Joan Crawford Plays "Axe Me Another" in William Castle's "Strait-Jacket"- Tonight!

Get ready for some creepy Joan Crawford ( via William Castle) tonight on MeTV- as  a mother/daughter reunion (after Mom has been away at a psychiatric asylum) coincides with a sudden rash of axe murders! You’ll find “so much sleeve” and so much horror in the 1964 chiller- “Strait-Jacket”!

We get the back story of Lucy Harbin (Joan) catching her husband with another woman and giving them both  “the big haircut”- earning her twenty years in a psychiatric hospital. When she is finally released, she heads to the farm of her brother and his wife- who adopted Lucy’s daughter Carol when her Mom was sent away.  Carol, who, as a three year old, witnessed the murders, is now a young adult, an artist engaged to a wealthy young guy named Michael- and encourages her mother to return to the way she was twenty years ago, before all the unpleasantness occurred. Lucy wants to rebuild her relationship with the daughter she barely knew, but the past keeps cropping up. She also has visions of decapitated heads and sees axes.Is that normal?

Carol hopes that Lucy trying to be like her old self will ease her into re-acclimating into society. This may not be the best plan- because grey-haired Lucy returns to her old self big-time- with dark wig, new dresses and jewelry, and begins to play the vamp-even flirting with Carol’s intended. A meeting with the future in-laws turns out to be a disaster, thanks to Lucy. And then- the murders start! Have her misguided attempts at being like she used to be truly returned Lucy to her old axe- swinging self ?

This film, written by “Psycho” author Robert Bloch, can thank the actress Joan Blondell for the starring of Miss Crawford-  after the original choice for Lucy, Grayson Hall, opted to instead return to stage work, Blondell suffered an injury at home before shooting started, and William Castle asked  Crawford to step in- which she did, only after making some demands, which we’ll fill you in on. We’ll also run down the cast, which includes the first screen appearance of a future TV hero and a familiar actor from “Cool Hand Luke” and all four “Airport” movies. We’ll also explain the presence of a load of Pepsi Cola  ( and no wire hangers) in the film! We’ll also bring you the song we originally did for this film when we first showed it several years ago!

“Strait- Jacket” will be ready for you to try on tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central- if you are unsure of what time we are on or where to find MeTV where you are, please check the local listings or go to www.metv.com . We continue to trend nationally on Twitter during the program, thanks to all the fans live-Tweeting along with the show using the hashtag #svengoolie and MeTV encourages you to join in! In the Chicago area, viewers can get one more loving look at the late Julie Adams in “Creature from the Black Lagoon” at 11 am on MeTV.

While the latest Sven action figure sold completely out last weekend- we have something very special available now in our store- the Svengoolie Action Figure 4-Pack- featuring me in my traditional costume, along with the dreadful Dracula, the Horrible Mummy, and the Monster Frankenstein! These figures are manufactured by the Figures Toy Company, one of the industry’s premier distributors of licensed collectibles. You can create your own horror movies with this fearsome foursome! Check it out in our store here on the site or the store at www.metv.com .

Some special things will be happening this year, as I celebrate 40 years of being the Sven character! Special appearances, merchandise, and more are in store- including some things that may surprise you! Keep checking the blog and our appearances tab for future developments!

Tonight- join us for an “axe-cellent” horror film! ( Warning- some of the movie may be a little too intense for younger and more sensitive viewers- and those who don’t like Pepsi…)