Referring to the film as Straitjacket, the 30 Jan 1963 DV announced William Castle would be producing and directing his own story for Columbia Pictures as the third installment of a four-picture deal. An Apr 1963 production start date was expected, although a screenwriter was yet to be hired. Reflecting the change in the title to Strait-Jacket, the 11 Feb 1963 DV reported that Robert Bloch, who wrote the 1959 novel Psycho, had been assigned to write the screenplay.
       The 5 Mar 1963 LAT stated that Joan Blondell would star in the picture, but she did not remain with the project. On 27 May 1963, NYT announced that Joan Crawford had been cast in the lead role.
       The start of production was delayed several times. The 5 Apr 1963 and 24 May 1963 DV production charts listed start dates as 11 Jun and 16 Jul 1963, respectively.
       A 28 Jun 1963 DV production chart, which anticipated a 22 Jul 1963 start date, named Anthony McBride as a cast member. The 8 Jul 1963 DV added John Anthony Hayes and Anne Helm to the cast, marking Hayes’s feature film debut. Helm was later replaced by Diane Baker, whose casting was announced in the 24 Jul 1963 DV. The 18 Jul 1963 issue named Jack Bohrer as the film’s production manager. Modern sources indicated that Lee Majors made his feature film debut as the uncredited “Frank Harbin.”
       According to the 19 Jul 1963 DV, vice president of public relations for the Pepsi-Cola Company, Mitchell Cox, for which Crawford served on the board of directors, was assigned the role of “Dr. Anderson” at Crawford’s suggestion. Cox stated that his film debut in Strait-Jacket would also mark his last onscreen appearance.
       Principal photography finally began on 23 Jul 1963 at Columbia Studios in Culver City, CA, as reported in the 24 Jul 1963 DV.
       The crew spent one week filming on location in Riverside, CA, as indicated in the 2 Aug 1963 DV. They were joined there for two days by Columbia’s trailer department head Jack Atlas and his camera crew to record promotional footage, as stated in the 8 Aug 1963 DV.
       The 19 Aug 1963 DV announced that principal photography was completed that day, five days ahead of schedule. A $550,000 budget was listed, with Joan Crawford reportedly receiving 15-20% of the film’s profits as part of her contract. Crawford and Castle hosted a wrap party for the crew on 21 Aug 1963 at Stage 4 of Columbia Studios, according to that day’s DV.
       The 1 Jan 1964 LAT noted that Strait-Jacket would open in Los Angeles, CA, theaters on 8 Jan 1964.
       On 9 Jan 1964, DV reported the LAT’s objection to the violent print advertisement for Strait-Jacket, depicting Crawford wielding an ax. LAT claimed the ad had “slipped” passed its advertising manager’s review and had been printed in the publication by accident. A revised version with the catchline “Warning! ‘Strait-Jacket’ vividly depicts ax murders!” barely met LAT’s standards. However, the LAHExam reportedly had no issue with the film’s artwork, as the ax did not show “actual bodily contact.”
       The picture opened in New York City on 22 Jan 1964, as a double bill with the 1961 release, War is Hell (see entry). The 23 Jan 1964 NYT review deemed Strait-Jacket “a disgusting piece of claptrap.”