What’s the Matter with Helen? is an interesting mix of psychological horror film and suspense drama and movie musical. It has two great stars, Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters, playing the mothers of two young men who have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a young woman in Iowa. The mothers decide to move to Los Angeles and change their names. Well, to be fair, Reynolds’ Adelle Bruckner, the pushier one, decides that they should move to Los Angeles and open a dance studio to get away from all the depressing murder trial aftermath and press attention. Winters’ Helen Hill just wants to follow Adelle wherever she goes; she’s a bit adrift mentally and rather clingy. Besides, they’re being threatened by phone calls in Iowa, so they think that changing their names and leaving their home will somehow prevent them from being harassed any longer. When they arrive in Hollywood, Adelle (now Stuart) tries to make herself over in the guise of a Hollywood star, but Helen (now Martin) doesn’t watch movies and has little interest in anything other than feeding her pet rabbits, playing the piano for Adelle’s dance lessons, and listening to an evangelist on the radio each night. She’s suspicious of every man who comes to the studio/home that she and Adelle share, and she frequently has flashbacks or visions that make her very anxious. It’s a wonder than anyone wants her to be around the young children in the dance studio, but she plays the piano and helps with the costumes, so she’s allowed to stick around. All the little girls at the studio want to be Shirley Temple, of course, but what little girl in the 1930s didn’t dream of being Shirley Temple? Their mothers are portrayed as typical stage mothers, demanding that their daughter get more time and attention. One of the little girls, who does happen to be rather talented and can actually do a pretty good job of mimicking Temple, has a very rich, handsome father played by Dennis Weaver. Weaver’s Lincoln Palmer is quite charming and suave (and just a touch suspicious), and seeing him on screen made me nostalgic for the days of McCloud on the NBC Mystery Movie. The great Agnes Moorehead appears briefly onscreen as Sister Alma, a radio evangelist who is quite clearly modeled after Aimee Semple McPherson. Most of her performance, though, is accomplished by having her voice on the radio that Helen listens to so intently. As the film progresses, Helen’s mental state deteriorates further, and when a strange man comes into their house uninvited and calls her by her actual name of Helen Hill, she descends into a murderous state of mind from which she seemingly cannot escape. The film’s macabre ending, which the movie’s poster weirdly gives away, certainly sticks with you as the credits begin to roll. Reynolds has claimed that this is one of her favorite roles, and she’s excellent because it calls for the use of both her dramatic talents and her dancing and singing abilities. Winters is less successful as Helen, but then again, she had almost become something of a parody of herself by this point, giving rather mannered and over-the-top performances that seemed to call attention to her scenery-chewing tics. What’s the Matter with Helen? was nominated for just one Oscar, Best Costume Design, but the overall production design is quite outstanding. It certainly conjures up images of 1930s Hollywood, even somewhat self-consciously copying the kinds of sets that movies from that era would have had. I doubt that Academy voters saw this film, and if they did, they likely didn’t give Reynolds much serious attention as a contender for Best Actress in a Leading Role, but that sadly seemed to be the case for her throughout her marvelous career: lots of great performances, only one nomination (for The Unsinkable Molly Brown).
Oscar Nomination: Best Costume Design
