By Violet LeVoit
Picture Mommy Dead
Brief Synopsis
A woman is released from an asylum after the shock suffered during the death of her mother.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Bert I. Gordon
Director
Don Ameche
Edward Shelly
Martha Hyer
Francene Shelly
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Jessica
Susan Gordon
Susan Shelly
Maxwell Reed
Anthony
Film Details
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Horror
Release Date
Sep
1966
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Berkeley Productions
Distribution Company
Embassy Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Pathécolor)
Synopsis
Young Susan Shelly, suffering from shock and amnesia, is confined to a sanitarium-convent following the death of her mother, Jessica, in a fire. After 3 years Susan returns home to her father, Edward, and his new wife, Francene, Susan's former governess. Francene, who married Edward because she thought he would inherit his wife's total estate, applies pressure on Edward to have Susan recommitted, knowing that her inheritance would revert to Edward should she be declared insane or die before her 25th birthday. Failing this, Francene persuades her lover, Anthony, the caretaker, to help her recover from Susan a valuable necklace once belonging to Jessica and now missing. During a thunderstorm Susan reconstructs the events leading up to the fire in which her mother perished. She realizes that she did steal the necklace and finds it but refuses to give it to Francene, believing in her hysteria that the woman is Jessica. A chase ensues; Francene discovers Anthony calling the police and stabs him to death. Edward joins in the fray and strangles Francene, just as he killed Jessica, and for the same reason, because of her adultery with Anthony. The scene is witnessed by Susan, who, as she did 3 years before, sets fire to the house and departs with her father, happy in the thought that she is the only woman in his life.
Director
Bert I. Gordon
Director
Cast
Don Ameche
Edward Shelly
Martha Hyer
Francene Shelly
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Jessica
Susan Gordon
Susan Shelly
Maxwell Reed
Anthony
Wendell Corey
Clayborn
Signe Hasso
Sister Rene
Anna Lee
Elsie Kornwald
Paulle Clark
1st woman
Marlene Tracy
2d woman
Steffi Henderson
3d woman
Robert Sherman
Father
Kelly Corcoran
Boy
Crew
Robert R. Benton
Set Decoration
John Bushelman
Film Editor
Dale Coleman
Production Manager
Dennis Connelly
Assistant Director
Robert Drasnin
Music
Ellsworth Fredricks
Director of Photography
Bert I. Gordon
Producer
Bert I. Gordon
Company
Hal Lierley
Makeup
Harry Lindgren
Sound
Ray Moyer
Set Decoration
James E. Murphy
Sound
Leah Rhodes
Costumes
Robert Sherman
Screenwriter
Charles Spurgeon
Special Effects
Dan Striepeke
Makeup
John Wilkinson
Sound Recording
Sherry Wilson
Hairstyles
Videos
Movie Clip
Film Details
Genre
Horror/Science-Fiction
Horror
Release Date
Sep
1966
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Berkeley Productions
Distribution Company
Embassy Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 22m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Pathécolor)
Articles
Picture Mommy Dead -
Bert I. Gordon, exploitation horror king of such drive-in ready titles like Earth Vs The Spider (1958) and Attack Of The Puppet People (1958) once again cast his daughter Susan Gordon in this matricidal horror drama. A traumatized girl (Susan Gordon) returns home to her father (Don Ameche) after a sanatorium sojourn following the death of her mother (Zsa Zsa Gabor), only to be at war with her father's materialistic new wife Francene (Martha Hyer). Jealous, the increasingly unhinged girl gets tangled up in a fracas over a missing necklace and the murder of her stepmother's lover. Unlike other Bert I. Gordon movies, this one was written by someone else - TV writer Robert Sherman of xxx fame. Hedy Lamarr was originally cast as the mother but was let go after being arrested $86 worth of merchandise (or, as she maintains, because she had missed shooting days after being hospitalized for exhaustion). Lamarr grandly declared to reporters "I will never act again".
By Violet LeVoit
By Violet LeVoit
Picture Mommy Dead -
Bert I. Gordon, exploitation horror king of such drive-in ready titles like Earth Vs The Spider (1958) and Attack Of The Puppet People (1958) once again cast his daughter Susan Gordon in this matricidal horror drama. A traumatized girl (Susan Gordon) returns home to her father (Don Ameche) after a sanatorium sojourn following the death of her mother (Zsa Zsa Gabor), only to be at war with her father's materialistic new wife Francene (Martha Hyer). Jealous, the increasingly unhinged girl gets tangled up in a fracas over a missing necklace and the murder of her stepmother's lover. Unlike other Bert I. Gordon movies, this one was written by someone else - TV writer Robert Sherman of xxx fame. Hedy Lamarr was originally cast as the mother but was let go after being arrested $86 worth of merchandise (or, as she maintains, because she had missed shooting days after being hospitalized for exhaustion). Lamarr grandly declared to reporters "I will never act again".
By Violet LeVoit
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Location scenes filmed at Greystone Mansion, Beverly Hills.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States on Video April 26, 1990
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1966
Released in United States Winter January 1, 1966
Released in United States on Video April 26, 1990
