Born in 1924 in New York City, Lauren Bacall emerged as a defining figure of film noir, known for her sultry voice and commanding screen presence. In Shock Treatment (1964), she delivers a performance that blends her theatrical roots with the offbeat charm of cult cinema. Bacall also appears in The Fan (1981), where her portrayal of a fading star resonates with the themes of obsession and fame. Her work in these films solidifies her status as an enduring icon in the realm of exploitation and cult films.
Shock Treatment
Former psychiatric patient Martin Ashley is declared sane and released from an insane asylum. He works as gardener and chauffeur for a wealthy woman in Beverly Hills. Tired of being verbally abused, he kills her and surrenders to police. During the court proceedings, it is revealed that Ashley burned one million dollars of his employer's money because he considered money to be the source of all evils. The court deems him insane and returns him to his old insane asylum into the care of his old psychiatrist, Doctor Edwina Beighley. The estate's executor, Harley Manning, believes that Ashley is faking insanity and has murdered the old lady for her money. Manning believes the money wasn't burned but stashed away somewhere. He hires an actor, Dale Nelson, to feign insanity in order to be sent for psychiatric evaluation at the same institution where Martin Ashley is. For a fee, Dale Nelson agrees. He commits a misdemeanor and the court sends him for a 30 day evaluation at the psychiatric institution. Once inside, he is to befriend Martin Ashley and find out where the million dollars is stashed. However, Dale Nelson and his employer, executor Harley Manning, aren't the only ones interested in finding the money. Starved of research grants and funds, unscrupulous psychiatrist Dr. Edwina Beighley also wants to find out whether her patient, Martin Ashley, has really burned the million dollars or has stashed away someplace. She figures she can use hypnosis on Ashley to wrest the information out of him. Doctor Beighley and amateur sleuth Dale Nelson are on a colliding course but Beighley has a syringe full of nasty experimental drugs in her hand and Nelson is strapped to a bed in the electroshock therapy room. He needs a fast miracle to help him get out of the mess he got himself into.
