Psychopaths in Classic Films
SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS starts with a screenwriter with so many distractions he can't finish his screenplay -- Can you imagine there’s no autobiographical truth to British writer/director Martin McDonagh’s newest film? (His previous film, IN BRUGES, also crossed craziness, comedy and crime.) Colin Farrell is the center of gravity of a swirling constellation of psychopaths played to perfection by Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson -- even Tom Waits comes in for a cameo.
Maybe a comedy based on psychopaths seems like bad humor, but cinema has been fascinated with psychopaths forever. Here are three of our favorite Hollywood era films about truly deranged characters.
So many young people have never seen WHITE HEAT (1949), but it’s a classic by director Raoul Walsh that truly pays off. James Cagney is a vicious gangster with a mother complex; his gang attempts an elaborate heist that ends with one of the best crack-up scenes in all of cinematic history. WHITE HEAT’s Rotten Tomatoes score is a well-earned 100%. Warner Bros. is only letting people buy this (rather than rent it), but it’s a worthwhile investment in your film library.
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) is much more well known to young and older audiences, thanks to Alfred Hitchcock’s faultless build up to Bruno’s diabolical madness. It’s grounded with such plausibility that when Farley Granger gets caught in a trap he never recognized, we can accept this as a harrowing metaphor for so many of life’s challenges. Great stuff, and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 98%.
Let’s have some gender equity for psychopaths! WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?, a chilling 1962 thriller set in Hollywood, stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as aging sisters, both former performers, who find themselves bound together in hate and fear. This film is part of the American Film Institute’s Top 400 list of great American films and has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 91%. Right now, all our films with the legendary actresses Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (who rarely play psychopaths!) are for rent for just $2.99 (they're also for sale if you want to build up your library).
Hope that this survey of psychopaths in films from Warner Bros.’ vault gives you some fresh ideas for how to spend an evening!
