An absolute waste of money

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

"The Big Cube" came out at the height of the counter-culture movement in 1969. It's a groovy, sometimes campy melodrama about a teenager (Karin Mossberg) who is negatively influenced by the wicked medical student she's dating (George Chakiris). They implement "gaslighting" techniques on her sweet stepmother (Lana Turner) to acquire inheritance. Dan O'Herlihy plays the husband of Lana's character and Richard Egan her good friend. Carlos East plays a "right on" artist and Pamela Rodgers the teen's swinging best friend.Despite some roll-your-eyes campiness, mainly by Pamela Rodgers, the first half is entertaining as it tries to depict the hip late 60's scene, at least as far as Hollywood producers imagined it. Speaking of Rodgers, she's absolutely perky and likable and has a cute face, but her topless dance routine shows that she really wasn't very sexy, unless you're into thin, non-curvy women. In any case, the movie's amusing in a "far out" kind of way. Unfortunately, it takes a decidedly dull turn as soon as the youths start freaking out the stepmother with LSD. It's so bad it's tempting to tune-out. However, I like the comeuppance and redemption of the conclusion.Lana was 47 during filming and looked good. The film runs 98 minutes and was shot in Acapulco and Mexico City, Mexico. GRADE: C (or 4.5/10)

As a huge Lana Turner fan, I had avoided this film, as I had heard and read bad things about it. But the interesting thing about having low expectations is being pleasantly surprised. This film, having Lana married to millionaire Dan O'Herlihy and being stepmother to his daughter and having control of his money and her life (and her love life!) after he dies, isn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it keeps one's interest and keeps you guessing all the way through it, with elements similar to Lana's usual melodramatic movies. When her stepdaughter and lover want the money coming to her from daddy's will, they take drastic measures. Costarring good actors Richard Egan and George Chakiris, this is definitely a different type of Lana Turner film with its 1970s feel and groove and use of the big cube, but I wouldn't necessarily call it an embarrassment for Lana; it certainly entertains. Some may call it camp or unintentionally funny. But its dialogue and acting didn't seem to me to be overblown or extreme; it seems more of a state-of-mind film, with Lana being tortured psychologically. I can just imagine a 70s audience watching this and doing who knows what at the same time. I would definitely watch this again, unlike Bittersweet Love, another Lana film I just discovered. If you come across this on Turner Classic Movies, watch and enjoy this less-than-classic but otherwise entertaining Lana Turner film.

I recently purchased "The Big Cube" which has finally been released on DVD. The Picture quality is fantastic, clear, crisp and looks like new. The sound quality is also much better than I expected. It is presented in it's original widescreen format and it's a joy to watch. The music is pretty good,the sets and cinematography are well done. You already know the premise from the other reviewers so I will comment solely on the movie as a whole.This movie is not that bad. Lana looks great in her hip Travilla wardrobe and Karin Mossberg is not that bad of an actress. Mossberg was a very big fashion model in Europe in the late 1960's. Her accent is a bit off putting but she tries to give it her all. The supporting cast looks like they really had fun going to Mexico to make a movie. This is a total camp movie experience, but if you like "Beyond The Valley of The Dolls" you will love "The Big Cube"

From Warner Brothers' Cult Camp Classics line, in the Women in Peril set, along with the excellent (and not at all campy) women in prison classic Caged and the truly (and hilariously) awful Trog. This is the least worth watching film in that set. I loved the ultra-stereotypical late '60s setting, and the first half hour is a bunch of fun with hippies tripping their balls off. This is kind of a Reefer Madness for LSD. Except there's more of a plot and a couple of famous actors. George Chakiris, Oscar winner for West Side Story eight years earlier, is a doctor who has been doing experiments with the drug. He's trying to marry a young girl who stands to inherit a fortune. Her mother is Lana Turner, and Chakiris plans to drug her with LSD until she goes insane. The latter two thirds or so of the movie are pretty much a bore. Turner's acid trips start off amusing enough, but grow old pretty quick. Unlike Reefer Madness, this was a major studio production (Warner Brothers itself). The psychedelic music is pretty good, if generic music of that type. Chakiris is actually a pretty good villain.