Tonight, after release from a psychiatric asylum, Joan Crawford is trying to start a new life for herself- and patch up her strained relationship with her daughter. However, there is evidence that she may not be cured when she finds herself seeing bizarre things- and a rash of axe murders occur! William Castle opens his cloak room to present you with a comfy garment with sleeves that strap you into the 1964 chiller- “Strait Jacket”!

We begin by learning the tragic backstory of Lucy Harbin – who caught her hubby cheating on her- and gave used an axe permanently end the relationship- and their lives! Her axe-slinging “crime of passion” earned her twenty years in a psychiatric hospital-but now, her doctors have okayed her release. She returns home to the family farm- and is greeted by her brother and his wife, the couple who adopted Lucy’s daughter Carol when she was sent away. Carol, who was three years old when she was an eyewitness to the savage murders, is now a happy young adult and an aspiring artist, complete with a wealthy young fiancé named Michael. Cautiously reuniting with her mother, Carol thinks it would be therapeutic if Lucy returns to the way she was twenty years ago, before the “incidents”. Lucy agrees, and wants nothing more than to rebuild her relationship with Carol, but the past dangerously remains-especially when Lucy sees axes and has visions of decapitated heads! No one else witnesses these, unfortunately-which is even more disturbing for the poor woman.

Carol decides to take Lucy on a shopping and beauty spree- again using the theory that returning Mom to her former self will help her re-enter society. However, recapturing her past may not be the best tactic- especially when she meets Carol’s intended- and grey-haired Lucy reverts to her old self big-time- with a dark wig, new dresses and jewelry! She even plays the vamp, flirting with Michael- and a further meeting with his parents, Carol’s future in-laws, turns out to be a disaster.

Her attempt to return to society appears to be derailed when more murder occurs- making one wonder if trying to be like she used to be has only restored Lucy to her old axe- murderer persona?

This film, written by “Psycho” author Robert Bloch, was originally slated to star other actresses- but the first choice for Lucy, Grayson Hall, opted to instead return to stage work. Next up was Joan Blondell, but she suffered an injury at home before shooting started, and exploitation and gimmick king William Castle asked Crawford to step in. She agreed, but only if certain stipulations were met- and we’ll fill you in on what her demands were. We’ll also acquaint you with the cast, which includes a future TV hero in his first screen role, and a familiar actor from “Cool Hand Luke” and all four “Airport” movies. And, yes, we’ll explain the presence of a load of Pepsi Cola products (and no wire hangers, of course) in the film! We’ll find that Gwengoolie has an axe to grind with this movie, Tombstone makes with the makeovers, we present a vintage visit to “The Oops Files”- and more!

Slip into “Strait Jacket” tonight at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central- and if you are unsure of what time we are on or where to find MeTV where you are, please check your local listings or go online to www.metv.com . You can join our viewers in live-Tweeting on Twitter/X or posting live on Bluesky during the show-and use the hashtag #svengoolie . For Chicago viewers, there’s one more look at Boris Karloff in the creepy “Haunted Strangler” at 11 am on WCIU the U.

We’re kicking off the summer with appropriate Sven gear in our store- and get ready for another Sven Artist series of merchandise- featuring terrific artwork by a group of amazing artists-coming soon!

Be with us tonight for some cutting-edge horror from William Castle and Joan Crawford- but don’t lose your head when you tune in!