Pretty Poison

In an epically unlucky case of typecasting, Anthony Perkins made a huge impression on audiences in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 thriller Psycho playing unhinged Norman Bates. In fact, Perkins made too big of an impression because from then on during his career, he was always looked to for the slightly crazy roles that probably prevented him from getting the more glamorous leading man roles. Perkins went through a slow period after Psycho, but in 1968 made a movie with another mentally disturbed character, Pretty Poison.

TCM Underground aired this movie last Friday and having heard absolutely nothing about it I thought I'd give it a try. Perkins does play a toned-down version of Norman Bates, another disturbed individual with his fair share of personal problems. Not being an actor, I can only guess what being typecast feels like, but Perkins is so good in these roles it's easy to understand what casting directors saw in him. He plays these parts so effortlessly, making you empathize with his characters when you know you probably shouldn't.

Released from prison after serving a sentence for arson and accidental homicide, Dennis Pitt meets his parole officer, Morton Azenauer (John Randolph), who has set him up with a job in a quiet, little Massachusetts town. Dennis goes along with the plan, but takes a different job in a different town where he takes a job working in a chemical plant. Azenauer warned him not to live out his elaborate fantasies that run through his head, but Dennis can't help himself. He meets Sue Ann Stepanek (Tuesday Weld), a high school band majorette, and tells her that he is actually a secret agent for the CIA assigned to destroy the chemical plant because of the deadly toxins it dumps into the water.

At first a little skeptical, Sue Ann starts to believe Dennis' crazy statements. So with a willing sidekick, Dennis begins to plan his mission, destroy the chemical plant before it can do anymore damage. Not surprisingly, things escalate to the point where Dennis no longer has control on the situation, especially when Azenauer shows up wondering what's happened to him. As well, Sue Ann's mother (Beverly Garland) is suspicious of this older man's interest in her 17-year old daughter.

Pretty Poison's story can be described as a slow burn. Upon meeting Sue Ann, there is a feeling that everything is not quite right with this high school girl. She's just too willing to go along with this plan that Dennis concocts about being a secret agent. In this small northeastern town, Sue Ann's bored with her life and is looking for any excitement. For about the first 45 or 50 minutes, that is what the story feels like, a somewhat offbeat but almost sweet relationship between these two people. When Dennis actually puts his plan into action, that's when the sh*t really hits the fan, sending the story down a vastly different road right up until the end.

Perkins delivers a strong performance as Dennis Pitt with one question reasonating in my head as to the make-up of his character. Does Dennis really believe he is a secret agent for the CIA or is it really an elaborate fantasy in his head? It's hard to tell at times, but for most of the movie's 89 minute running time, I've got the feeling Dennis believes he is in fact a secret agent. It's only late in the movie when his fantasy has gone horribly awry that reality dawns on him. As Sue Ann, 25-year old Weld pulls off a frightening performance, really as the villain of the story. She has the innocent look of a high school senior, but below the surface there's some scary stuff going on.

Pretty Poison has been released on DVD so if interested, check out Amazon, or check out TCM's online schedule every so often to see if it pops up again sometime soon. It's a creepy story that just keeps building and building until the final scene which reminded me of the ending The Omen would use years later. Great performances from a tyepcast Perkins as a mentally disturbed man and Weld too as the not so innocent teenage girl. The trailer below has some SPOILERS, and don't be confused, this is not a romantic comedy as much as it might try to make you think otherwise.

Pretty Poison <----trailer (1968): ***/****