Please, Don't Leave Me: Aunt Roo screams and begs Katy and Christopher not to leave her alone as they flee the burning house.

This would serve as Harrington’s fifth cinematic feature, the film critic turned genre filmmaker reuniting with Winters, one of his two leads from the exceptional 1930s period piece What’s the Matter with Helen?, released only a year prior (Vincent Canby described the actress in demeaning terms by comparing her semblance to that of a reproachful pudding). However, this collaboration suffers greatly from awkward tonal shifts and a curious inability to establish empathy for its child protagonists. Mark Lester, famous for his title turn in the musical Oliver! (1968), and child actress Chloe Franks give, perhaps, the worst performances across Harrington’s seedy filmography, which includes some exceptional work in items needing to be resuscitated from obscurity (such as 1967’s Games). Perhaps just as much a character study and tragedy as it is a horror thriller, the seasonal setting also makes “Whoever Slew Auntie Roo” worth short-listing if you’re after something that little bit different for your festive film this Christmas. It would make an interesting double bill with “ The Amazing Mr. Blunden”. Harrington says it was his idea to set the film in the 1920s. "I have a great fondness for all the imagery and quality of the traditional Victorian Christmas celebration. I tried to put as much as I could of that in the film." [1] Harrington, Curtis (2013). Nice Guys Don't Work in Hollywood: The Adventures of An Aesthete in the Movie Business. Drag City.Whoever Slew Auntie Roo” is indeed a very different kettle of fish, and the dynamic between the two antagonists is a most unusual one. Just as Roo is increasingly deluded and unable to see the reality of what is around her, so too is Christopher in his own innocent way. Both are living in their own respective dream world. What You Are in the Dark: the supposed-protagonist's actions at the film's climax, which retroactively flips the entire script on its head. This leads them to Colonel Forrest’s magic equipment, and Christopher wastes no time at all in scaring his sister shitless and then very nearly guillotining her head off. Just in case there’s anything left in her bowels, Albie the butler then joins in and chases them both off… into something equally terrifying, as Aunty Roo is ruining the Xmas atmos with that perennial child-pleaser, a Gilbert and Sullivan recital. Harrington was going to direct Wuthering Heights in England for AIP but did this instead after Shelley Winters requested him. Shelley Winters had worked with Harrington on What's the Matter with Helen? and asked for him on this movie "because of his ability with actors. I thought he would be wonderful." [5] Harrington says it was not a project "I personally wanted particularly to do." [1] The opening credits sequence comes complete with over the top music by Kenneth V. Jones, adding to the fairy tale feel of the material. And since it takes place during the Christmas holidays, some viewers may want to make it part of their Yuletide viewing tradition.

Decoy Protagonist: Christopher. The title of the movie says it all; this is Roo's sympathetic story, about Roo's tragic life, and Roo's ignominious death. He's ultimately the villain. Another great thing is the performance by Winters. Ever since WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? we got all sorts of films with older female stars getting to play nutty characters. Often times the actresses would either underplay them or go way over-the-top but Winters doesn't do either here and that's why the film works. You never quite know if this character is a loony nut or if she's just a sad old woman who misses her dead child. You never really know what her intentions are with these kids. This mystery as works so well because of the way Winters plays the role and she deserves a lot of credit. The story is a loosely told tongue and cheek version of the Grimm brothers Hansel And Gretel so if you remember the tale from your childhood, you've got some approximate idea of what happens to Winters. Lester turns out to be quite the resourceful kid. There are a lot of things to like about the picture including the atmosphere that director Harrington builds. I really thought the setting was perfect and the director really used it to build up a creepy atmosphere. There's almost a dream-like quality to it and this really helps the film. It's almost as if you're watching a kid's dream turn into a nightmare and this is the film's strongest point. The cinematography is another great thing about the picture as is the nice music score, which fits the film perfectly.

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Many viewers ignore her staff who bleed her white. Despite showing loads of kindnesses to orphaned children, she is further still abused by two of the most ungrateful among them. Consequently, 'Aunt Roo' transforms from just being traumatised to mentally disturbed, and the tragic end to the movie ensues. While the evil nature serves the character, Albie is so overwhelmingly avaricious and vile that he jumps the shark. Heartthrob The film was based on a storyline from Jimmy Sangster inspired by Hansel and Gretel. Sam Arkoff and James Nicholson of AIP hired Robert Blees to write a script which Harrington was dissatisfied with so the director arranged for the script to be rewritten by Gavin Lambert. [6]

It’s at this point the audience starts to think “what is this?”, because the film has become a weird mix of children’s film, psycho thriller and ghost story. Shelley Winters, Mark Lester, Chloe Franks, Ralph Richardson, Lionel Jeffries, Hugh Griffith, Rosalie Crutchley, Pat Heywood, Judy Cornwell, Michael Gothard, Jacqueline Cowper, Richard Beaumont, Charlotte Sayce, Marianne Stone Dumbwaiter Ride: Christopher pulls himself up to Katharine's nursery this way. Through the doors, he sees Aunt Roo singing to Katharine's skeleton. Later, he does this to try to rescue Katy. When Aunt Roo catches him, she cuts the dumbwaiter ropes so he can't escape. Punk in the Trunk: Katy and Christopher aren't invited to Aunt Roo's Christmas party, so they hide in the trunk of the carriage taking the guests. Auntie Roo prepares a dinner for the coming New Year while Christopher assists her by gathering firewood. In the process, he steals the key to the nursery room and lets Katy out. During their escape, they steal Auntie Roo's jewelry and stuff it inside an old teddy bear that once belonged to Katharine. Christopher and Katy fight their way out of Auntie Roo's mansion. Once outside, they place the firewood at the door and set it on fire.Auntie Roo is obviously an eccentric. She has constant seances in an attempt to communicate with her dead daughter. Of course her psychic is in cahoots with the servants who stage the seances. Rosie "Aunt Roo" Forrest (Winters) is an American-born widow who lives at Forrest Grange, the English manor she inherited from her late husband, a famous magician. Each Christmas, she throws a party for the ten best-behaved children from the nearby Home for Orphaned and Destitute Children. One year, siblings Christopher (Lester) and Katy Coombs (Franks) arrive at her party. Aunt Roo becomes obsessed with Katy, who closely resembles her dead daughter Katharine, and wants to adopt her. But Christopher is suspicious. Five-Second Foreshadowing: In one of the final scenes of the movie, when Christopher brings firewood into the kitchen to place besides the open-flame stove, the establishing shot of him entering the room lingers long enough for everyone to see the mason jar on a counter in the foreground framed right next to him and read the clear, legible, painted-on label of "paraffin". Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" is a great horror movie, with the fable of "Hansel and Gretel" in the mind of an innocent orphan. The plot and characters are well-developed and with excellent cast. The dark conclusion is excellent. My vote is seven. In England, in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the American millionaire Mrs. Forrest (Shelley Winters) welcomes ten orphans from the local orphanage to spend the Christmas night with her. Mrs. Forrest misses her daughter Katherine, who died in a silly accident, and is exploited by the charlatan Mr. Benton (Ralph Richardson), her butler and her housekeeper in fake séances. When the sibling orphans Christopher Coombs (Mark Lester) and Katy Coombs (Chloe Franks) are not selected to go to the party, they sneak out to Mrs. Forrest's home and she welcomes them. She feels a great attraction for Katy, who resembles Katherine, but Christopher suspects that the widow is a witch.

After a seance in the dark with a charlatan medium,Roo (Winters)is quite sure that one of the orphans is her late daughter ,who rose from the dead. She wants to keep her in her house but her brother (Mark "Oliver" Lester ) is not prepared to accept it.He tells his sister about Grimm's sinister fairytale "Hansel und Gretel" in the gingerbread house. A woman is singing a lullaby to her daughter, suddenly revealed – crash zoom! – as a desiccated corpse (an excellent jump-scare, better done here than in many more well-regarded horrors). Who is this mad woman, who believes this mummified child is still alive? Why it’s none other than Mrs Forrest (Shelley Winters), the American widow living in the big house who every year invites children from the local orphanage to spend Christmas with her, that’s who (or, if yopu prefer, Roo). Variety said "script is overly-contrived, but carries certain element of interest that may see it through selected bookings." [15] Banister Slide: Katharine died falling off a banister. When Katy slides down the same banister, Aunt Roo screams in horror, but Katy reaches the bottom safely.Whole-Plot Reference: To " Hansel and Gretel." Christopher notices the similarities, which causes him to incorrectly assume Aunt Roo is a cannibal. The trailer asks, “When does the fairy tale become a nightmare?”. For Auntie Roo it’s the moment she let little Christopher and Katy into her house. Yes, she’s figuratively haunted by the ghost of her Daughter who passed accidentally. Yes, she keeps her corpse in a nursery in the attic, looking like a miniature version of Norman’s Mother. Yes, she’s mentally unstable. But Christopher is the true psychopath here.