Really Surprised!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Stuck halfway up her home elevator during a power outage, a wealthy widow finds herself powerless to stop thieves who wreck and loot her home in this aptly titled thriller starring Olivia de Havilland. It all sounds quite lurid and watching the film is far from pleasant, however, things get very interesting towards the end as de Havilland's mothering comes under scrutiny and as we are treated to more and more exterior shots. While almost all the action is mainly confined to her home, it is what occurs (or does not occur) outside that is most interesting. None of the passers-by or drivers on the busy road outside her home react at all to the panic alarm bell that she frequently rings (until one thief disconnects it). There are also several grisly occurrences on the porch of her house, but again nobody seems to notice and a plethora of cutaways to cars zooming past without stopping injects incredible tension. The acting almost sinks the film though. James Caan is excellent in an early career performance as the slightly unhinged leader of the gang, but de Havilland seems to be in a scenery-chewing competition with co-star Jeff Corey. The way de Havilland constantly narrates her thoughts aloud also comes off as annoying unnatural. The vast majority of the film is good news though. It is hardly the most delightful or subtle social commentary thriller under the sun, but it does manage to make some interesting points about how detached we tend to be from tragedy around us as per an unforgettable early shot of a young girl running her skates over a homeless man's legs.

Lady in Cage! This is James Caan's first starring role (although not his first picture) and he plays a brutal character that he modeled after Marlon Brando in Streetcar Named Desire.Olivia de Havilland (yes that Olivia de Havilland) is Cornelia Hilyard, a wealthy widow who is recovering from hip surgery. In order to get to the second floor of her house she has an elevator installed. On this particular day Cornelia is taking the lift upstairs when the power goes out and traps her between floors. Fortunately for her she has an emergency button that rings a bell outside the house. Instead of someone coming to rescue her however, the bell lures a bum (Jeff Corey) into the house. He steals some bottles of wine and then walks off with Cornelia's toaster which he takes to a local pawn shop. Randall (James Caan) and his two lackeys Elaine and Essie (Jennifer Billingsley and Rafael Campos) also happen to be at the pawn shop and they decide to follow the bum and see what he is up to. The bum goes to visit Sade (Ann Sothern) a local hustler who he is enamored with. Together the two of them decide to go back to Cornelia's house and rob the place blind.Check out the rest of our review at 3guys1movie.com

One of the hallmarks of a superior screenplay is the way it deals with 'awkward' questions whilst one of the hallmarks of a good movie is that 'awkward' questions don't begin to raise their quizzical heads until long after you reach home. So: Having established in the first minute of screen time that Olivia de Havilland is perfectly able to walk, albeit slowly, with the aid of a walking stick and further established inside another minute - via an exchange of dialogue with her son, about to leave her alone in the house for several days - that she will be able to dispense with the walking stick in just a few weeks, why, we wonder, has she seen fit to install an elevator that would not be out of place in a four-star hotel, in a modest-sized house in which the only stairs on view are straight and number no more than twenty treads at the outside. Why not install a stairlift? Okay, let that one go for a moment; after eleven minutes screen time the power fails leaving her suspended some six or seven feet above the ground. Eventually she presses the alarm button which rings, not, as we might suppose, in the local police station/doctor's surgery etc but in an alley at the side of the house which depends on 1) someone passing by at the exact time the alarm sounds and 2) no noise from traffic on the large highway that runs in front of the house. Okay, let THAT one go, too. When a passing wino (Jeff Corey) stumbles into the kitchen deHavilland, who can't see who it is, launches into what SHE thinks is logical exposition: A few months ago she broke her hip and had the elevator installed until it mended. This is where it falls down. To design, build and install such an elevator would take about three times as long as it would for the hip to heal so immediately the whole premise is out the window. When you're thinking this whilst WATCHING the film you know they're in trouble. Having said that it's certainly watchable; deHavilland, clearly anxious to put Melanie Wilks behind her, reveals a backbone (if not a hipbone) and Corey and Ann Sothern turn in fine support. Worth a look.

I heard this movie would be perfect for a double feature with 1963's The Sadist and that is definitely a true statement. It's definitely effective and chilling and it holds up super well to this day. I think the best part about it is that it moves slowly but keeps the viewers glued in, wondering what exactly will happen next. It's similar to Hitchcock's style so anyone who likes classic thrillers will love it.The story was very well thought out. A woman who's hip is broken gets trapped in her own elevator while a few people attempt to rob her home. The acting is convincing and the characters are frightening. Fans of classics need to check it out!