
INDELIBLE SCENE(S):
- Auntie Roo performs a soft-shoe routine for the orphans on Christmas Eve, and SHELLEY shows off some ample inner-thigh
- WINTERS pre-dates JACK NICHOLSON‘s classic “Here’s Johnny” move in THE SHINING by nine years when she hacks her way through the pantry door with a meat clever, followed by a close-up of her face in said shattered door
- The mummified remains of the daughter crumbling in Auntie Roo’s gloved hands
- Auntie Roo devours an apple
I love this movie. Never saw it as a kid, but got it a few years back and made an oath with myself that I would treat it like a “Christmas Classic” from now on (since the movie takes place at Christmas time). Shelley Winters is one of those hammy women who can make an okay movie great (had this starred anyone else aside from Bette Davis or Joan Crawford I probably wouldn’t like it so much!) and I was very happy to see Mark Lester (Oliver Twist from OLIVER!) as the Orphan hero.
Memories of my pre-teen years watching this on Chiller Theatre late Saturday nights…
Ironically, Mark Lester has been good friends with real-life Auntie Roo, Michael Jackson.