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Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

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[Note: The following review is of a non-Peary title; click here to read more.]

“Some folks seem to think they got a natural born right to get away with murder.”

Synopsis:
Nearly forty years after her married beau (Bruce Dern) is viciously murdered with an axe, Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) — the prime suspect in the case, though she’s never been convicted — lives a secluded life in a vast Southern mansion, with only her devoted maid (Agnes Moorehead) for company. When county officials insist that Charlotte must move out of her house to make way for a new bridge, she calls on her cousin Miriam (Olivia De Haviland) for help — but Miriam and a local doctor (Joseph Cotten) have other plans for Charlotte…

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Agnes Moorehead Films
  • Bette Davis Films
  • Bruce Dern Films
  • Cecil Kellaway Films
  • Deep South
  • Falsely Accused
  • George Kennedy Films
  • Horror
  • Joseph Cotten Films
  • Mary Astor Films
  • Murder Mystery
  • Olivia de Havilland Films
  • Robert Aldrich Films

Review:
After the unexpected success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Robert Aldrich attempted to repeat his luck by casting the film’s aging leads (Bette Davis and Joan Crawford) in this similarly themed Southern Gothic tale. When Crawford bowed out of production due to [psychosomatic] illness, she was replaced by Olivia De Haviland — who, fortunately, was the perfect choice to play Miriam, an eminently genteel woman who may not be as sweet and guileless as her demeanor indicates. Indeed, “bland” De Haviland is the perfect cinematic foil for Davis, whose scenery-chewing turn as Charlotte is in many ways simply an incarnation of her earlier “Baby Jane” (yet still highly enjoyable to watch).

The supporting performances in Hush… Hush are all fine: Agnes Moorehead received an Oscar nomination for her over-the-top portrayal as a white trash housekeeper; Mary Astor is lovely in a tiny role (her last) as Charlotte’s cynical cousin; and Joseph Cotten is perfectly cast as a two-faced country doctor. Hush… Hush‘s primary fault lies in its script, which offers plenty of thrills and chills upon first viewing, but fails to sustain the same level of interest once the major plot twists have been revealed. With that said, it remains must-see viewing simply for Aldrich’s atmospheric direction, and for its historical importance as Baby Jane‘s infamous “sequel”; I’m surprised it’s missing from Peary’s book.

P.S. It’s utterly bizarre to see ’60s-generation Bruce Dern playing Davis’s beau in the film’s earliest scenes; talk about cognitive dissonance!

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Bette Davis as Charlotte
  • Olivia De Haviland as Charlotte’s refined cousin, Miriam
  • Joseph Cotten as Dr. Drew
  • Mary Astor as Jewel Mayhew
  • Agnes Moorehead as Velma Cruther
  • Joseph Biroc’s atmospheric cinematography
  • Effective use of stylized angles and blocking

Must See?
Yes. While not a classic, this campy follow-up to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? should be seen at least once by all film fanatics.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant
  • Important Director
  • Oscar Winner or Nominee

Links:

Deception (1946)

Deception (1946)

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[Note: The following review is of a non-Guide for the Film Fanatic title; click here to read more.]

“Sooner or later you’ll come back to your old teacher. You’ll realize that nothing matters except music; everything passes, except music — and me.”

Synopsis:
Aspiring pianist Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis) — who believes her fiance Karel (Paul Henreid) has died in the war — is thrilled to find him performing in a cello concert in New York. Soon the two are married, but trouble arises when Davis’s wealthy mentor — composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains) — learns about his protegee’s romantic “betrayal”.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Bette Davis Films
  • Claude Rains Films
  • Composers
  • Irving Rapper Films
  • Jealousy
  • Love Triangle
  • Musicians
  • Play Adaptation

Review:
Based on Louis Verneuil’s 1928 play Jealousy, this atmospheric melodrama (directed by Irving Rapper) received negative reviews upon its release, and is generally considered to be merely an “operatic rehash” of its source material — an assessment which doesn’t do this enjoyable film justice. The three leads (who starred together in Rapper’s earlier Now, Voyager) are all wonderful, with Bette Davis perfectly cast as the duplicitous yet well-meaning Christine, and Paul Heinreid appropriately handsome and moody as Karel. Yet it’s third-billed Claude Rains who most impresses: his portrayal of the egomaniacal Hollenius contains intriguing hints of closeted homosexuality, making his obsessive “love” for Christine seem more like a desire for control than a manifestation of lust or romance. Indeed, music itself is the true love interest in this sticky triangle, with murder eventually committed in its name; and while the film’s violent denouement seems to come out of nowhere, it’s fairly easy to forgive this melodramatic plot device considering the clever script that’s come before.

P.S. Interestingly (but perhaps not surprisingly), Christine’s own musical ambitions are dropped as soon as Heinreid appears on the scene; she’s relegated to performing for guests at her own wedding celebration.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Claude Rains as Hollenius
  • Bette Davis as Christine
  • Paul Henreid as Karel
  • John Abbott in a bit role as a cellist
  • Atmospheric settings and backdrops
  • Hollenius taking his sweet time ordering a fancy dinner at a restaurant
  • Clever dialogue: “Extraordinary, isn’t it, that music can exist in the same world as the basest treachery and ingratitude?”
  • Erich Korngold’s score

Must See?
Yes, simply for Rains’s performance.

Categories

  • Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links: