point was in fact a suicide). And the batty old thing has managed to infect her house servants Anna (Yootha Joyce) and Harry (Peter Vaughan) with her peculiar brand of insanity, or maybe there's money in it for them, but they do her bidding without question. Also on the premises is Joseph (Donald Sutherland, unrecognizable in a sensational performance), a developmentally disabled young man who does odd jobs around the house and who might help Pat but in his innocence he runs everything by the old lady.

The hour or so that Powers spends fighting to escape has its moments: when Pat tries to outwit Mrs Trefoile (she comes close a couple of times) the excitement picks up; Powers, as always, is fiercely intelligent even when playing the victim. Which makes her lack of success slightly hard to swallow, especially since it's a while before the old bat finally pulls out a gun. In fact, the moment when Pat informs the old woman that her son killed himself, the loony old thing shouts "LIE!" and belts her across the mouth. And Pat just sort of shrinks away. This to me was the one flaw in the plot: Powers's character is intelligent, strong, and not a shrinking violet; WHY she doesn't just punch the old bat's lights out is somewhat of a mystery, but if she had, most of the movie would not exist.

The acting, as is often true of Hammer films, is excellent. Tallulah Bankhead brings her own exceptional style to the Grand Guignol proceedings; as a final film, it is nothing to be ashamed of. She runs the gamut from terrifying to hilarious with her usual panache.

Yootha Joyce and Peter Vaughan as the mysterious couple who keep house for Mrs Trefoile deliver splendid performances; just enough weirdness mixed with a drop of humanity to keep the viewer guessing. And Donald Sutherland, as I have mentioned before, is so good I didn't even recognize him and I've been a fan for over forty years.

The viewer has only one hurdle to jump: to buy the premise that a strong, healthy young woman could so easily be overpowered by a frail old woman. Bankhead is a formidable presence but Powers is forced to play the shrinking violet in some scenes to make her credible as a victim. Some of that doesn't work all that well, but otherwise the movie is jolly good fun.

Pass the popcorn.

It was OK

[preppy-3 · 6/10 · 3 March 2007]

Patricia (Stephanie Powers) is going to visit her dead fiancée's mother in England for "closure". She (Tallulah Bankhead) turns out to be a religious fanatic. She sees Patricia as her dead son's wife (even though they were never married) and intends for Patricia to join her son in Heaven--pure and and unsullied. Doesn't matter that Patricia might not want that.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!! Made in the wake of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"--a HUGE moneymaker. Like "Jane" this has a demented old woman tormenting another woman. This one is very unpleasant--you see Powers constantly being threatened, beaten up and starved. Now "Jane" was unpleasant too--but that had Bette Davis and Joan Crawford chewing the scenery. Bankhead and Powers are good actresses--but no Davis and Crawford. Also this film has a jokey score (at the beginning) that's totally at odds with the material. The story was far-fetched too--more than once I could see possible ways Powers could have escaped. It actually got boring too! I was surprised to see this was a Hammer film--there's very little blood in it at all.

Still, the acting was good (Bankhead in her last film is having fun and Powers is beautiful) and it's fun to see Donald Sutherland in an early role (playing a mentally handicapped servant). It's an OK horror film.

Insanity and Religious Fanaticism

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 10 June 2007]

The spoiled Patricia Carroll (Stephanie Powers) arrives in London to get married with her fiancé Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufmann). However, the stubborn Pat decides to pay a visit in the country to Mrs. Trefoile (Tallulah Bankhead), the mother of her former fiancé Stephen, who died in a car accident. Once there, the religious fanatic Mrs. Trefoile insists to Pat to stay overnight to go to the mass on the next morning. After going to the church, the naive Pat tells Mrs. Trefoile that she was not going to marry Stephen, triggering her insanity. Mrs. Trefoile abducts Pat to purify her sins and make her pure for her beloved son.

"Fanatic" is a typical production of Hammer: a low-budget movie supported by a great and creepy screenplay and excellent performances. The story is from the same year of "The Collector" (1965) and in both a beautiful young woman is kidnapped, but for different reasons. Tallulah Bankhead is amazing in the role of a deranged and hypocrite religious fanatic, and Stephanie Powers gives credibility with her spoiled character that chooses the wrong words and attitudes in every situation. Unfortunately, the conclusion is commercial and predictable, but could be darker and darker. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Fanatismo Macabro" ("Macabre Fanaticism")

Note: On 30 Nov 2018 I saw this film again.

You can bank on Bankhead for a fun time.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 27 May 2020]

Die! Die! My Darling! (AKA The Fanatic) was one of two grande dame guignol, movies made by Hammer Studios in 1965, the other being the excellent The Nanny starring THE 'grande dame' herself, Bette Davis. Although Die! Die! My Darling! isn't quite on a par with The Nanny, it's not for want of trying, with an ingenious premise (screenplay by the brilliant Richard Matheson), an excellent supporting cast (Donald Sutherland, Peter Vaughan and Yootha Joyce), a likeable 'woman in peril' (a young Stephanie Powers) and, of course, its all important psycho pensioner, played by Tallulah Bankhead, who does her utmost to beat Davis at her own game, and very nearly succeeds.

Powers plays Patricia Carroll, who arrives in England with her fiance Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufmann). Before she can get married, Patricia feels obliged to meet the mother of her previous fiancé, Stephen Trefoile, who died in a car crash. Against Alan's wishes, Patricia drives to the sprawling home of Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead), who turns out to be an extremely judgemental religious fanatic. Not wishing to offend the old lady, Patricia answers her probing questions, biting her tongue whenever the old lady gets too personal. But when the Mrs. Trefoile tells Patricia that she can never marry, because she has promised herself to Stephen and is, in effect, his wife, it is the final straw: she goes to pack her bags and leave. Unfortunately, Mrs. Trefoile isn't about to let that happen: with the help of her ruthless staff, Harry (Vaughan) and his wife Anna (Joyce), she locks Patrica in her room and keeps her prisoner, determined to make her pure for her son when they are reunited in heaven.

Told with a delicious streak of dark humour, Die! Die! My Darling! is definitely Bankhead's movie, the actress clearly relishing the opportunity to go full-on demented: she delivers her wonderfully camp dialogue with obvious glee, albeit with a suitably straight face. Known as a hellraiser in her youth, Bankhead revels in the irony of playing such a puritan religious zealot, knowing all too well that the audience is in on the joke. Powers, only twenty three at the time, does a good job of holding her own against the formidable Ms. Bankhead, but with the older actress getting all of the best lines ("Go and remove that FILTH at once!", "God's food should be eaten unadorned", "Corruptor!"), she has no choice but to settle for second place.

As for the supporting players, Vaughan plays one of his viler roles as brute Harry, who does whatever Mrs. Trefoile wants in the hope of future rewards, Joyce is excellent as Harry's conflicted wife Anna, who knows what she is doing is wrong, but does it anyway, and Sutherland is great as metally disabled Joseph -- not the most illustrious of roles, perhaps, but still very effective (his scene with the postcard is one of the film's highlights). Maurice Kaufmann is fine as Alan Glentower, but with everyone else given far more interesting characters to work with, he doesn't have much of an opportunity to shine. Look out too for an uncredited turn by Benny Hill sidekick Henry McGee as the local rector, a sinner in Mrs. Trefoile's eyes for marrying twice.

It should have been a camp classic.

[MOscarbradley · 3/10 · 7 March 2020]

Had this been better, (or worse, depending on your point of view), it might have been a camp classic particularly with Tallulah Bankhead going further over the top than any of her contemporaries as the barking mad matriarch holding her dead son's girlfriend, (a very dumb Stefanie Powers), captive. "Die, Die My Darling" or "Fanatic", depending on which side of the Atlantic you're on, is dafter than most and is totally lacking in suspense but Bankhead, sans make-up, seems to enjoy torturing Miss Powers who deserves all she gets for being so stupid in the first place. It's certainly fun seeing Tallulah playing a religious nut though I kept wondering why she agreed to make this tripe since she was never a 'movie' name to begin with. Presumably she needed the money. Watch out, too, for Donald Sutherland playing a kind of village idiot. No doubt he's crossed it off his CV.

Tallulah Bankhead: the world's most dreaded mother-in-law!

[Coventry · 8/10 · 25 December 2008]

It's most unfortunate that all the smaller-scaled psychological thrillers Hammer produced during the mid 60's remain somewhat in the shadows of their more grotesque and Grand Guignol featuring horror & Sci-Fi productions (like the Dracula and Frankenstein franchises or the Quatermass trilogy), because there are quite a few of genuine treasures to discover! "Fanatic" a.k.a. "Die! Die! My Darling" is such a wondrous example of an original and highly atmospheric but sadly underrated Hammer thriller. Richard Matheson's screenplay – adapted from a novel by Anne Blaisdell – is terrifically tight & uncomfortably credible, the atmosphere is uncanny throughout and Tallulah Bankhead's performance as the insane religious freak truly stands as one of the greatest in the history of horror cinema. Whilst visiting England with her new lover, all-American girl Pat Carroll plans to pay a visit to Mrs. Trefoile; the mother of her ex-fiancée who died in a car accident before they ever had the chance of getting married. Mrs. Trefoile acts a bit whiny and exaggeratedly religious at first, but still fairly harmless since the visit is meant to be brief and formal. However, Mrs. Trefoile turns into a totally religion-obsessed fruitcake when she learns Pat isn't a virgin anymore and never actually intended to marry her son in the first place! She gets more fanatic than Jesus himself and locks Pat away in the secluded mansion's attic with the intention to cleanse her soul and prepare her to reunite with the son in the afterlife. The concept of this film is simply stupendous, if you ask me, and veteran writer Richard Matheson makes sure that every tiniest possible detail in the script gets covered. There are also some very intriguing sub plots, like the awkward relationships between Mrs. Trefoile's servants and the gradual unfolding of what exactly happened between Pat and Mrs. Trefoile departed son. There are a few clearly noticeable similarities between this film and Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho", which leads to some obvious twists and a fairly predictable finale. But then again, you can't blame the film for this since pretty much every horror movie made after 1960 is influenced by "Psycho" in one way or another. Tallulah (I even love typing her name) Bankhead obviously steals the show in every scene she's in, but the rest of fine cast deserves a word of respect as well, including a young Donald Sutherland as the mentally disabled gardener. Next time you set up a list of favorite Hammer films, make sure you watch "Fanatic" first and I guarantee it will be in there somewhere.

Full Blown Bankhead

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 2 January 2010]

Although Tallulah Bankhead did a whole lot of very serious acting on stage and less so in film sad to say, she did love to caricature herself so to speak. The best role that woman ever had was as Tallulah. So I suppose it's fitting that her farewell performance be one over the top full blown Tallulah for Hammer Films in the UK.

Bankhead and Stefanie Powers are the only Americans in this Hammer film that has no unearthly creatures or devil's spawn as villains. The only villains are quite human and a bit balmy as they say across the pond.

Stefanie Powers who was engaged to Tallulah Bankhead's son when he died decides to pay a condolence and courtesy call on mother while over in Great Britain with her new fiancé Maurice Kaufman. She'll join him in London in a day or two. But Tallulah has way different plans for Stefanie.

Bankhead's a religious fanatic and she wants to keep Powers as a permanent house guest and convert her to her rather narrow point of view, especially about sex. Her household staff consists of a pair of husband and wife crooks, Peter Vaughn and Yootha Joyce, and a mentally retarded Donald Sutherland. Powers isn't going to get any help from this bunch, she's got to rely on her own wits to survive and hope her new fiancé comes to get her.

Fanatic is done slyly tongue in cheek. And for those of you who like Tallulah unfettered by any direction, Fanatic is your kind of movie. She was ill while making it, but she looks like she's enjoying herself immensely. The rest of the cast looks in awe of her.

The actors take it more seriously than the filmmakers do...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 28 October 2007]

Religious zealots and well-meaning people held captive against their will are my two least-favorite subjects for movie material, and here they're combined for a really queasy effect. The plot, based on Anne Blaisdell's book "Nightmare", is somewhat helped along by frisky bits of levity dotting the scenario, but not by the general hysteria which is inherent in the film's U.S. title, "Die! Die! My Darling!". Tallulah Bankhead plays the Bible-thumping, embittered mother of a dead man whose prospective daughter-in-law (Stefanie Powers) pays her a social call. I don't see how keeping this girl captive in the rambling estate would bring Tallulah any satisfaction, and Powers' helplessness does nothing for her--nor for the viewer, who is also held prisoner (it's the Idiot Plot Syndrome: if she acted smartly and got away, there would be no movie). Richard Matheson's script had promise, but he's facetious instead of cunning, and moments such as Bankhead revealing she was once an actress on the stage are nothing more than campy prodding (and it backfires since Tallulah's nutcase could use a little show-biz color to brighten her up). Donald Sutherland has an early role as a mentally-backward assistant with a heart of gold (a clichéd role no matter who played it); Powers manages to retain her dignity despite not being able to use common sense. Hammer Production looks good but is otherwise running low on petrol. *1/2 from ****

A young woman goes to visit her overbearing, religious fanatic ex-mother-in-law who decides it's time the girl joined her dead son in the grave.

[verna55 · 15 September 2000]

This effectively creepy little Gothic horror tale is one of Hammer's finest psychological-thrillers, and a valiant attempt to duplicate the success of American thrillers like "WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?" and "HUSH..., HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE" featuring aging, flamboyant female stars in macabre, unusual roles. This film is a showcase for the talents of the great Tallulah Bankhead whose last film this was. She manages to be both amusing and terrifying at the same time. It's a blissful performance, and next to LIFEBOAT it's her finest hour on screen. A very young Stefanie Powers(then age 23) also comes through with a remarkably strong performance as the terrorized daughter-in-law. The movie also features Peter Vaughan as Bankhead's menacing handyman, and in an early role Donald Sutherland as an imbecile who also works at the place. The workman-like script was written by Richard Matheson, from the novel NIGHTMARE by Anne Blaisdell.

"Stephen, they hurt me!"

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 21 January 2014]

Neat Hammer thriller that plays more like a black comedy. Stefanie Powers plays a woman who goes to visit the mother of her former fiancé who died. That mother is an insanely crazy religious nut played by Tallulah Bankhead. Dear old Mom has some very definite ideas about right & wrong and she doesn't take a shine to Stefanie at all. After tolerating Tallulah for as long as she can, Stefanie finally tells her that she never intended to marry her son even had he lived. This pushes the old broad over the edge and she locks Stefanie up in a room in her house. She plans to starve her as a means of cleansing her soul. She's a real nut! Tallulah Bankhead, in her final film, gives one of moviedom's great hambone performances. It just has to be seen to be believed. She clearly has a lot of fun with the role. Powers plays it all straight which only adds to the insane joy of Bankhead's performance. Donald Sutherland also has an early role and is particularly ludicrous as a retarded handyman. A fun entry in the "crazy old lady" horror fad of the 1960s started by "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?".

Hello Dahling........Please Step in for a Moment!

[bsmith5552 · 7/10 · 22 October 2018]

"Die, Die Darling" (aka "Fanatic") was the legendary Tallulah Bankhead's final film. In it she showed once again how good an actress she really was in spite of her checkered past. She didn't make many movies, preferring the stage, nevertheless when she did, she always strived to give a good performance. This film is no exception.

Loving couple Patricia Carroll (Stephanie Powers) and Alan Glentower (Maurice Kaufman) arrive in England from America. Patricia feels obligated to visit the mother of her former fiancé Stephen Trefoile. She plans only to make a brief visit. When she arrives she is greeted by Mrs. Trefoile (Tallulah) who turns out to be a religious fanatic mourning the death of her son in a car accident.

At first Pat plans to stay only a couple of hours but the old lady soon has her staying the night and the attending one of her "religious services". Mrs. Trefoile begins to work on Pat suggesting that since she had been engaged to her son, she now considers her to be a part of the family. When Pat begins to feel uncomfortable, and wants to leave, Mrs. Trefoile locks her in her room.

Despite her pleas to the old woman and her maid servant Anna (Yootha Joyce) and her weak willed husband Harry (Peter Vaughn), they keep her imprisoned. Pat manages to escape but is pursued and brought back by Harry who has developed an interest in the young woman. Angered, Mrs. Trefoile forces Pat to write a note to Alan stating that all is well and not to worry. Harry is dispatched to London with the note.

After his return, Pat attempts to lure the amorous Harry to her room to take her car keys from him while seemingly seducing him. Harry becomes wise and foils the attempt. Mrs. Trefoile catches Harry in the act and tells him to leave. Harry sees Mrs. Trefoile for the madwoman she is and has thoughts of doing away with her. Mrs. Trefoile lures Harry to the basement where he plans to stab her but is surprised when Mrs. Trefoile emerges from behind the door and shoots him dead.

Mrs. Trefoile, becoming increasingly mad, is distraught when Pat tells her that she is not a virgin but never had planned to marry Stephen at all. The clincher comes when she informs her that he had committed suicide of his own accord. Then the old woman loses it and................................................................................

It is not really explained why Harry, Anna and dim-witted servant Joseph (Donald Sutherland) unabashedly obey Mrs. Trefoile's every command as well as follow her weird religious practices. Anyway, Bankhead and Powers are excellent as the "warden" and the "prisoner" respectfully. Peter Vaughn as Harry is a weak but ever obedient servant. Yootha Joyce as Anna the maid servant is fearful but ever obedient strong arm for the old woman. Donald Sutherland has little to do in this one of his earliest films except to fpreshadow his performance in :The Dirty Dozen" two years later.

A fond farewell, reahhhly it was, for Tallulah. She would pass on three years later at the age of 66.

Not bad, but nothing special

[slayrrr666 · 7/10 · 26 October 2008]

"Die! Die! My Darling" is a decent enough film if only it would've toned down a certain area.

**SPOILERS**

Arriving from New York, Patricia Carroll, (Stephanie Powers) decides to visit Mrs. Trefoile, (Tallulah Bankhead) due to their past, leaving her boyfriend Alan Glentower, (Maurice Kaufmann) behind to go alone. Almost immediately, she begins to grill her about all sorts of religious services and learns that she has fallen from where she used to be. After finally getting tired of it all, she tells her off, only to find herself held captive in the house. Undergoing intense torture and torment in an effort to cleanse her and her soul after she tells her to repent for her sins and she refuses. With her boyfriend looking for her around town, he finds where she is and races to the scene before anyone else can happen to her.

The Good News: There isn't much here that really works. One of the main ones is that just about any scene in the basement really do the film good. The first encounter, where the traitor is lead into the cellar and then finds out the trick and the eventual payoff is a grand reward. The later scene down there, where the discovery is made and the aftermath is found qualifies as it's main jump scene. It's a very well-done scene and looks quite realistic for the condition in the time allotted. The discovery of it also brings about a fantastic sequence later on, where the thing is seen off in the distance to deliver a fantastic scare. What also works for the film is the few brief fighting scenes between the prisoner and the help. They're short but fun, and are a much needed distraction from the rest of the film. The longest one is obviously the best, where the two have a pretty nice tussle around the room breaking a decent amount of furniture and both sides getting the upper hand at times. These here are the film's good points.

The Bad News: There isn't much wrong with this one. One of the biggest ones is all the religious banter going on. The constant quoting of religious text, themes and morals does nothing but get old after awhile and really wear quite thin after all the mentions. The state of all this means that it gets aggravating since it passes the point of casting someone in that way and beating the idea into submission, which this one crosses early and then keeps on going for more. There's also a couple of problems with the other parts of the film, mainly for the few times of a repeated scene where they have a brilliant opportunity to escape and not take the chance. Several times, a broken window was there to be used and all that resulted was a hysterical round of yelling out into the open countryside. It's a problem, but the extreme religious stuff is the real with this one.

The Final Verdict: While not that bad, one of the main things wrong with it is that there's so much religious talk that really gets this one down. If that's a turn-off, then this one will really feel lackluster, while those who are in the mood for a decent Hammer film will find this one to hit the spot.

Today's Rating-PG-13: Violence

Religio Guignol.

[hitchcockthelegend · 6/10 · 30 March 2014]

Fanatic (AKA: Die! Die! My Darling! is directed by Silvio Narizzano and adapted to screenplay by Richard Matheson from the novel "Nightmare" written by Anne Blaisdell. It stars Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughan, Yootha Joyce, Donald Sutherland and Maurice Kaufmann. Music is by Wilfred Josephs and cinematography by Arthur Ibbetson.

Pat Carroll (Powers) decides to make a courtesy call on Mrs. Trefoile (Bankhead), the mother of the man she was courting seriously before his untimely death in an automobile accident. Her good intentions are not exactly welcomed with open arms, in fact Pat finds herself spun into a vortex of religious fanaticism and maternal madness.

Psycho-Biddy sub-genre meets Hammer Film's one word titled series of Psycho inspired thrillers, Fanatic is a thoroughly bonkers movie. Not in that it doesn't make sense or it is complex supreme, it's that it operates in some campy feverish world, a place where Baby Jane rests in peace. Unfortunately it's not as good as the other films that make up this wickedly entertaining sub-genre of horror.

That it's amazingly riveting is due to a bunch of cast performances that have to be seen to be believed. For even as the film meanders, where the makers repeatedly fall back on Pat Carroll's predicament with boorish time filling sequences, there's something enigmatically joyous about Bankhead and the crew making merry hell in this Hammeresque carnival of horrors.

Legend has it that Bankhead was permanently sozzled throughout the production, it matters not, always a tough old dame who never suffered fools gladly, it's a bravura performance that's rich with the excessiveness that the story demands. Joyce and Vaughan would become legends of situation comedies in Britain, but here they get to play seriously stern and creepy lecher respectively, with the latter tasked with waving his shotgun around as an unsubtle phallic erection!

Sutherland is woeful, but again it matters not, and it's actually not his fault, the character as written is a village idiot, a wet pants of a man purely in the story to fulfil the freak show quotient. Then there is the darling Powers, so young, sexy and vibrant, she escapes criticism because her performance is so measured it deflects from the preposterousness of it all.

Lipstick is banned, sex is banned, the colour red is banned and Religio Guignol is the order of the day. It's a film hard to recommend with any sort of confidence, but it's just nutty enough to make it worth seeking out as a curio piece. 6/10

A rather engrossing thriller

[GusF · 8/10 · 11 March 2016]

Based on the 1961 novel "Nightmare" by Anne Blaisdell, this is a rather engrossing thriller. It was released in the US under the less subtle title "Die! Die! My Darling!", referring to a line of dialogue used towards the end, while the novel's title had already been used by Hammer for an unrelated film the previous year. This film belongs to the studio's post-"Psycho" cycle of psychological thrillers, which includes one of their absolute best films Taste of Fear. While it was nowhere near in the same league as that film, it nevertheless has a strong script by Richard Matheson which features many highly memorable moments. The weakest part of the film is the subpar, pedestrian and at times hysterical direction of Silvio Narizzano. It would have likely been better if one of Hammer's regular and more capable directors - Terence Fisher, Roy Ward Baker, Seth Holt, John Gilling, Val Guest, etc. - had directed it instead. That said, Matheson's script is able to paper over most of the holes.

In her final film before her death in 1968, Tallulah Bankhead is wonderfully over the top as the venomous and deranged Mrs. Trefoile, the religious fanatic to end all religious fanatics. She does not allow any mirrors in her house as they promote the sin of vanity, she considers lipstick to be "filth" and she regards using condiments as an affront to God as the food that he created should be eaten unadorned. Bankhead is often very frightening as Mrs. Trefoile, though less so than Bette Davis as the monstrous title character in "The Nanny", and gets all of the best lines in the film. Mrs. Trefoile was once an actress and describes how her husband rescued her from the "pit of evil" - presumably Hollywood - and saved her soul from eternal damnation. Bankhead had last worked in said pit of evil 12 years earlier and photographs from her 1930s heyday are used to represent her character's previous career. In one of my favourite moments, Mrs. Trefoile matter-of-factly describes the parish's very nice new rector as an "evil man" since he remarried two years after his first wife's death. However, the best line in the film refers to a red dress: "Scarlet again. Destroy it!" It wasn't really meant to be funny but I couldn't help but laugh.

In spite of a dodgy start, Stefanie Powers is quite good as Patricia Carroll, who finds herself the victim of Mrs. Trefoile's tyranny. She was never exactly a superb actress but she had become a considerably more polished and engaging one by the time that she starred in "Hart to Hart". The unfortunate Patricia was engaged to Mrs. Trefoile's son Steven before his death several years earlier and, over the objections of her new fiancé Alan Glentower, decides to pay her respects to the aforementioned psycho in her house in a quiet, secluded corner of England. Mrs. Trefoile soon comes to view her as a degenerate Jezebel as she does not attend church regularly, wears lipstick and likes to see her reflection on occasion. She blames Patricia for Stephen's death and is deeply disturbed - not that she had far to go - when she learns that Patricia would not have married him even if he had not died. In order to save Patricia's soul from the temptations of the flesh / salt, she holds her captive in her attic with the help of her servants Harry and Anna and attempts to starve her into repentance. Bit of an extreme reaction, really. Patricia is a very strong and resilient character who refuses to bow down to Mrs. Trefoile even though her life is placed at serious risk for the last two-thirds of the film. There is a great sense of tension between the two women, which has more to do with the performances and the writing than the directing. The way that Mrs. Trefoile says "Patricia" was enough to send a chill down my spine!

Peter Vaughan is excellent as Harry, a former criminal who attempts to rape Patricia at one point. Mrs. Trefoile saves her but not out of the goodness of her heart. Yootha Joyce is very good as Harry's long suffering wife Anna, who displays a misplaced loyalty towards her mistress (and her husband) and does the most to assist Mrs. Trefoile in trying to save Patricia's soul. Maurice Kaufmann is perfectly fine but fairly forgettable as Alan. I took an instant and intense dislike to him in the opening scene when he tried to order Patricia around - even using the word "order" - but he redeemed himself towards the end. In one of his first films, Donald Sutherland, who is a superb actor, plays the severely intellectually impaired gardener Joseph but does not have much of an opportunity to display his great skill on this occasion. Although he worked in the UK extensively during this time, this was his only appearance in a Hammer film.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable film in spite of the often shoddy and amateurish direction.

Decent enough Hammer thriller

[The_Void · 7/10 · 12 August 2008]

Die Die My Darling is one of the lesser known Hammer thrillers; and it's also a rather good one. The film does have numerous problems and it's far from being a masterpiece; but it's entertaining enough and features a great leading performance from the great Tallulah Bankhead in a role that is about as far away from her real life hellraising persona as you can get! The film's alternative title is 'Fanatic' and while much less catchy than 'Die Die My Darling', is actually a more apt title and this is another film that focuses on an insane religious fanatic. The film focuses on a young woman who goes to visit the mother of her fiancée; who tragically died in a car accident. It soon becomes apparent that the mother, a woman by the name of Mrs. Trefoile, is a devout Catholic who disapproves of just about everything except God and the church etc. It soon starts to become apparent that the aging woman has a screw loose; and when she discovers that the young lady was never going to actually marry her son, she becomes angry and imprisons her in the house...

There's only so much that can really be done with a plot like this; but the film does hit all the right notes. It's at least interesting throughout, and the two central characters are fleshed out well enough to help the plot along. Tallulah Bankhead does manage to be completely believable in her role and she makes a great villain! Stefanie Powers acts in her shadow, but the young actress does well and provides a likable protagonist for the audience to get behind. The main idea in the film is the idea of someone letting their beliefs lead to extreme actions, and Tallulah Bankhead ensures that her character is believable in the way that happens. There's plenty going on in the film and while there are a few plot holes; we are at least always reminded why the protagonist has found herself in the compromising position that she is in. It's not hard to guess where the film is going and there are no big surprises at the end; but it's an entertaining enough ride getting there and Die Die My Darling is a Hammer film that is well worth a look.

Weak despite the great Bankhead

[JasparLamarCrabb · 4/10 · 20 September 2007]

A pretty weak psychological thriller disguised as another grand old dame of the cinema now reduced to making an exploitive horror film! This time, it's Tallulah Bankhead's turn. Never what you'd call an A-list movie star, Bankhead, with her foghorn voice still intact (her one-time sultry looks are gone, time was not very kind to her), is a spinster living in the English countryside who is visited by the one time fiancé (Stephanie Powers) of her deceased son. At first welcoming, Bankhead soon turns on the girl and holds her hostage. Silly dialog (Bankhead is a religious fanatic and goes on and on about how she's going to purify Powers...which is sort of ironic given Bankhead's notoriously hedonistic off-screen history). The dull direction is by Silvio Narizzano, who attempts to heighten suspense by turning up composer Wilfred Joseph's increasingly shrill music. It's not in a class with WHATERVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, but is's certainly more bearable than LADY IN A CAGE and does have a terrific early performance by Donald Sutherland as the dimwitted handy man who does Bankhead's bidding.

Talented Tallulah!

[Sylviastel · 8/10 · 29 October 2014]

Until I saw her name on the final credits, I thought that she was one of Britain's legendary leading ladies of the stage. Tallulah Bankhead was an American actress more known for her off stage parties and sexuality but she was also a very talented actress on stage and in film. In this delicious role, she plays British woman, Mrs. Trefoile, a disturbed and distraught older woman. When American actress Stefanie Powers who played Patricia Carroll, who visits her after her son's tragic death. Patricia is soon held prisoner in the large country estate. Harry and Anna are a couple who work for the old lady. They follow orders with regards to their demented employer. Bankhead gives an unforgettable performance. Powers also holds her own against her. Peter Vaughan and Yootha Joyce play the couple who serve Trefoile. It's an interesting film especially for Bankhead's performance. She spent most of her acting career on stage than film.

Go and remove that FILTH at once!

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 31 January 2008]

This Hammer classic has been renamed to Fanatic. Maybe to capitalize on the fanatic in The Mist. I haven't see that one, but Mrs. Trefoile was bad enough.

Played by Tallulah Bankhead, who I last saw in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat, Mrs. Trefoile was a scary hag that lost her son and blamed his fiancé, Pat, played by Stefanie Powers, known most notable for the TV series "Hart to Hart." Mrs. Trefoile kept Pat locked up so she could "convert" her to be worthy of her son.

Peter Vaughan, an actor with a hellacious amount of credits (173), was really funny as he kept trying to get into Power's pants. Don't blame him for trying, but the hag kept interrupting.

One minor character of note was Donald Sutherland in his fourth or fifth movie.

Great horror from the House of Hammer.

Watchable but weak.

[brefane · 4/10 · 20 October 2007]

As the title sequence indicates, Die!Die!My Darling!(US) aka Fanatic(UK)is a cat-and-mouse tale in which a young woman visits her dead fiancé's mother and winds up being held captive. Bankhead lives up to the part of the cat and, unfortunately, Powers lives up to the mouse part. Powers is a bland adversary for Bankhead's flamboyant Mrs. Trefoile, and the one-sidedness of the struggle makes for tepid melodrama. Similar films- You'll Like My Mother, Dead of Winter, Misery, and above all The Collector are all superior variations on the theme because they had more interesting protagonists and an atmosphere of genuine menace. Due to the thinness of the script, the film feels padded and has too much of Bankhead going on about her dead son "Steven". The film begins to drag long before the inevitable showdown which is disappointingly weak. Bankhead is effective, and for Bankhead fans, it's a rare opportunity not to be missed; for the rest it's a watchable but weak thriller. Valerie Harper received a Tony nomination for playing Bankhead in "Looped" which centers around Bankhead's attempts to loop a line for Die! Die! My Darling!, her final film.