Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?

Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? is a 1971 British horror-thriller film directed by Curtis Harrington and starring Shelley Winters, Mark Lester and Chloe Franks. Like What's the Matter With Helen? (both films were included in MGM Midnite Movies Double Feature) or more well-known films of the genre (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte), it is one of the many films using the Psycho-biddy genre.

Jimmy Sangster (billed as James Sangster), Robert Blees and David D. Osborn co-operated to write the screenplay. Other titles that have been used for the film are "Gingerbread House" (screenplay working title) and simply "Who Slew Auntie Roo?" (poster title), while the film tagline was "The hand that rocks the cradle has no flesh on it!".

Other actors that were included in the film were Lionel Jeffries, Rosalie Crutchley, Ralph Richardson, Hugh Griffith, Judy Cornwell and Michael Gothard. The film is believed to be a bizarre twist to the known fairytale of Hansel and Gretel. The film was distributed by American International Productions.

Cast

*Shelley Winters as Mrs. Rosie Forrest, also known as Rosie Miller and Aunt Roo
*Mark Lester as Christopher Coombs
*Chloe Franks as Katy Coombs
*Ralph Richardson as Mr. Benton, fake psychic
*Lionel Jeffries as Police Inspector Willoughby
*Hugh Griffith as Mr. Harrison, the "Pigman"
*Rosalie Crutchley as Miss Henley
*Pat Heywood as Dr. Mason
*Judy Cornwell as Clarine, Aunt Roo's servant
*Michael Gothard as Albie, Aunt Roo's butler
*Jacqueline Cowper as Angela, girl at orphanage
*Richard Beaumont as Peter, boy at orphanage
*Charlotte Sayce as Katharine Forrest, Aunt Roo's daughter
*Marianne Stone as Miss Wilcox

Plot summary

Mrs. Forrest, in the eyes of the staff and children at an orphanage, is a sweet, kind-mannered and children-loving widow, who throws a Christmas party at her mansion, Forrest Grange (which is known for the orphans as the "Gingerbread House") for ten of the best-mannered children at the orphanage. But secretly, she is a demented, sad and miserable woman who keeps the mummyfied remains of her daughter Katharine in a nursery room at the attic, singing lullabies to her and trying to contact her spirit with the assistance of (phony) psychic Mr. Benton, who makes a fool of Mrs. Forrest making her to believe that the voice of Clarine (one of the servants) that is heard through the fake seances is in fact of Katharine.

Christopher and Katy Coombs are two orphaned brother and sister at the orphanage. Christopher has a wild imagination, imagening stories about dragons and witches that frighten to other orphans. When he and his sister are not included in the ten-orphans list for the Christmas party at Aunt Roo's mansion, he and Katy sneak in the car of Inspector Willoughby, who transfers the orphans at Forrest Grange, and are warmly welcomed by Aunt Roo. Then Aunt Roo is surprised to see the big resembelence of her daughter Katharine and Katy, and becomes more and more focused on her. When the party ends and the other orphans leave (with Katy missing), Aunt Roo promises to find her and send her back. But Christopher realizes that Katy is not just missing, but kidnapped by Aunt Roo. Meanwhile, the servants discover that Aunt Roo keeps locked Katy in the nursery room and blackmail her into paying a high price or they will confess. After this, they depart from their working at the mansion and leave her alone.

When no-one believes Christopher about his witnessing of seeing Aunt Roo singing lullabies for mummified Katharine and that Katy is rather abducted, he runs away to the mansion but ends up trapped inside too. Aunt Roo seems that she wants to replace Katy for Katharine, but in Christopher's mind, he thinks Aunt Roo is really a witch wanting to devour him and his sister. Aunt Roo prepares a dinner for the New Year's coming, while Christopher assists her. He steals the key to the nursery room.

When he finally frees Katy, Aunt Roo chases them to the kitchen where Christopher tries to protect themselves with a knife. Throwing it away with a piece of wood, Aunt Roo corners them into the cellar and locks the door. He hears in her mind her daughter shouting for her and runs to her coffin in the attic. When she tries to touch the corpse's face, it desindigrates to ashes and the disturbed Aunt Roo returns sorrowful in the kitchen murmuring "I have nothing, i have nothing." Smashing potatoes, she turns the waterclock to time her cooking. She then hears the children from the cellar gleefuly talking to her to let them out, but she resists in listening them. Katy then says "Please, mommy" touching the heart of Aunt Roo. Unsuspecting of what the children are up to, she opens the door when Christopher knocks down things from the high shelf and she falls down. They lock the door but Aunt Roo begins smashing it with a butchery tool.

Christopher and Katy place wood at the door and set in on fire. Aunt Roo, frightened of what the children have done, she falls in a corner. The children emerge outside from the smoked-filled building, along with a teddy bear that owned to Katharine (in which Katy and Christopher have placed Aunt Roo's jewelry -as Hansel and Gretel did by stealing the treasure of the wicked witch) while Aunt Roo, surrounded by fire, shouts at Katy to come back to her, not wanting to be alone. Outside, the orphans meet Aunt Roo's butcher Mr. Harrison, who sees the smoke inside and runs to call the fire-brigade. When he leaves, Christopher quotes "Bloody good fire" while inside the kitchen the whole cellar has given up to the flames. At the fire-surrounded table, beside the potatoes and a cookery book about stuffing, the waterclock has finished out, probably meaning Aunt Roo has completely perished.

The fire brigade arrives and puts out the fire, however, having not succeeded rescuing Aunt Roo. Inspector Willoughby takes a ride the children back to the orphanage with the orphanage doctor, Dr. Mason, quoting "Poor little devils. They'll probably have nightmares till the day they die". Christopher and Katy smile at each other, departing from the burned mansion, with Christopher ending the tale by saying "Hansel and Gretel knew that the wicked witch could not harm anyone else and they were happy. They also knew that with the wicked witch's treasure they would not be hungry again. So they lived happily ever after".

ee also

*Psycho-biddy
*What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
*Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
*What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067983/ Whoever Slew Auntie Roo? at IMdB]
* [http://www.thehotspotonline.com/moviespot/holly/w/WhoSlewRoo.htm The Hot Spot Line Review]
* [http://www.kindertrauma.com/?p=141 Review]