Allow me to declare right up front I am not a Mickey Rooney fan. He's done a couple animated Christmas films where he has voiced Santa and I think that might be all I've "seen" him in. Wait, I'm wrong, there is the incredibly racist role (by today's standards anyway) he plays in Breakfast at Tiffany's I've seen and now that I look it up I've seen him in over 20 films so what do I know. But the fact that I want to state is I've never been a fan so I wasn't holding out much hope for this one. Besides Rooney there is Luana Anders (1961's The Pit and the Pendulum, Dementia 13, and That Cold Day in the Park) who plays Carlotta.
B.J. Lang (Rooney) is a makeup artist who has gone insane and has Carlotta tied up and held prisoner in a props warehouse. Other than a short visit by Keenan Wynn as a drunk named Old Charlie; that's basically it for cast members. The film was written and directed by Yabo Yablonsky and other than a 1979 Willie Nelson concert that's his body of work when it comes to film direction. What works well here is the minimalist approach the film takes. Two main cast members and one set for about 80% of the film. Also what works here is Rooney. Like I said going in I had little hope of liking the film because I really don't feel one way or the other for him. I ended up liking the film basically (at least parts of it) because of Rooney not in spite of him.
Don't get me wrong, it's still not a great film but they must have given Rooney an idea of what they wanted him to do and just let him go. He does crazy real well here! Not really sure what his inspiration was for keeping Carlotta hostage as it's not sussed out so well. Some trippy scenes add to the films artistic side but the story is better suited for a half hour Twilight Zone episode. We'll give this two and a half feathered musketeer hats out of five.
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