Nanny

A curious little film, produced in the sixties by notorious Brit-Studios Hammer (responsible in the seventies for some truly abhorrant horror flicks, earning cult status amongst students everywhere), 'The Nanny' stars an ageing Bette Davis in the titular role, of a sinister Nanny battling to keep her deepest darkest secrets being made public by her young charge, Joey.

The plot is actually rather good, taking in some unexpected little twists and turns, and the ending is also surprising. There are also some good and some excellent performances to be enjoyed. Sadly, none of this can save 'The Nanny' from mediocrity.

Davis is oddly-paced in this movie. She does a good job with the character in her normal moments - she's believable as the austere, slightly po-faced Mary Popping-Sans-Humour. In her less mentally-stable moments, however, she doesn't always manage to shake off the bored expression or the reigned-in emotion, and leaves us with a main character that is somewhat disjointed. Her final scenes are good, but not enough to make the character truly memorable.

Other shoddy performances come in the shape of Wendy Craig as the mentally disturbed and weak-willed Mother - she's not a credible character becuase, like Ms. Davis, her emotional commitment to her character comes across as antagonistic. For a woman who goes through such unspeakable emotional turmoil, she isn;t very emotional - unless you count a lot of weeping and fainting against walls. I don't. Her husband is played by James Villiers, an abysmal actor and the personification of why American shows like 'The Simpsons' show such ugly charicatures of British people - the producers could at least have shaved his ears and made two eyebrows for him.

Eyebrows, in fact, are a something of a recurring motif - some fool photographer thought it would be a good idea to pencil a huge pair of fake Joan Crawofords onto Bette, too. It was not a good idea. Ms. Davis' face has lost much of its emotional power because of this.

Happily, all is not lost on the acting front, but it's bizarre that it's up to the children to provide the most riveting viewing in 'The Nanny'. Master Joey is played beautifully by William Dix, who really could teach Haley Joel Osment a thing or three about creating sympathy without schmaltz. He gives a beautifully understated, extremely intelligent performance as Joey and is credible and believable as a 10-year-old boy inured to tragedy and loss.

His ill-fated little sister Susy is played by Angharad Aubrey, and even at the age of (I'm guessing) three years old she's credible as the beautifully innocent Susy - a real heart-wrencher because she is not allowed to become a silly, schmaltzy Hollywood-style 'Child'.

A cameo from the excellent child actress Pamela Franklin (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie's Sandy) as Bobbie completes the roster of good, compelling performances in this movie.

Direction is quite simply bizarre. The interior scenes and lack of a musical soundtrack for much of the picture lend the feeling of Noir to the piece, but bad pacing and a very, very slow start to the film hamper the effect greatly. The end of the movie is shot very well, as are the scenes of physical and mental conflict - where Bette shines most, in fact.

All in all, I can't give this movie a huge thumbs-up. It's not a great Davis vehicle, nor is it really a compelling psychological thriller. It's passable, but with such a story and such a Star, one would really expect better of the normally excellent British movie machine.

Playing a maid to a disturbed 10-year old a couple of years after his sister dies in a suspicious accident, Davis gives a taut, subtle performance that ranks right up there with her best--- the film's direction and co-stars matching her scene for scene. It's as poignant as it is suspenseful, and far above the level of other sub-par thrillers and dramas Miss Davis would be forced to take over the the next couple of decades of her career.

Don't miss this often overlooked gem.