ANATOMY OF A PSYCHO (1961)

The screenplay for this seventy-five-minute oddity was by Jane Mann and Don Devlin and rumored to include Ed Wood, Jr. This Plymouth Picture Inc. film was distributed by the “renowned” Unitel Productions. It is a rare occasion when I use the character names instead of the actor’s name, but with an essentially unknown cast, this seems to make more sense. Ronnie Burns (Mickey) stars with Pamela Lincoln (Pat) and her on-screen brother, Chet, played by Darrell Howell. We see a lot of third-billed Chet in this movie. Each actor does a fairly decent job given the assumed direction by Boris Petrof and a crew with little imagination. Michael Grainger (Lt. MacGowen) brings the most acting experience to the quartet of performers.

Lincoln had a number of television acting roles prior to this turkey and it displays her emotional range. And a powerful set of upper teeth. Likewise, Burns was not entirely unknown, being seen frequently on his parent's television show, Burns and Allen. Then he disappeared after this film. Burns’ larger list of acting credits gives him top-billing. Some reviews are confused, thinking Mickey is the psycho. But the film’s title refers to Chet, whose performance gets better the more psychotic he becomes. His somewhat anemic, dazed, acting is actually effective for his character. Similar to a couple of Johnny Cash’s performances sans Western apparel.

Chet and his buddies frequently meet at “the shack,” a rundown house that epitomizes that very word. His best friend, Moe, an ex-Marine, calls it home. He is the elder statesman of the clubhouse. The band of buddies resides in a neighborhood where students are “held back” a few grades more than in the average town. Most of the young characters appear to be in their early to mid-twenties, masquerading as teenagers. Chet increasingly experiences paranoia and mental delusions after his brother is sentenced to die for a murder he committed, ultimately losing touch with reality. His condition is compounded by this but it is pretty obvious he was not diagnosed with mental issues before the movie began. Pat tries to encourage her brother to bring in some income and take his mind off the subject. She pleads, 'I wish you'd go back to school. I'm a girl. I don’t need to go.' A popular statement during the early nineteenth century. But he is determined to seek revenge on those who testified against his brother.

Parents are scarce in this film. The only one is Mickey’s father, one of those who testified. When Chet finds this out both are in his sights. The son of the DA gets beaten by the masked “flour children” and Lt. MacGowen visits the young men—a sack mask over his head in a joke—to question them about a sack found near the crime. Known as “Mac” at the shack, he might have gone into social work full-time had he not chosen to be a police officer. He has real empathy for Chet and is determined to give him some sort of electro-shock treatment. I mean, counseling.

Chet’s girl, Sandy, played by Judy Howard, playfully twirls through her first of two scenes in slow motion outside her mobile home seemingly rolling off a fence and then a garage while always looking back at him with the neck flexibility of a swan. She wants a man with money. A man with a larger trailer. Chet has neither.

While attending a dance party at the very swank home of the local judge, Pat accepts Mickey’s proposal of marriage. It is a bit of a shock to witness the breathtaking view of a large immaculate pool against Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs. As if the producer blew the entire film’s budget on this scene. It seems out of place after experiencing dark, low-rent neighborhoods for the first thirty minutes. Sandy shows up with a new beau, the son-of-a-judge, dressed intentionally to get noticed. Mickey invited Chet. Perfect. He hates the judge and his son, too. Perhaps the reason to progress the film under the guise of a dance party is so Chet can set fire to the judge’s mansion.

Mickey and Moe get into their second tussle at the shack. Moe pulls a knife but it accidentally ends up in his stomach. Mickey flees. Chet kneels down while Moe pleads with him to not pull the knife out, he will bleed to death. In order to pin the crime on Mickey, Chet pushes the knife in further. What are best friends for? Slow-learning Bobbie witnesses the murder and a dreaded courtroom scene ensues at about the fifty-minute mark. The judge is particularly amateurish. The swearing-in of McGowan seems to have caught the registrar off guard as he stumbles, then repeats his opening words. The usual theatrics raise their head as the prosecuting and defense attorneys badger the witnesses. Bobbie lies under oath after acknowledging he knows what perjury means. It is authentically boring stuff for an audience who knows the truth. I thought the jury turned in a solid performance because outside of the foreman announcing the verdict, they had no lines. Bobbie cannot stand by Chet any longer and confirms the truth about Moe’s demise. The shack and its contents are “auctioned” off.

Notes: Slowly but surely over the years, the "enlightened" have been convinced of their own importance. By the end of the Sixties, Hollywood codes and lifestyles began to change, but in 1961 there were restraints in place to not get too graphic with Chet’s revenge nor was there anything perverse about having a young boy admire an older friend as a role model. Most were naturally conscious of not offending anyone. This is silly now, but when Mickey introduces Pat to his father he comes out of his room in a white tank top undershirt, reminiscent of men’s 1920s swimwear. He is totally embarrassed to have Pat see him “half-dressed” and crosses his arms to cover himself as he backs into his room.