Monday
Mar022020
Poll: "Lady in the Cage" it is
Monday, March 2, 2020 at 11:30PM 
We started a little biweekly 'streaming reader's choice film club' last month with Voyage of the Damned, and this time you've selected the Olivia de Havilland thriller Lady in a Cage (1964) for group discussion. So watch it over the weekend on Hulu, and we'll write it up and discuss on Monday night.
Which is not to say that we'll never discuss the other films (we will have pieces on Ali Fears Eats the Soul and The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne as other members of Team Experience sometimes volunteer to write things up) For the record the votes yesterday and this morning went like so:
- Lady in the Cage (24%)
- Cactus Flower (23%)
- Ali Fear Eats the Soul / Fight Club (15% each)
- Splash / Natural Born Killers (9% each)
- The Slender Thread (3%)
- Take Me Out to the Ball Game (2%)
Reader Comments (45)
"Lady in a Cage" really is worth more than the throwaway gag they had on "Feud". I love "Cactus Flower" too, but "Cage" needs the profile boost more.
This is tough! I voted for Cactus Flower because it's been eons since I've seen it, but I'd really be up for any of them.
Oh this is harder than last time!! So many good titles to pick from!
Slender Thread is grim but beautifully acted.
Lady in a Cage disturbing, fascinating and over the top plus you don't just get Olivia de Havilland but Ann Sothern and James Caan as well.
Splash is sweet and Take Me Out to the Ballgame candy coated fun while Ali, Fear Eats the Soul is intense and complex.
But I voted for Cactus Flower with that unbeatable combo of Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn. Much of it is of its time but it is still a charmer.
Oh, and I don't know if this is new to streaming or not - but I just found "The Set" (1970) on Prime last night. LGBT Australian melodrama, totally fascinating and maybe a little like "Sunday Bloody Sunday". I'd never heard of it before it came across my Letterboxd feed but it's worth a watch!
Ali, Fear Eats the Soul got my vote because it's been sitting on my to-watch list for years and I could use the extra push to finally see it myself. The few other Fassbinder films I've seen weren't great, and they wouldn't make a list of personal favorites, but they were provocative.
I recently saw The Slender Thread, which I highly recommend. You've got four film legends (Sidney Poitier, Anne Bancroft, director Sydney Pollack and composer Quincy Jones) operating near the height of their powers. All the hallmarks of their more famous performances/works are present in this lower-budget humanist thriller. I can't think of many other Hollywood films from that era tackling mental illness and, for the most part, Pollack approached the subject in a thoughtful way. Bancroft's performance, in particular, is chilling. Well worth the investment.
First I wanted to vote for ali : fear eats soul but changed my mind because I really love to rewatch cactus flower
I voted for Splash! but feel free to discuss Ingrid Bergman's dancing moves in Cactus Flower.
I voted for LADY IN A CAGE... it feels right since at 103 Ms. De Havilland is still with us!
I voted for Natural Born Killers. It's an excuse to talk about all sorts of things from its style and thematic material and how it reflects now and its very 90s cast and crew.
pretty tight race thus far between CACTUS FLOWER, LADY IN A CAGE, FIGHT CLUB, and ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL
Fight Club is discussed ALL. THE..DAMN. TIME. for such a lousy film.
Cactus Flower is so good!! Have you seen it Nat? Lady in a Cage is fun and ought to be more widely seen. I’m happy with anything, but those are my top choices for this particular exercise.
Urgggh come on people anything but fight club .. remember first rule of fight club you don’t talk about fight club ... so let’s not 👍
I love Fight Club. But yes, it's not something that needs to be discussed in this series.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Natural Born Killers is my 2nd choice though I much recommend the director's cut version of that film as I think it's the last great movie Oliver Stone made. Any Given Sunday is the last film he made that I think was watchable as everything else he's done since ranges from bad to just extremely unwatchable as he needs to retire.
Ali: Fear Eats The Soul is one of the best movies of all time.
Goldie!!!!
the poster clearly states DO NOT SEE LADY IN A CAGE ALONE! so let's all watch it together
I change my vote to Ali: Fear Eats The Soul. You must watch it no matter what people votes.
@Peggy, that's not very democratic.
@Everyone, a vote for me is a vote for Biden. Good night, and Good Luck.
Lady in a Cage!
James Caan was a very sexy villain in it. And Oliva de Havilland is the star. What more could you want!
I'd love to read about Splash, but what I really love is how much I can count on TFE voters to rally around whichever movie was nominated for best supporting actress.
I've read so much about Cactus Flower that it would be a waste of a winner in this pole. I really liked The Slender Thread, but of those within striking distance I would give it to Lady In A Cage, which is actually good and deserves a reputation boost from being a forgotten "hagsploitation" flick or punchline.
Peggy Sue is a yuge intellect and influence. Like your guns, hold onto 'her' for dear life and do not disobey, lest a scalding from Nathaniel is what you're after.
As someone who's seen The Slender Thread and really liked it, I would have loved more people to know and talk about it. A bit of a shock how badly it's doing because Bancroft should get double digit percentage votes just on brand loyalty ha. Oh well. I don't think I could read anything new on Cactus Flower that I haven't a hundred times, so unless The Slender Thread gets a giant surprise boost, Lady in A Cage seems the clear choice.
With Smackdown coverage and the ever present clip of Bergman dancing in the blue dress, I'll pass for now on Cactus Flower. Love Olivia in a tense underrated thriller, so lady In A Cage is a great pick. If anybody could find an interesting angle on Fight Club it would be you, especially now it's over twenty years old. But I must vote for two-time Academy Award Nominated film The Slender Thread. Two of the all-time greats at their peak, addressing mental health in such an uncommon frankness for the time. Plus it feels like a thriller except the lady is in a cage in her mind.
Wish I had Peggy Sue's charisma so all you gays would vote for me. Every thing she says gets a response, I get shit.
I put a voodoo hex on Peggy Sue with my healing crystals and tarot cards. Fight Club it is!
I picked Cactus Flower bc it feels very The Film Experience and is kind of lovely + kind of weird so that could lead to interesting comments. Plus, of course, that cast. That said, I'd kind of love it if Natural Born Killers won. It's such a thing of its time - maybe that's why doesn't seem to be discussed that often? But it's fascinating and there is certainly a lot to digest there, substantively and stylistically, both in a 25 years later way and a relevant to now way.
Scott C -- just as you were typing this Lady in the Cage won (by a hare) over Cactus Flower. But I agree on NBK. I've been meaning to watch it again and wonder how it's aged.
This is why I keep coming back to this site. Such taste in the readership! 2/2 for best choice for a Nathaniel piece. Good job all, can't wait to read it.
I remain as pure (to the dopes that can't research anything) and angry as Peggy Sue, no plans to achieve my pie in the sky ideals, but gee our glib disgruntled remarks get the MOST reaction.
Yass to this choice! Nathaniel got out of his slump with the last poll choice and looks primed to keep his groove on for good! This poll shows the readers really know you and love you at your best. Werk bish.
Tt's a close 2nd, by only 1%!!
I voted for Cactus Flower too!! Since the margin is so close, can u do both?? 😁
I always confuse this with the Eleanor Parker film, CAGED (for obvious reasons). I got a little excited when I thought you were going to discuss THAT film!
Come on guys, the comment monitoring is gonna be turned on again and that sucks. :-(
PS I voted for LADY IN A CAGE :-) yay!
I was just listening to an archive episode of Alec Baldwin's podcast where he spoke with James Caan, who said this was his first movie and he felt so bad having to be mean to Olivia de Havilland. He really hated that part LOL.
Joel M. I wish it was Caged! I love that forgotten gem, plus Parker was part of that perfect 1950 Best Actress roster.
And although it's tongue in cheek, quite spouting facts, and only facts, KlobuChar!! lol
crazy reader asks Nathaniel something
Nathaniel never answers
reader lashes out and takes Peggy and Suzanne as victims
Suzanne leaves
Peggy fights back
Nathaniel scolds crazy reader
Peggy becomes enemy nº1
crazy reader comes and goes
I was hoping for Cactus Flower, last night it looked like a shoo-in but Lady in a Cage is less known so a little light on it will be good.
Wish it was both of them though!
Joel -- well, we are paying attention to what readers want so will try to acknowledge the films that get voted for in some ways. The series is new so we'll figure it out. i'm just surprised SPLASH couldn't muster any support. i love that movie ;)
Suzanne's still here, Fincherian, she just uses aliases now.
Suzanne doing what Peggy should have. On second though Peggy does get rightful criticism, it's just the one nut that takes it too far even with a kernal of truth to their ramblings.
I was actually watching some of it on you tube the other day- the trailer is hysterical
Try to find the re-created trailer from Feud: Bette and Joan if you can. It's incredible.