- How do you solve a murder mystery when the only witnesses are insane? Reporter Johnny Barrett's (Peter Breck) brilliant idea is to pose as a fellow inmate by pretending he's romantically interested in his sister, who is actually his girlfriend Cathy (Constance Towers). One would think that proposing such a plan would be enough to get Johnny committed, but he finally coerces Cathy into helping him and, before long, finds himself locked up. Anything for that Pulitzer Prize-winning story.
- Upon entering the asylum, Johnny discovers that the other inmates are quite creative with their craziness. His tubby roommate (Larry Tucker), for example, thinks he's Pagliacci and performs the appropriate midnight arias. One of the murder witnesses (James Best) believes himself to be a general in the Civil War. Another witness (Hari Rhodes) is a young black man who proudly admits to having founded the KKK. Finally, there's a Manhattan project type (Gene Evans) who has the mentality of a six-year-old. Oh, and did I mention the nymphos?
- Getting the witnesses to talk is easy -- getting them to make sense is something else entirely. Typically, Johnny has to work on them for a while before their prismatically colorful memories finally break through the black and white doldrums of their daily routines. Unfortunately, Johnny's own strange dreams about Cathy and increasingly eccentric behavior aren't making his job any easier. The doctors think that shock treatment might help, and a desperate Cathy grants her consent. Even if Johnny can solve the murder, it's not obvious there's going to be much of him left to tell the tale.
- While Johnny's fate is perhaps predictable to anyone familiar with the Twilight Zone style of morality play, I personally didn't expect the specific sort of craziness that he would encounter. When you think about it, war aficionados, anti-segregationists, and weapons researchers probably do all belong in the loony bin, even if they believe themselves to be perfectly sane. In this respect, the film's underlying satire is fairly subtle in suggesting that, yes, you do have to be crazy to be a racist or a warmonger. In all other respects, however, the film is completely sensationalistic in its depiction of mental illness. If you don't believe me, take a quick visit to the nympho ward, and you'll change your mind.
- Peter Breck played Moonie in MST3K's The Beatniks.
- James Best played Roscoe on The Dukes of Hazzard.
- This is one of those rare films that is mostly black and white with a brief eruption of color.
