The 1930s: when two young men are convicted of murder, their mothers, Adelle (Debbie Reynolds) and Helen (Shelley Winters), receive threatening phone calls. As a result, the pair decide to change their surnames and hot-foot it to Hollywood where they set up a dance school for Shirley Temple wannabes. Highly strung Helen turns to religion and slowly loses her grasp on reality, and when a strange man turns up at the school, apparently aware of her true identity, she snaps and pushes him down the stairs, killing him. Unwilling to report the incident to the police for fear of losing her new boyfriend, Adelle helps Helen to get rid of the body, but doesn't realise quite how deranged her friend actually is.
I'll tell you what's the matter with Helen: she's bloody irritating, that's what! Shirley Winters performance as the snivelling, highly strung Helen is thoroughly grating, making the film tough to sit through.
You wanna know what else is the matter with 'What's The Matter With Helen?'? Well, it takes well over an hour before the first murder, the romance between Adelle and Linc (Dennis Weaver) is sappy, the introduction of pompous voice coach Hamilton Starr (Micheál MacLiammóir) adds nothing to the plot, and there's far too much filler in the way of song and dance routines: Reynolds' first number is okay, the actress looking fine in a silky sailor suit, but did we really need that Tango as well? And as for Adelle's Kiddystar Revue, is it right to dress up a pre-teen as Mae West (complete with boobs) and have her sing a suggestive song?
On the plus side, Reynolds is ravishing, still looking great at 39 (peroxide blonde hair suits her), and director Curtis Harrington does manage at least a couple of genuinely horrific moments amidst the tedious tap dancing and redundant romance, with a gory flashback showing how Helen's husband 'fell' under the blades of a plough, and a macabre downbeat ending straight out of an EC horror comic.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.
I'll tell you what's the matter with Helen: she's bloody irritating, that's what! Shirley Winters performance as the snivelling, highly strung Helen is thoroughly grating, making the film tough to sit through.
You wanna know what else is the matter with 'What's The Matter With Helen?'? Well, it takes well over an hour before the first murder, the romance between Adelle and Linc (Dennis Weaver) is sappy, the introduction of pompous voice coach Hamilton Starr (Micheál MacLiammóir) adds nothing to the plot, and there's far too much filler in the way of song and dance routines: Reynolds' first number is okay, the actress looking fine in a silky sailor suit, but did we really need that Tango as well? And as for Adelle's Kiddystar Revue, is it right to dress up a pre-teen as Mae West (complete with boobs) and have her sing a suggestive song?
On the plus side, Reynolds is ravishing, still looking great at 39 (peroxide blonde hair suits her), and director Curtis Harrington does manage at least a couple of genuinely horrific moments amidst the tedious tap dancing and redundant romance, with a gory flashback showing how Helen's husband 'fell' under the blades of a plough, and a macabre downbeat ending straight out of an EC horror comic.
4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb.