Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Many diferent releases of this little classic which I have had for years and saw again last night. My version is a perfect transfer - 16.9 ratio, excellent picture sound and subtitles. This is grand guignol (sic) melodrama done as only Hollywood and Robert Aldrich/Bette davis could do. Davis is at her mad woman best as Charlotte, a recluse in her mansion in the deep south. She believes her much loved father (Buono) killed her lover (Dern) and she hopelessly hides from the world. She is jopined by her cousin De Havilland, who comes to take care of her. The temeprature risies at a pace. madness, murder, thunderstorms, the kitchen sink, and....an incredibly awful OTT performence from that much respected actress Agnes Moorhead (I bet she loved every minute). The support cast is full of well known faces some just getting started (George Kennedy), Cecil Kellaway, Percy Helton, William Campbell and many more plus a cameo from Mary Astor. If you like full blown melodrama you should love this. I think it is as good as, if not better, than "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" Just my opinion of course.

This is the movie I've watched numerous times, but upon the beginning of every viewing, always seem to have forgotten the outcome of the story. This was the second film on a similar theme to 'Baby Jane' made two years earlier, but far more complex, and as a consequence, can at times appear a little over-long. Agnes Moorehead deservedly earns herself an award here as the faithful and loyal servant of the alleged crazy 'Miss Charlotte' (played by Bette Davis) Compare Moorehead's performance to that of her role in the US 60s sitcom: 'Bewitched' and you will see what I mean! Olivia de Havliand is at her most cold and cunning in this, as Charlotte's cousin Miriam. There is one spectacular and un-missable scene between she and Moorehead at the top of the stairs when one character is highly suspicious of the other. Some of the best movies in this genre from the 60s were led by women such as the aforementioned; 'Baby Jane', Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice' and Britain's 'The Beast In The Cellar', and somehow have more impact, and are more disturbing, because of their sex. 'Hush Hush' almost has the exact same cast as starred in 'Baby Jane', and it would have been complete but for Joan Crawford, who because of the strain of working with Davis in 'Baby Jane', after only a short time of filming had been forced to drop out, and was replaced by de Haviland. The switch could have potentially been fatal to the success of this picture, but for de Haviland's outstandingly cold performance! One of the extras on this DVD is the original Trailer - re-mastered (Trailers are not often polished up), and is one of the very best I have ever seen for this type of movie! True movie gold!

Both Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland are good in this. Bette looks much older than 56 which was her age at the time. Film was tense and dramatic. A twist in the tale. Lots of "accidental " deaths. Quite scary. Special effects naff by today's standards.

A superb film

Having seen the late, great Bette Davis in The Anniversary and Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? I knew that I wasn't going to be disappointed! It's such a simple story, about a woman who believes she is slowly going mad, only to discover that this is not the case. It reminded me a lot of Gaslight, featuring Ingrid Bergman, in that she believes she's going a bit gaga, and an epiphany moment makes her realise that it was the one person she ought to have been able to trust with her life, her husband, who has been turning up the heat. Davis, or, Charlotte, has a distorted version of events that transpired long ago, resulting in her becoming an eccentric recluse who is the talk of the town. It's when her sister arrives on the scene, to care for her, that, bit by bit, we get to learn that all is not what it seems. I won't spoil the ending for those of you yet to see it, but, Davis's performance will keep you riveted throughout, and there's a great sense of dignity in her character at the end, that comes when she learns the truth, and I found this to be quite compelling. It's no surprise that she was one of the greats of her time. If you like dark thrillers that don't go in for the big reveal, but keep you interested, and guessing to the very end, then this is for you. Well worth it for the plot and performances alone!

I admit to being totally in awe of the late Bette Davis anyway, so, a film from her that I had never seen before is always a challenge and, this was a doozie. She acts so brilliantly throughout. A quite excellent story line, appearances by decent actors and actresses all through. Yes it is a tad dated in effects compared to todays offerings, but, that is the charm of these films. Monochrome in it's entirety, precious little to distract the viewer from the events, so, to my mind, a 100% cracker, well worth watching again and, again...

i've seen Hush...hush, Sweet Charlotte 30 years ago on Austrian TV entitled "Wiegenlied für eine Leiche" which means "lullaby for a corpse", also a bit misleading the German title is gripping too and audiences of my generation still remember the picture well. Bette Davis and de Havilland give excellent performances, the supporting characters (Astor, Callaway, to name a few) are great - Aldrich's direction is at it's best, the art direction is fine. So, more than 40 years after it's release it's still worth watching.

I rented this film as it's my partner's favourite. So after watching this film my own conclusions was it's good. The performance of Bette and Olivia are good with believable performances. The film is just about about someones scheming to get her(Bette) fortune at they mental well-being, but it kept me watching. It's a long at over 2 hr, but it didn't feel like that as the pace was good. The reason 4 star's is it's scenes of special affect are laughable in our modern world of films. Also it should be free to watch after all it's 61 years old. I would give it a watch, if you have a spare few pounds. Enjoy!!!