[Joan Crawford's] acting is at once immoderate and fiercely controlled; her face, as stylized and exaggerated as a Kabuki mask, still conveys a vast repertoire of intricate moods and responses. Burt’s descent into madness chills.

It's a story about mental illness, which is presented with a terrifying frankness as well as a constructive view of psychotherapy at a time when it was often stigmatized.

The collision of Aldrich's tough style with the soapy material makes for a film that never loses its queasy tension.

What we ought to admire here is essentially the precision of the direction of the actors... Joan Crawford, raw and at fever pitch as never before, stroking Cliff Robertson, a frail and mischievous youngster -- this alone is worth the price of the ticket.