When an electrical power failure occurs, Mrs. Hilyard, a wealthy widow recuperating from a broken hip, becomes trapped between floors in the cage-like elevator she has installed in her mansion. With her son Malcolm away for a summer weekend, she relies on the elevator's emergency alarm to attract attention, but the only response comes from an alcoholic derelict, George, who enters the home, ignores her pleas and steals some small items. The wino sells the stolen goods to a fence, then visits his prostitute friend, Sade, and tells her of the treasure trove he has stumbled upon. The expensive goods George fences attract the attention of three young hoodlums, Randall, Elaine and Essie. The trio follows George and Sade back to the Hilyard home, where they conduct an orgy of violence, killing George the wino and locking Sade in a closet. Randall then pulls himself up to the elevator and taunts Mrs. Hilyard by suggesting that her son Malcolm might be gay. Randall then shows her a letter that Malcolm left on her nightstand that morning, in which Malcolm threatens suicide because of her domineering manner. Shocked by the revelation, Mrs. Hilyard faints. After she regains consciousness, she struggles with Randall, escapes the elevator, and crawls out of the house, begging for help from passersby who fail to notice her. Randall follows and, as he is attempting to drag her back inside, Mrs. Hilyard stabs him in the eyes with a pair of shivs she secretly made from parts of the elevator, but he is dragged inside by his accomplices who soon abandon him and attempt to leave with the stolen goods. As Mrs. Hilyard crawls back outside, the now-blind Randall stumbles into the street and is run over by a passing automobile and killed instantly. Police arrive seconds later in response to the auto accident. Mrs. Hillyard is then, finally, able to report the violence to the police. The surviving intruders are arrested, and an ambulance crew comforts Mrs. Hilyard. Electrical power to her home is restored moments later.
The film is based on an original idea by Luther Davis, when he was working on a play about the effects of a power outage on the inhabitants of a house in oil country in the Midwest. That incident turned into a battle for survival, one in which Davis shifted the action in his story from a house to an elevator "since like so many New Yorkers I have a sense of claustrophobia in these little automatic elevators." Davis later said he was also inspired by the New York blackout of 17 August 1959. He knew a lady who was trapped in the elevator of a private residence on the city's Upper East Side. She called for help and was heard by two men who raped her. During his research, Davis learned that all elevators in New York have to be equipped with a phone, which would have ruined the story, so the film is set in an unnamed city. The film was announced in August 1962 with Ralph Nelson to direct and Robert Webber attached as star. Joan Crawford and Elizabeth Montgomery were being sought for the female lead. Rosalind Russell was offered the part but turned it down. In December 1962 Olivia de Havilland was announced as star. Her fee was $300,000. By February 1963 experienced TV director Walter Grauman signed to make his feature debut as a director. Filming took place in February 1963 at Paramount Studios. It took 14 days and de Havilland called the experience "wonderful" praising the talent of James Caan.
Reception
Commercially, the film was profitable for Paramount. The film was initially received with negative reviews from critics who considered it to be vulgar and sub-par for an actress of de Havilland's stature. Bosley Crowther wrote a special column in the New York Times criticising the film, calling it "reprehensible" which led to a press controversy. Columnist Hedda Hopper wrote "The picture should be burned Why did Olivia do it?" Variety said that there is "not a single redeeming character or characteristic" in the "vulgar screenplay", criticizing de Havilland's performance as Oscar bait and Caan's as a copy of Marlon Brando. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also negatively compared Caan's performance to that of Brando and criticized the plot holes of the movie. Time mentioned that " adds Olivia de Havilland to the list of cinema actresses who would apparently rather be freaks than be forgotten". The film was re-evaluated decades later and it is now seen as a film that presented the turbulence and changes of society in the 1960s, and a "deeply disturbing thriller". TV Guide gave it 3 stars out of 5 and called it a "realistic, intense thriller".
