“PRETTY POISON” From Fangoria Magazine

Ed here: One of my all time favorite movies. A true minor masterpiece.

FANGO FLASHBACK: “PRETTY POISON” From Fangoria Magazine
Posted by Tony Timpone Feb 01, 2012
Produced eight years after the landmark PSYCHO (see Fango Flashback here), 1968’s psychological thriller PRETTY POISON almost plays, in its opening moments, like a dry run for star Anthony Perkins’ later work in PSYCHO II. A disturbed young man, fresh from a long stint in a mental hospital, meets with his parole officer (SECONDS’ John Randolph) to discuss his re-entry into society after serving time for some unspeakable crime.

This isn’t Norman Bates, however, but one Dennis Pitt, a “reformed” arsonist who, we ultimately learn, “accidentally” set his aunt on fire years ago. A child trapped in a man’s body, Pitt has an active imagination and lives in a fantasy world of his own making. He may be able to con his parole officer and the people in the quiet Massachusetts town he relocates to, but he will soon meet his match in the form of a gorgeous teenage cheerleader (Tuesday Weld, never better), who catches his eye. That’s the basic setup of PRETTY POISON.

Buried upon its release by antsy distributor 20th Century Fox, PRETTY POISON has continued to garner a cult rep ever since. Perkins is wonderful as the awkward but likable Pitt, who tries to make a go of it by toiling in a paint-manufacturing plant. Then he becomes smitten with the “innocent” Sue Ann Stepanek (Weld). Pitt seduces her into his imaginary world of espionage, and Perkins is quite charming and funny in the scenes of their unusual courtship, displaying none of Norman’s trademark nervous tics and stammers.

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