Whether represented by the vigilant Diane of Poltergeist or the psychotically murderous Mrs. Voorhees of Friday the 13th, the character of the mother has been intrinsically important to the horror film. Interestingly, years before these films hit the cinema, producer William Castle followed this dueling outline of matriarchal personality types in his projects, as well.
Famously, Joan Crawford’s Lucy Harbin in Strait-Jacket represented the more unhinged maternal aspect. Rosemary DeCamp, meanwhile, perfected the traditional caretaker as Hilda Zorba in 1960’s 13 Ghosts. Of course, by the time her stint with Castle came around, Crawford had already helped define the Grand Dame Guignol genre with her work in the eternally classic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? But DeCamp, who arguably became best known for playing Marlo Thomas’ mother in That Girl, had also appeared in Eyes in the Night, a moody noir-detective story that was described as being “startling as a scream!” at the beginning of her career.
Further espousing terror pyrotechnics, DeCamp went on to roles in The Painted Mirror, an episode of Night Gallery (featuring Zsa Zsa Gabor), and the genre specific comedy Saturday, the 14th. The television episode, in particular, might resonate with older movie fans as DeCamp outwits an evil Gabor there.
Nicely, Tigers In My Lap, DeCamp’s truly enjoyable memoir, shares on set highlights of many of her projects. To that end, her reminiscent details about working with Castle aren’t plentiful, but they are apt. She notes that her role didn’t involve a lot of acting chops and that she even had trouble discerning the celluloid ghosts onscreen at the film’s premiere. Still, she rejoices a bit in the producer’s showmanship, claiming that she had the most stills of that movie out of all her projects-all due to Castle’s knack for publicity.
Thus, while DeCamp isn’t necessarily eulogized as a Queen of Scream, her connections to the genre are significant enough for fans of all ages to embrace her and her work.
Fun Fact: DeCamp’s contributions to movie musicals are also of note. While she blazes with snappy power as Kathryn Grayson’s bohemian aunt in So This is Love, a biography of opera singer Grace Moore, On Moonlight Bay and By the Light of the Silvery Moon, both starring Doris Day, are nostalgia buff’s favorites by far. Illustrating the significance of these projects, Day even lovingly contributed the forward to DeCamp’s book.
Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
Big Gay Horror Fan 