Fanatic (1965)

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

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.

Before she marries her handsome fiancé (and becomes "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E."), pretty Stefanie Powers (as Patricia "Pat" Carroll) decides to visit Tallulah Bankhead (as Mrs. Trefoile), the eccentric mother of an ex-lover who killed himself some years earlier. Since the death of her son "Stephen", Ms. Bankhead has been in prayerful mourning. At first, she seems simply overly gracious; but, rest assured, Bankhead's religious fanaticism is guaranteed to raise hell for Ms. Powers. Delusional, Bankhead believes "Stephen" died a virgin, and believes Powers should join him after a lifetime of virginity. Powers isn't interested.Luridly but beautifully re-titled "Die! Die! My Darling!" for American consumption, seeing this film listed in your "TV Guide" was the biggest thrill outside of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" It only had one aging ungracefully movie star, but adds a pretty woman in peril. Bankhead did relatively few movies, and even fewer as she grew older. You really couldn't be sure she'd show up, and be sober enough to perform, so each Bankhead appearance is a thankful treasure. Of course, Powers misses many opportunities to escape - but, take Tallulah Bankhead's incredible staying powers into consideration. She's captivating.******* Fanatic (3/21/65) Silvio Narizzano ~ Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Donald Sutherland, Yootha Joyce

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.

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.