If Lady in a Cage doesn't already have a cult following, it really should have one. This bizarre '64 film, which stars Olivia de Havilland and James Caan in his first major role, offers up some wicked suspense and superior scenery-chewing by the entire cast. The film is unusual from the get-go, with an opening credit sequence clearly inspired by Saul Bass's Psycho opener. It's one of those credit sequences that stands as a short experimental film on its own. Then there's de Havilland, playing an overbearing mother whose son--unbeknownst to her--leaves a suicide note as he heads off one morning. She, having recently broken a hip, gets into her private elevator, which promptly shuts down half-way between floors after the power is knocked out. When a drunken bum discovers her dilemma, he inadvertently tips off several local thugs (Caan and co.) who show up to fight over the goodies they can pillage from this upper-class home. De Havilland, meanwhile, looks on in horror as these scummy types ransack her house, murder one another and generally rack up bad karma. Lady in a Cage is a mighty creepy movie, one I highly recommend if you like that sort of thing. Look fast for the touch of Tennessee Williams, when it's intimated that de Havilland's suicidal son is queer. :

--Matthew Hays