Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
Shelley Winters. God love her, she'll always be the fat lady treading water in "The Poseidon Adventure." Most people don't realize, however, that the same year she gave an even campier performance in "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?"
Ever since the death of daughter Katherine, eccentric Mrs. Forrest (Winters), who's affectionately know to the locals as Auntie Roo, has been using a medium to try to contact the girl, as well as inviting the local orphans to spend Christmas at her mansion. When six year old orphan Katy (Chloe Franks) arrives unannounced for Christmas with brother Christopher (Mark Lester, "Oliver!"), Aunt Roo thinks she's found the reincarnation of her daughter. And since Forrest has flipped her lid, she decides to kidnap the children!
"Whoever Slew Auntie Roo" (not to be confused with the wonderfully demented "Cat in the Hat" spoof "Who Slew Simon Thaddeus Mulberry Pew?") is a warped variation of "Hansel & Gretel." The film was director Curtis Harrington/star Shelley Winters' immediate follow-up to "What's the Matter with Helen?." Her costar in that film, Debbie Reynolds, said that Winters was having a nervous breakdown during the making of "Helen." Clearly Winters breakdown continued through the making of this trashterpiece.
Winters agreed to star in both films solely based on her friendship with the director... but Harrington didn't have much input on the rest of the cast. He remarked that Mark Lester "had a wonderful quality and presence," but the boy's heart wasn't in acting and it was difficult to keep him focused while filming. Similarly, there were problems with Michael Gothard, whose acting abilities (or lack thereof) were highly criticized by the director on numerous occasions -- Gothard apparently ruined countless takes and was generally difficult. Harrington liked Hugh Griffith, but commented the actor was a drunk whose wife accompanied him to the set to keep him on the wagon. Meanwhile, Shelley Winters was so afraid that she'd be upstaged by Judy Cornwell that she had Cornwell's role drastically rewritten and reduced. And there were four (credited) writers. Doesn't sound like a fun shoot, but one would hardly know that seeing the final result.
However, Harrington always had nice things to say about Chloe Franks, the young girl who played Katie. In 1994, Harrington told Scarlet Street Magazine, "In the scene with the teddy bear, when Shelley Winters gets the idea that Chloe's the reincarnation of her daughter, she was supposed to say, 'I had one just like it a long time ago.' I was trying to get a certain line reading out of her, you know -- to get that sort of mystical feeling that would be conveyed to Shelley -- and Chloe looked at me and said, 'How could it be a long time ago? I'm only six years old!'"
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LINKS
Zombo's Closet (Press Book)
And remember! When kidnapping children and serving them for New Year's dinner, it's always best to baste them with butter to ensure their skin turns golden brown. Presentation is everything and chances are you won't have time to swipe, gut and bake another kid before your guests arrive for the feast.