Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

wes-connors Glamorous and gowned Zsa Zsa Gabor (as Jessica Flagmore) burns to death as a giggling girl removes her jeweled necklace. Three years later, sullen director's daughter Susan Gordon (as Susan Shelley) is released from a religious sanitarium and convent. The teenage young woman still seems have some mental problems, due to the shock of seeing her mother burned to death. The nuns warn father Don Ameche (as Edward Shelley) and beautiful blonde step-mother Martha Hyer (as Francene) that Ms. Gordon needs tender loving care. Since the young woman inherited everything, her parents seem more interested in getting some money...An appropriately melodramatic and cartooning delivery help make this a fun "drive-in"-type horror movie. It also found a re-run home on TV during a time when TV movies of this type enjoyed great popularity. Bert I. Gordon's "Picture Mommy Dead" probably inspired producers to put more stories like this on their "Movie of the Week" production schedules. Just enjoy the silliness, TV movie style and snazzy score by Robert Drasnin. "The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, in your stomach and out your mouth," is a mysterious clue. It's set in majestic Greystone Mansion. As a bonus, you get to see Zsa Zsa Gabor go up in flames.****** Picture Mommy Dead (11/2/66) Bert I. Gordon ~ Susan Gordon, Martha Hyer, Don Ameche, Zsa Zsa Gabor

Michael_Elliott Picture Mommy Dead (1966) * 1/2 (out of 4)Boring horror film about a teen (Susan Gordon) who gets released from a mental hospital a short time after seeing her mom (Zsa Zsa Gabor) burned to death. Upon her release, her father (Don Ameche) and his new wife (Martha Hyer) appear to be trying to help the girl before she starts to unravel after seeing visions of her mother. Is the teen cracking up or is something trying to drive her crazy? This was directed by Bert I. Gordon, the man behind those giant bug movies and it's clear to see early on that he wasn't the right man for the job. I'm not going to place all of the blame on Gordon but there's no doubt that he adds very little to the material but then again the material itself is rather weak. The majority of the movie consists of two people standing around talking about the past, present and the future. The two people scenario is constant throughout the film with the only thing changing is which two people are doing the talking. These dialogue scenes are so poorly shot that you can't help but grow tired of them very quickly. Gordon doesn't add any life to them as the camera just stays flat and never doing anything. The entire surprise of what actually happened reaches the point where you really don't care and that's never good for a film like this. The performances aren't that bad with Ameche at least trying to deliver something worth while. I thought Gordon was also good in her part but the screenplay certainly didn't offer her much. Hyer and Maxwell Reed are also good in their roles. PICTURE MOMMY DEAD has a good title but that's pretty much it. It's another one of those horror-thrillers that followed PSYCHO but could never reach as high.

Hoohawnaynay One of those low budget films that had lots of style. Filmed at the famous Doheny Mansion in Beverly Hills, opening scene has a horrendous bedroom fire consuming the dead body of Zsa Zsa Gabor. I first saw this in the 70's and being a teenage pyro I was fascinated by the fire sequences. Teenage girl Susan Gordon (Producer Bert Gordon's daughter) gets let out of a convent 7 years after her mother (Zsa Zsa) gets crispy in the previously mentioned fire. Seems the girl still has some issues and things get wierd after her dad (Don Ameche) brings her back to the house where it happened! (How tacky is that?) Enter her old nanny (Martha Hyer) who just wed Daddy Don Ameche. Seems Martha wants to get her hands on an old Diamond necklace Zsa Zsa reported missing before the fire. Seems Martha is a bit of a tramp and will let anyone grab a hold of her Double D cups that will tell her where the jewels are hidden. Dig the crazy scene where Susan scratches a portrait of Zsa Zsa and the picture starts to bleed! They don't make 'em like this anymore. Wendell Corey makes a rare appearance (right before he died) as a surly character who likes tormenting Susan with remarks about the fire like "it must be what hell is like" just to watch Susan twitch out big time. Great bit of film noir (even in color) this movie has lots of shadows, great photography & direction, even the scene where the bedroom is ablaze is photographed in an almost beautiful way with the flames towering up expensive drapes and ashed slowly cascading down. Great fun, it's on video I hope they put this film on DVD. Of course, anything with Zsa Zsa Gabor is a hoot, even though here she is essentially playing herself.

TelevisionJunkie Sure the acting is a little overdone (most all of the movies from the 60's were), but this film boasts a few great special effects, a intricate story, and a shocking ending. After the death of her mother, a young girl goes into a "convent" due to a nervous breakdown. When she is released a few years later, she returns to her home and begins having delusional flash-backs from the night of her mother's death. Reminiscent of "Night Gallery" in premise, appearance, and score. If you like 60's B-Movies, try to find this shocker.