Customer Reviews

Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Due to a great story and fine acting you get so involved in the movie that you forget that it's in black and white!
The movie has English subtitles.

This was one of the first movies of the "Horror" genre I remember seeing as a child that gave me Nightmares! And it is still one of the BEST psychologically scary movies of all time ! It relies on a good plot, and TALENTED acting, and not needless gore or computer generated effects. I was thrilled to see it was available on DVD, as late night TV viewings are faded and commercial interuptions just ruin it and VHS doesn't do it justice. The picture and sound quality is amazing, considering how old this film is! Bette Davis is at her finest, as is Agnes Moorehead (Endora from the Bewitched series, for those who don't know her otherwise)I highly recommend this film to anyone that pefers psychologically scary movies over "shock schlock"

This is a great movie to watch on a windswept stormy night.

I wish the DVD companies would get their act together so I don't have to keep making my own DVD's of these great film classics and creature feature movies.

Would love to see this on DVD in Widescreen!!!

This movie is too over-the-top not to give it a full four stars (but not five--hey, it's not THAT good!). The movie was to be a "sort-of" sequel to Baby Jane, reuniting arch rivals Joan and Bette. But Joan (though I love her!) went a little too far for Aldrich, who canned her after she had spent weeks in the hospital feigning illness. However, Olivia diHavilland does a good job. Ultimately the movie is fun...yet oddly effective. And you'll be singing the theme song in your head for days!

Some great insanity by Bette, some cheesy gore, and a few genuine thrills make for a piece of schlock that rocks!

With all the garbage on DVD, when can we expect this great film? Robert Aldrich put together a fine old ensemble cast, and it was clever and well written. It was nominated for 6 Oscars, including one for the great old Agnes Moorehead. It won nothing. Black & White photography has rarely been so crisp and clear, and watching all the greats chew up the scenery... well, it just doesn't get any better. Bette Davis, Mary Astor, Cecil Kellaway, Agnes Moorehead...also over-the-edge performances from Olivia de Havilland & Joseph Cotten...hammy but fun! Anyone out there that thinks this is worthy of a DVD?

Many people dont even realize that "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" received more Oscar nominations [7] than any other horror film until "Silence of the Lambs" (nearly 30 years later).

Grander and more haunting than "Baby Jane" (though from the same production team), "Charlotte" resembles something akin to a liquid cinematic nightmare-- with camp and eerie pathos doled out in equal and abundant measure.
Borne of an era when "real" thrillers were coming to a close, when the "Psycho"-period shockers felt so supernatural and creepy (even when they may not have been, technically, supernatural in plot)-- the same Cold War peak which produced anything from "The Birds" to "Straitjacket", the original (GOOD) "Haunting" to "Homicidal", sublime to banal, gave seemingly effortless, bone-chilling spookiness to almost any horror flick.
And "Charlotte" is one of the greatest and most forlorn of them all.

[Hope to see this on widescreen DVD soon!]

I saw this Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten classic back in 1965 when I was 13 years old, and I've been in love with it ever since. No need to summarize the plot here; however, if you like a creepy dark story set in a decaying plantation mansion, and if you appreciate first-rate acting and direction, by all means purchase the video. In remembering back to when I first saw this, the violence of poor John losing his head and hand in the Hollis summerhouse was so shocking and vivid to me, I could've sworn the film was in color. But alas, it was filmed in beautiful black and white, much to my surprise years later when I purchased the VHS tape. I now await the DVD release with eager anticipation. A plus!

This film is about an old Southern spinster (Bette Davis) who lives in a Louisiana mansion. She is haunted by terrible memories of the tragic murder of her married lover years ago. Olivia de Haviland plays the part of her greedy cousin and Agnes Moorehead has the role of the loyal maid. Davis struggles to maintain her grip on reality while Olivia de Haviland is trying to get her committed to an asylum. Moorehead resists this effort.

Joseph Cotton plays the part of a family doctor who is conspiring with Olivia de Haviland and Cecil Kellaway is a visiting reporter.Mary Astor and Bruce Dern complete the supporting cast. The acting is superb.

The movie received several Oscar nominations including one for Best Supporting Actress ( Agnes Moorehead). Robert Aldrich also directed WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?

Every neighborhood has one. You know what I'm talking about, the seemingly crazy old lady that everyone talks ABOUT but no one bothers to talk TO. Why does she never come out of that house? What is she hiding up there? Is she really crazy?
Miss Bette Davis at her best (but if any other actress were acting at this age would be called a has-been) plays the complex part of the old fashion and just plain old southern bell that has her pit against all her demons and all the town's citizens who'd love to see her succomb to them.
Miss Davis BECOMES Charlotte Hollis who is convinced she killed her young lover. The once beautiful social- deb now keeps herself cooped up in the big old house of the family's and doesn't take very well to change.ie:the government coming through the town and wanting to demolish her house to put a highway through.
Enter her cousin Miriam who comes to town to help Charlotte find a way to keep her house (or so Charlotte thinks) but in all actuality is coniving with long time friend of the family, Dr. Drew, to send Miss Charlotte over the edge, and have her committed, leaving all the family's fortune and handling of the properties to (who else but) Miriam!
The town thinks Charlotte's crazy, Charlotte thinks she's crazy, she must be crazy. Right? Wrong!
Look for a scene-stealing Agnes Moorehead as the devoted maid and friend of Charlotte's, and have fun watching this psyco-thriller Urban-legend like movie! If you like Bette Davis and a good old fashion scare, you'll love this movie!

The 1960's decade saw alot of veteran performers who had their acting heyday in the 1930's and 40's moving into psychological thrillers and horror efforts as a way of continuing in lead roles. Some of these efforts were of very poor quality but once in a while a gem appeared that has stood the test of time. "Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte", was such an effort and boasted the talents of three seasoned acting legends in the unstoppable Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland and Joseph Cotton. Bette Davis indeed had one of her better later day roles in this film which followed on from her huge success in 1962's "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane". Contrary to popular belief however this film was not a sequel to that earlier success as it had an entirely different locale, story and set of characters. The film did not get off to a promising start production wise in that it was originally planned as a reteaming of Bette with rival Joan Crawford. The two had scored a total triumph with "Baby Jane", however due to a number of circumstances Crawford withdrew and after offering the role of Cousin Miriam to Vivien Leigh among others, director Robert Aldrich passed the role to a most reluctant de Havilland who didn't relish the chance to play the villianess of the piece.

"Hush ...Hush Sweet Charlotte", takes place in the decaying Old South of the 1960's. Bette Davis plays reclusive Charlotte Hollis who lives on her own in her run down Southern mansion that many years before saw a ghastly murder take place that robbed her of her one chance at personal happiness with young married John Mayhew (Bruce Dern). His brutal murder by a meatcleaver is shown in a flash back sequence after which the story moves to the present where the unsettled Charlotte finds her formally grand Louisiana home under threat by the bulldozers. Failing to scare off the workmen with a shotgun Charlotte writes to her cousin, the worldly Miriam Deering to ask for help in saving her property. Childhood rivals for the attentions of Charlotte's father Big Sam Hollis (Victor Buono) at first Miriam seems sweet and kind and totally concerned for Charlotte's welfare however all is not what it seems especially when Miriam teams up with old beau Dr. Drew Bayliss (Joseph Cotton) to see what is in the estate for them. Before long Charlotte is literally being driven out of her mind as she experiences what she thinks are nightmarish visions of her dead lover reappearing minus his hand and head , heads rolling down the staircase, eeerie voices calling out to her in the night and finally a belief that she has actually shot Drew by mistake. As her mental state starts to crumble and she is the victim of some mind numbing drugs courtesy of Drew, the old housekeeper Velma (Agnes Moorehead in an Oscar nominated performance), begins to work out what the pair are up to. That knowledge however eventually costs her her life . While at the mercy of the scheming Drew and Miriam, Charlotte however is not defenceless and when she finally discovers the truth of what has been going on she enacts her own revenge that frees her of the pair forever. Only after the intervention of visiting writer Harry Willis (Cecil Kellaway)who had an enduring interest in Charlotte's case, does she finally learn (only as she leaves her home for the last time), the real truth behind who murdered her childhood beau all those years ago.

The story of "Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte", while fairly obvious does make riverting viewing and the large cast of veteran performers really show their expertise and years of experience in their parts. Bette Davis for once gets to play the potential victim of the piece and it is Olivia de Havilland, so often associated with kindly, sympathetic characters that really has a field day as the evil Miriam intent upon getting Charlotte's money for herself. These two women had worked together many times during their heyday at Warner Brothers but rarely has their screen work had the electricity that it does here. The scene where they supposedly dump Drew's body is sensational as Miriam for the first time really shows her evil menace and it is some of the best work that Olivia de Havilland did on screen. The supporting cast is top rate as well and full of wonderful character actors such as the already mentioned Agnes Morrehead who steals every scene she is in as the uncouth but devoted housekeeper. Cecil Kellaway, Victor Buono who had also been in Aldrich's previous "Baby Jane" effort and Ellen Corby all bring their special expertise to the large and small supporting roles and veteran Mary Astor makes a rare 1960's appearance in the important role of elderly Jewel Mayhew, John's jealous wife. Blessed with a much bigger budget than on his earlier "Baby Jane", project Aldrich was able to make good use of beautiful locations at a great old Southern Mansion in Baton Rouge. This really aids the spooky elements of this horror story and the stark black and white photography is a great asset in particular during Charlotte's ghostly nightmare sequences.

For a trip down memory lane when veterans like Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland still appeared in major productions with roles tailored to them, "Hush ...Hush Sweet Charlotte", is unsurpassed entertainment. Certainly the special effects may seem tame by today's standards but the joy here is to see two actress's giving these roles their all. Davis and de Havilland make a great screen team and compared to the other "monsters" she often played in the 1960's it's a joy to see Bette Davis playing a victim role for a change. Gothic melodrama of the first order perhaps but hugely entertaining and sure to create a few chills along the way. Highly recommended for all old style mystery lovers.