

Patients and staff at a posh psychiatric clinic clash over who chooses the clinic’s new drapes – but drapes are the least of their problems.
Production
The drapes are practically a character
Acting
Gloria Grahame weaponizes fragility
Direction
Minnelli stages dysfunction like opera

Director
Vincente Minnelli
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Minnelli spent $35,000 on those infamous drapes—more than some actors' salaries—turning set design into narrative warfare.
Gloria Grahame was divorcing Nicholas Ray during filming; her real-life turmoil bleeds into Karen's unraveling.