a low class and is not fit to marry into the family. This results in a confrontation, after which Lucy storms out of the house in a rage. She is pursued by Carol and Michael, leaving Michael's parents alone at their home. Michael's father, Raymond, is butchered by the killer while alone in his closet. Allison is subsequently confronted by the killer upstairs, donning a latex mask and dressed like Lucy — at this moment, Lucy herself also enters the room, having returned to the house. Lucy fights with the killer, removing the mask and revealing the murderer as Carol, who has been impersonating Lucy while committing the murders. Michael appears, and Carol admits to the killings, which were driven by a love-hate relationship with her mother. Carol hoped to murder Michael's parents and frame Lucy for the crimes, effectively allowing her to marry Michael. Sometime later, Lucy, accepting responsibility for her daughter's mental illness and hatred, looks on at various props Carol created in an attempt to drive her mad, including a tape-recorded nursery rhyme, and fake severed heads she sculpted and placed in Lucy's bed. Lucy departs to visit Carol in the psychiatric hospital where she is now confined. Cast Joan Crawford as Lucy Harbin Diane Baker as Carol Cutler Leif Erickson as Bill Cutler Howard St. John as Raymond Fields John Anthony Hayes as Michael Fields Rochelle Hudson as Emily Cutler George Kennedy as Leo Krause Edith Atwater as Mrs. Allison Fields Mitchell Cox as Dr. Anderson Strait-Jacket featured the first big-screen appearance of Lee Majors in the uncredited role of Frank Harbin, Lucy Harbin's husband. Production Development After the success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Joan Crawford and other older actresses, including Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck, appeared in many horror movies throughout the 1960s. Strait-Jacket is one of the examples of the genre sometimes referred to as psycho-biddy, hagsploitation or Grande Dame Guignol. Casting Crawford replaced Joan Blondell in the role of Lucy Harbin after Blondell was injured at home prior to shooting and could not fulfill her commitment. Crawford's negotiations included script and cast approval, a $50,000 salary, and 15 percent of the profits. Anne Helm, who was originally cast in the role as Carol, was replaced by Diane Baker, reportedly at Crawford's insistence. Baker and Crawford had appeared together in the film The Best of Everything (1959). Baker asserted that