DEAR DEAD DELILAH

Agnes Moorehead as Delilah

DEAR DEAD DELILAH (1972). Written and directed by John Farris. 

Delilah Charles (Agnes Moorehead) lives in a southern mansion called South Hall with her niece, and nurse, Ellen (Elizabeth Eis) and Ellen's husband, Richard (Robert Gentry), and servants. Richard accidentally bumps into a woman named Leddy (Patricia Carmichael) in a park, knocks her down, and invites her to stay at South Hall, where she is hired as a companion for Delilah. At dinner Delilah tells her brothers Morgan (Michael Ansara) and Alonzo (Dennis Patrick), and younger sister, Grace (Anne Meacham), that she has only a short time to live and is leaving the estate to the state for preservation. However, she insists their late father hid $600,000 in the house or on the grounds and all they have to do is find it. As someone begins taking an ax to various family members and others, Leddy -- who went to an institution after chopping up her hateful mother -- is afraid she is falling back on old ways. But there may be more to this than meets the eye ... 

Robert Gentry as Richard

Moorehead is delightful in her last theatrical film, and she is one of the chief reasons to watch the movie, which is modestly entertaining in any case. Better known as a horror novelist, John Farris proves a better screenwriter than director, although the picture has a pretty good pace. The dysfunctional characters are interesting but the actors really bring them to life. One problem is that when you think about who else could be responsible for the deaths, only one person really springs to mind, minimizing the suspense. Some of the murders are gruesome, especially a wheelchair decapitation with the murderer on horseback -- which is certainly dramatic but not terribly sensible -- but nothing as graphic as today. Meacham was one of Tennessee Williams' favorite actresses, and she appeared in several of his plays. Robert Gentry became a popular soap opera actor, especially on Generations and Another World. Will Geer plays the lawyer Roy. 

Verdict: This low-budget ax fest needs a slicker production and zestier direction but it has its moments. **1/2.