claire marrable ( geraldine page ) be shock to learn that her late husband have leave her with nothing but debt . how be she to live in the style she grow accustomed . to solve her problem and she come up with a fiendish plot . what if she be to hire a servant or companion with a small life saving and dupe her out of the money and and then kill her . well and that exactly what claire do . she dispose of the body under pine tree grow in her garden . all be go well for claire until alice dimmock ( ruth gordon ) show up at her door look for a job . claire doesn not realize it but the nosey alice be no ordinary employee . can alice discover claire secret before another pine tree be plant . what a wonderful movie . in short and what ever happen to aunt alice . be a deliciously twisted tale of greed and murder fill with plenty of suspense and real atmosphere and rock solid acting and witty writing and and some of the dark humor put on film . it a real winner from start to finish . and while i be sure i could go on and on praise the film and it the act that set it apart from similar movie . to call geraldine page performance brilliant would be a gross understatement . the gleeful menace in her voice and on her face a she go about psychologically torture ( and kill ) those see see a beneath her be amazing to watch . and if her presence wasn not enough and along come ruth gordon . she feisty and fun and and every bit the equal of page in her role a the titular aunt alice . watch these two spar when all the film secret have be reveal be one of those moment i would not soon forget . these be the screen moment that keep me search out new movie . nobody ask and but if i have to come up with one flaw and i suppose it would be the support cast . none of the other actor do anything to stand out . but how could they . compare with page and gordon . . . well and there really no comparison . finally and from the outside some 40 year after the movie be make and i would bet the actor have a blast making what ever happen to aunt alice . i can just imagine page and gordon have a good long laugh after shoot some of their scene together . then again and maybe it just me . all i know be that i have a great time watch them work together . an positive seem about right to me .