Strait-Jacket

Strait-Jacket is a 1964 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by William Castle, written by Robert Bloch and starring Joan Crawford. Its plot follows a woman who, having murdered her husband and his lover decades prior, is suspected of a series of axe murders following her release from a psychiatric hospital. Released by Columbia Pictures in January 1964, the film was the first of two written for Castle by Robert Bloch, the second being The Night Walker (1964). The film's plot makes use of the psychological abuse method known as gaslighting. Plot Lucy Harbin has a solution for adultery -- an axe. So when she finds her husband in bed with his lover, it's off with their heads. Unfortunately, Lucy's three-year-old daughter, Carol, witnesses the deed. Lucy is tried and judged criminally insane. She spends the next 20 years at a mental institution. That's how long it takes for her to regain emotional stability. Upon her release, Lucy moves in with her brother and his wife on their farm. There, she is reunited with daughter Carol, who is now an artist and sculptor. She also goes steady with the richest young man in town. His name is Michael. Carol attempts to create a bond with her mother. But Mom is troubled by dreams and flashbacks of her horrific act. She envisions lying in bed with the severed heads of her two victims. One day, Dr. Anderson, her psychiatrist back at the asylum, comes to visit Lucy. The encounter proves too much. She experiences a breakdown. The doctor now questions the institute's decision to release her into society. Shortly after, the doctor's body is found dismembered in the barn. Lucy fears she may have chopped up the doc during one of her traumatic flashbacks. Daughter Carol attempts to hide the doctor's car but is blackmailed by the farm's meddling handyman. A short time later, he is found decapitated.