What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969)

You won't be disappointed!

Thanks for the memories!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? is the unofficial follow-up to the Robert Aldrich two-fer WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? and HUSH, HUSH...SWEET CHARLOTTE. Oddly, it feels a bit more dated than either of those films, probably because it's in colour rather than classy black and white. The quality of the script isn't quite up there either; this is predictable and a little drawn out, although the premise is still irresistable. Geraldine Page makes for a thoroughly despicable villainess from the outset, while Ruth Gordon is unusually cast as the heroine of the hour and excels in the role. The film is a slow burner that builds to an expected but satisfying twist climax; overall, it reminded me of an extended COLUMBO episode.

As claimed by the title, this kitsch murder spree is a pastiche of that delectable Betty Davis and Joan Crawford camp classic WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962), in fact, it is produced by the same director/producer Robert Aldrich after the said film and a follow-up HUSH… HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (1964), so it loosely constitutes a trilogy where the plot pits two aging women, one good, one evil against each other, only this time, the one sits in the director chair is the TV journeyman Lee H. Katzin, who replaced Bernard Girard after four-weeks of filming.In Tuscon, Arizona, an uppity widow Claire Marrable (Page) lives in a house in the desert, she has been bequeathed by her late husband with nothing but a briefcase contains the stamps he had collected. To make ends meet and maintain a well-off front, she bloodily murders her housekeepers, buries them under the pine trees in her garden, in order to take possession of their life-long savings. The gentle Miss Edna Tinsley (Dunnock) is her latest victim. Time to hire a new one, here comes Ms. Dimmock (Gordon), aka. aunt Alice, who is also a widow with no one else in the world, which makes her an easy target. But as time goes by, Claire unexpectedly finds a whiff of compatibility with her. Yet, Aunt Alice has her own ulterior motive, soon suspicion arouses and a cat-fight has been brewing only to leave one of them breathing.The script is inconsistent in shaping up a plausible story (the ending with that deus ex machina is rather lame) and the subplot of a matinée-idol looking Mike Darrah (Fuller), who is the only one could rightfully refer to Ms. Dimmock as aunt Alice, courting a young widow Harriet Vaughn (Forsyth), who lives in a cottage nearby Claire with her son Jim (Barbera), strikes as tedious and out of place.Geraldine Page is in her full-fledged evil form, deliciously camp from her first scene until the very last one (honed up by Gerard Fried's overblown score), as if she was fully aware of the shoddy fodder at her disposal and decided to tirelessly ginger it up with unreserved histrionics to portray Claire's tortured mind, her poisoned thought about "courage to kill" and her absolute selfishness, and it is wonderfully ravishing, she is the one who single-handedly rescues this widow-exploited pulp fiction from being left into oblivion. Ruth Gordon, at the heel of her Oscar-winning victory in Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968), is less memorable in playing an upright role, but little does one know, after rooting for her from the onset, one might overlook that there will be a different denouement for her. Truly evil can never win in the long run, but en route to its doom, it might also take some good souls for company, that is rightfully acceptable under the context, which contrives to e a boon in this patchy murder follies after all.

I stumbled upon this site after NOT seeing Geraldine Page on the IMDb "100 Famous Actresses of the Golden Era." I got a little upset and then I realized she was really AFTER the golden era...she had a few in there...Anyway...I just wanted to say how blown away I was when I saw Geraldine in this movie. This woman did not seem like she was acting. I was swept away. I was so amazed by her that I googled her and stumbled upon (once again) a YouTube video of her when she finally won an Oscar...She was so surprised and didn't have her shoes on...it took her a while to get them on!! She didn't win for this movie--not even nominated--but she should have. Superb actress. Watch it just for the amazing Geraldine.

Geraldine Page is left nothing of value by the passing of her husband and she has to fend for herself. Fast forward, she goes to live near her only blood kin, a nephew in Arizona. We see her at night in her garden digging a hole with her new companion/nursemaid. She is planting a new pine tree and then all of a sudden she hits her friend over the head. In the morning, there is a new pine tree planted firmly in the ground, in line with the others. Enter Mildred Dunnock, her new companion. There seems to be a pattern here.I, and other Geraldine Page fans, have already died and gone to heaven, as we are shown Miss Page's dark side and another tour-de-force performance. If all you know of Miss Page is "The Trip to Bountiful," "Sweet Bird of Youth," and "Summer and Smoke," then you're in for a treat. There's even a twist in the ending that keen observers will know is coming, even from the beginning. (By the way, if you didn't know, she would provide the voice of Madame Medusa in Disney's "The Rescuers.")Ruth Gordon shows up applying for the position and gives Miss Page a run for her money, who is also a joy to watch. Also starring Rosemary Forsyth, this is one offbeat tale that shouldn't be missed. If you're a fan of "Baby Jane" and "Sweet Charlotte," then move over for Geraldine Page. Better yet, stay out of her way!