Joan Crawford in Della (1964)

Della Chappell is a fabulously wealthy hermit who lives reclusively, in her luxuriously appointed mansion, with her daughter Jenny (played by Diane Baker). Della's sort of a local legend/mystery. Neither she nor her daughter are ever seen in Royal Bay,CA and both seem to stay up all night and sleep the days away at their mysterious estate.

A lawyer, Barnie Stafford, drives out to the Chappell estate, trying to convince Della to sell some of her substantial local real estate to a corporation.

He arrives, as instructed, late at night.

Della makes a spectacular entrance,

and she sizes him up, circling like a panther...

Although she seems disinclined to sell any of her land:

"I'm not exactly in need of funds, Mr. Stafford!"

(Joan Crawford wears her own jewels throughout the film)
Still, she invites him to stay a few days and try his best to convince her, although she insists all negotiations occur only after nightfall.

Later that night, Stafford meets Jenny and chemistry rears its head.

Jenny's as creepy and enigmatic as Della,

but lawyer Barney figures that's because she's repressed and isolated by her mother.

Of course, mom notices the mutual attraction...

Later, in a seriously eerie scene, he finds her on the lawn in a swingset in the middle of the night

(the photography in this film is frequently spectacular!)

and the two get to know one another better.

Barnie's ambitious but fairly idealistic and Jenny is sensitive and romantic, if a little bit weird (the implication is that her mother made her that way).

Meanwhile, Mama Chappell is watching cautiously...

Barney and Jenny then take an innocent dip in the pool, but Jenny comes on a bit strong:

and Barney begins to suspect that maybe this family is more dysfunctional than he previously thought.

Sure, Jenny's a troubled young woman, but on the other hand she is inexplicably hostile to her mother, who always seems to be kind to her (if a bit possessive and controlling).

Clearly the two are locked in a love/hate relationship. Jenny blames her mother for "whatever" is wrong with her, and Della blames herself, too.

Jenny grows more and more attached to Barnie, however, to the point of paying surprise visits to him in the middle of the night.

Um, borderline creepy.

She wakes him with a lit cigarette (seriously, if she were a dude, I'd marry her for that!)

But when he opens the drapes to let in the rising sun, Jenny seems to overreact just a bit...

She's a vampire!

(not really, but that would have been amazing!)

She races blindly from the room just as Della shows up and gets the wrong idea.

She tells Barnie off:

"You're a fine strutting animal...and that's all you'll ever be!"

Worried, she checks on Jenny, who taunts her mother: "I'm sick of this house--and I'm sick of you!"

Wait for it...

Here it comes...

Whap!

Needless to say, Della doesn't sell her land to the corporation.

But after some time has passed, upon reflection,

Ms. Chappell makes the unprecedented gesture of going into town, 

 and the good citizens of Royal Bay are stunned to see the local legend walking amongst them.

Della shows up at Staffords's law office,

and her mildly contemptuous treatment of the friendly secretary is worth the price of admission.

"May I have your name?"

"Mrs. Della Chappell."

When the secretary looks at her dumbfounded, she adds sweetly:

"Do you want me to spell it?"

 Although told there's no appointment been made, Della smoothly responds that she's sure Mr. Stafford will make time for her. As indeed he does.

She's more friendly now and tries to convince Barnie to join her platoon of legal representatives, offering him some major dough, but he's still sore, believing she's ruining her daughters life by holding her prisoner.

He tells her he's going to take Jenny away from that "hot-house" life, back at the mansion

In fact, right in front of her, he calls his secretary to dig up all the dirt she can find on Miss Della Chappell.

Della, coldly enraged:

"I have the power to make you a rich man or a hopeless one!"

But later on that day, she goes to visit Barnie's father, a well-respected businessman in town.

Evidentally, they're long-time friends (there's a genuine chemistry between the two, almost leading one to wonder if, back in the day, maybe they used to...)

But Della gets right to the point.

She admits she's made mistakes in raising her daughter, and in inviting Barnie into her home.

But when the Stafford paterfamilias asks what she plans to do to his son if he contimues to dig around in her family background, she responds calmly:

"Destroy him, if necessary.You've known me a long time, Hugh...You know I mean what I say."

Two tough parents, respectful of one another yet protective of their children. Things seem to be at an impasse, and she leaves.

But when Della arrives home,

she sees another car outside,



and inside she hears Barnie and Jenny whispering...

He convinces her to leave, once and for all,

and when Mom (after making another spectacular entrance)

challenges Jenny to leave, she defiantly attempts to do so.

But something weird happens when she approaches the threshold...

"I-can't!"



She makes a game effort, but when Stafford urges her forward, she finally screams at him:

"I can't! How many times do I have to tell you!"

He sadly leaves, and Della attempts to cheer Jenny up with a bit of jewelry.

"It's not so bad, is it..? The two of us, alone here together...?"

Jenny's bleak expression is her only response.

Meanwhile, Barney-pissed and confused-talks it out with his dad, who has this to say:

"Jenny can't leave, but not because of her mother. A long time ago, Della locked herself in that prison, to share it with her daughter."

Although he doesn't really understand what's going on, at least Barnie finally understands that Jenny's mom isn't the bad guy.

When he goes to hash it out with Della the next day, all the pieces fall into place.

She's been testing him, trying to see if he's trustworthy, if he'll keep the family secrets and look after her daughter.

"To see if I could trust you-with Jenny's life."

"I didn't want to hurt Jenny, I only wanted to help her." He turns to leave,

whereupon Della Chappell utters a word she's unaccustomed to speaking:

"Please?"

After a pause:

"Jenny's in love with you."

"My daughter has a certain skin condition...The nicest way to say it is, she's sensitive to the Sun. In time, exposure to the Sun will kill her."

"Kill her?"

"There's no treatment. None. Except to live in darkness. I've tried to share that darkness, not advertise it...I won't be pitied. Not I nor my daughter."

"I tried to buy you in your office yesterday...I still can't bring myself to say the things I want to say to you now. In all my life, I've never pleaded with anyone...

I'm asking you to be her friend. To visit her...To share that romantic-part-of her life."

 "I can't do that, Mrs. Chappell."

(Jenny overhears this last bit, as he leaves).

And she takes matters into her own hands, racing out into the blazing Sun, towards freedom.

Della sees and goes after her, in her Lincoln Town Car,

but there's no way she can catch up, as Jenny drives recklessly through the canyons.

"I loved my daughter. Sometimes she hated me. And blamed me. Sometimes I had to fight her-brutally."

"Her life didn't destroy me--and not this."

As he turns to leave, Della calls out "Barnie?"

"If it's not too late for the (deal), I'd like to arrange something. Something for the children."

He agrees and then leaves.

Della Chappell sits alone in her enormous mansion. She looks at her daughters' portrait for a few moments

and then goes to the windows.

And, for the first time in twenty years, pulls open the drapes.

------------------------------------------

Christmas really came early this year!  One of my best friends sent me a whole slew of mint-condition Joan Crawford TV shows plus a few surprises, and this dvd of Della is pristine, the best copy I've ever seen of it! (Danke Schon, mein freund! And Frohe Weinachten, I'm so grateful to you!)

1964's Della (AKA Fatal Confinement) was supposed to be the pilot for a TV show, but ended up as a TV movie instead. Filmed in beautiful color, it's an above average mystery/drama. I'm unclear as to whether Joan Crawford was supposed to star in the intended series, but she dominates the released film, and how! Diane Baker again does a terrific job as Joanie's hot mess daughter, just as she did in the same years theatrical film Strait-Jacket. Paul Burke (best known as Lyon in the disastrous--but entertaining--Valley Of The Dolls) has a rather wooden role, but he's likeable and sincere.

Can't stand it, she's so amazing.

I've probably used up half the computer's memory for this post, but there's so many moments here to choose from to showcase Joan Crawford's mature beauty, that I had difficulty deciding!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

(here's one of my new favorite Christmas Carols)