The heyday of the mob. Being an entertainer of that time was always the fuss. But when people go legit, it's always going to be good. For "Ruby", it's not that way. Ruby Claire(Piper Laurie) is a gun-moll who is pregnant watches in horror when her mobster boyfriend gets gunned down by his own crew. Years later, Ruby owns a drive-in movie and some of the former members of the mob work with her. Her daughter Leslie(Janit Baldwin) is 16 and mute, lives with her. One by one, members of the mob suddenly died. The spirit of the slain boyfriend seeks revenge on the crew. So he uses the daughter as a vessel for vengeance. This movie is like a cross between "Carrie" and "The Exorcist". Only tamer. The cast of the movie are great. The special effects was spot on. Enjoyable to say the least. 2 out of 5 stars

Hard-bitten former gangster's moll and faded nightclub singer Ruby Claire (superbly played by Piper Laurie) runs a drive-in movie theater and pines for the good old days. The vengeful spirit of Ruby's murdered mobster lover Nicky Rocco (handsome Sal Vecchio) uses the body of Ruby's sweet and innocent mute daughter Leslie (an impressive almost wordless portrayal by Janit Baldwin) as a vessel to exact revenge from beyond the grave on the people who killed him. Director Curtis Harrington, working from an engrossing script by George Edwards and Barry Schneider, relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, offers a generous sprinkling of decent gore, adds a few neat touches of amusing macabre humor (a corpse gets stashed in a soda vending machine that pumps out the guy's blood),and does his customary expert job of creating and sustaining a supremely eerie and unsettling gloom-doom atmosphere. Moreover, Harrington brings a wistful and melancholy nostalgic sensibility to the material which kicks the picture up a few extra notches. The sturdy acting from the sound cast rates as another major asset: Stuart Whitman does well as Ruby's loyal and amiable longtime buddy Vince Kemper, Roger Davis contributes fine support as helpful parapsychologist Dr. Paul Keller, and comely flash-in-the-pan 70's exploitation film starlet Crystin Sinclaire vamps it up nicely as shameless stuck-up tramp Lila June. William Mendell's crisp cinematography makes excellent use of vibrant color and makes the most out of the misty swampland location. Don Ellis' moody score hits the shuddery spot. Marred only by a rushed and sloppy tacked-on cheap shock ending, "Ruby" overall sizes up as a fun little low-budget fright feature.

The title of this film and Piper Laurie's presence clearly derive from CARRIE (1976) – though I was misled into thinking that Ruby was the possessed child rather than the mother. While I'm not sure the EXORCIST trappings were really necessary, these actually extend to only a couple of scenes…and one has to understand that the notorious 'spider walk' from the 1973 classic – depicted here (but more on this later) – wasn't officially a part of the film until its 2000 re-edit! Incidentally, the irate-father-speaking/murdering-through-his-child angle was also seen in Mario Bava's contemporaneous SHOCK (1977).

RUBY, therefore, is silly but quite effective scene-by-scene and, anyway, it certainly provides a unique mixture of supernatural horror with the typical gangland milieu. The drive-in theater element (showing ATTACK OF THE 50-FOOT WOMAN [1958] years before it was actually made; the story is ostensibly set in 1951!),then, renders the proceedings even trashier (especially with the participation of a sluttish habitué) – while, at the same time, serving as a comment on the genre itself.

The swamp (and period) setting supply the requisite atmosphere: Laurie's bitter but still-attractive torch singer/aspiring film-star/gangster's moll dominates her associates (the very same gang that killed her lover at the start of the picture!) but obviously clings to the past – linking the film to Harrington's earlier horror outing WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH HELEN? (1971). The odd-looking Janit Baldwin is perfectly cast as the mediumistic girl, especially creepy when the dead gangster – through her – confronts Laurie with his suspicions that the latter set him up. Stuart Whitman is a likable ageing hero, and Roger Davis rises to the occasion as a paranormal expert.

Unfortunately, the special effects and gore are cheaply done and the ending (different from Harrington's original conception) somewhat abrupt; though the version on the VCI DVD I purchased is credited as being the "Director's Cut", it's still missing some footage…but, at least, is free of other additions requested by the producers (reportedly the work of Stephanie Rothman) for the film's Network TV showings.

The disc includes an hour-long career overview with director Harrington and film critic David Del Valle, which is extremely interesting: it touches upon some of the films I watched in tribute to his recent passing, but also a number of others (including the TV stuff) which are still very rare to come by. Besides, he fondly reminisces about his encounters with several film legends such as Alfred Hitchcock, Josef von Sternberg, Orson Welles and James Whale (let's not forget that Harrington is the man responsible for saving the latter's delightful THE OLD DARK HOUSE [1932] from oblivion) – all of whom, incidentally, are among my own personal favorites!

The Audio Commentary is similar to the one for Harrington's NIGHT TIDE in that, apart from denoting locations where specific scenes were shot (which would mean very little to a foreigner like myself!),the director seems to be fuzzy on many production details. However, what he didn't forget – or forgive, for that matter – is his strained relationship with the film's executive producer, Steve Krantz (whom Harrington even describes as "evil"): he never misses an opportunity to put him down – berating Krantz for his stinginess, for imposing a mediocre cameraman on him and, needless to say, for ruining his 'poetic' ending! The director also remarks about the remarkable longevity of horror classics vis-a'-vis mainstream productions from Hollywood's Golden Age, and recalls the Karloff/Lugosi vehicle THE RAVEN (1935) as having been his introduction to the genre. Incidentally, the RUBY Commentary is a lot more animated than that of NIGHT TIDE – thanks to the enthusiastic contribution of star Piper Laurie, even if she's critical of her own performance at this juncture (and blames the tight schedule for it). As for the 'spider walk', it emerges that this eerie contortionist effect wasn't borrowed from THE EXORCIST at all – but rather from a Salvador Dali painting about a psycho-physiological condition known as the Hysterical Arch!