THE SCOOP...

The pleasant ladies in charge of a gifted childrens' school aren't quite what they seem in this suspenseful murder mystery! 

Curtis Harrington's 1971 film What's the Matter With Helen? is a lush tribute to 1930s Hollywood in the guise of a psychological thriller ALA Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?  Full of period details which reveal Harrington's knowledge and love for the time, Helen works on a multitude of levels. It is a thriller with many suspenseful scenes, part musical with an uncanny send-up of the grand musical numbers of the 30s. It is also an excellent character study of women in conflict with each other and world in general.

Adelle Bruckner (Debbie Reynolds) and Helen Hill (Shelly Winters) are friends brought together by a common tragedy. Their sons were convicted for the mutilation murder of a local girl along the lines of the Leopold and Loeb case. Adelle is a platinum blonde beauty who teaches dance classes. Helen is a dowdy Bible thumper who is the pianist in Adele's studio. As the two women leave the courtroom following their sons' convictions, Helen is slashed by an unseen party in the crowd. The attack is followed by several threatening phone calls. The two women decide it's time to change their last names and leave Iowa for Hollywood. Adelle intends to open up a dance studio for children. She figures that somebody has to teach the Shirley Temple wannabes, so it might as well be her. 

Once in California, Adelle's studio takes off right away. The modest class is filled with 20 or so brats of varying degrees of talent. All the children wear the same uniform except the little daughter of handsome millionaire Lincoln Palmer (Dennis Weaver). Adelle woos Lincoln. He agrees to finance a large scale talent review in a real theater for the talent scouts from the various studios. Helen sits in the background playing piano for the girls and raising rabbits behind the studio. 

So what is the matter with Helen? For one thing, she's so paranoid that someone is out to get her that she starts to hallucinate horrible images of blades - knives, farm implements, fan blades. So Helen starts to believe a member of the victim's family is going to do the same to her.

Then the threatening phone calls begin again. Helen sinks into a state of guilt-ridden religious mania. She takes to listening to radio evangelist Sister Alma (Agnes Moorehead) for solace. Helen seems to have something darker than fear of an unknown attacker in her background.

As the various plotlines pan out, the viewer is treated to a multitude of great performances, witty lines, eye pleasing production design and the highlight of the film, "Adelle's All Star Kiddie Review." This three song musical set piece begins with a recreation of Shirley Temple's song "Animal Crackers in My Soup." As good as this number is, the follow-up take off on Mae West singing "Oh, You Nasty Man!" is hilarious. The girl in a heavily padded dress goes through her routine as her behemoth of a stage mother mimics her every move backstage. The third number is a patriotic tribute to Uncle Sam. As Adelle joins the girls on stage for the finale, Helen is overcome by visions of death backstage. She lapses into a pile of emotional goo, screaming at the top of her lungs. Helen has come to the end of her emotional tether. All the how's, whys and wherefores, you'll be left to discover when you see this unusual picture. What's the Matter With Helen? is grand entertainment which delivers the goods on many levels. 

Debbie delivers one of her best performances as the ex-showgirl stuck with a morbid and mad business partner.  Shelley Winters delivers the perfect lumbering Helen. While her character isn't given as much to do as far as dramatic range is concerned, Winters nails Helen to a tee. Agnes Moorehead is great in a small part as Sister Alma. While Sister Alma's radio broadcasts dominate the film once the action moves to Hollywood, she only has one scene in person. In that one scene she paints a vivid portrait of the phony evangelist more interested in the collection plate than the true harvest of souls. The character is based on real-life radio evangelist from the 30s, Aimee Simple McPherson. One of the standout performance of the film is by character actor Micheál MacLiammóir as Hamilton Starr, a great ham actor who joins Adelle's business as a diction coach. His caustic asides provide several of the movie's best laughs. He also has a creepy effect on Helen.

Debbie cuts a sexy figure in Morton Haack's period gowns and Shelley remains a grey blur throughout in dreary frocks.  The designer garnered a 1972 Oscar nomination for his elaborate designs in Helen. 

Unfortunately, Helen was thrown away by the studio. Like many of Harrington's films, it received little or no studio support upon release. This is one of the great undiscovered films of the early 70s and definitely not your typical Debbie flick.  Don't miss it!