elvircorhodzic
HUSH...HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE is a mysterious horror drama which, in addition to the general madness on the surface, has a great deception designed in the background. This is a film about a mysterious murder, deceptions and torture. A gruesome and grotesque secret is hidden behind the walls of a luxurious mansion. „What ever happened to Baby Jane?" the second part...A Southern belle Charlotte is lonely in her house. She is haunted by personal tragedy of the past, which includes the murder of her lover. When a distant relative comes to stay at her mansion, tensions and conspiracy beginning to boil in a pot, in which the truths take human lives...The plot is a somewhat vague, and the procedures of the antagonists are predictable. Mr. Aldrich has offered, again, an array of shocking twists and turns, which include a harsh truth, but he, this time, did not take into account the probabilities. The truth in this story is something like waking up from a horrible nightmare. Mr. Aldrich has relied too much on the relationships between the characters, emotional turmoil and hidden intents.Bette Davis as Charlotte Hollis is a strange combination between a crazy old woman and confused lady. A melodramatic tone in her character is mixed with horror that surrounds her. Nevertheless, Ms. Davis has offered a great performance. Olivia de Havilland as Miriam Deering is a hidden devil under a curtain of goodness. The face of Ms. de Havilland is the embodiment of compassion and kindness. She can be a strong and shrewd woman, but a villain .... Joseph Cotten (Doctor Drew Bayliss) is too theatrical. Agnes Moorehead (Velma Cruther) is energetic and exciting as a loyal servant. Cecil Kellaway (Harry Willis) and Mary Astor (Jewel Mayhew) are pale appearance as a homing pigeon and an eternal enemy.This is not bad ... not at all.
adrianovasconcelos
My 8-star rating reflects my fondness for this movie, despite its imperfections. The extraordinary B&W photography builds a sumptuous noir atmosphere from the start, magnificently aided by Charlotte's stately home, by Aldrich's assured direction and, above all, by de Havilland's superlative performance, resting on a controlled, mellow voice that disguises a cunning criminal mind, and mesmeric eyes that convey more than any amount of words. Bette Davis' shrieking performance provides contrast to de Havilland's, but sadly limits her range. Cotten is a fit sidekick to de Havilland but this is clearly a woman's picture, and despite playing the part of a psychiatrist with some very clever tricks designed to confine Davis to a home for the mentally handicapped, he is no match to either woman in terms of smarts, and his uneven and clown-like character ultimately leaves the viewer in some uncertainty about his motivations. Victor Buono and Agnes Moorehead provide splendid supporting performances; sound screenplay, with some sharp one-liners, although some of the dialogue and action could have been subtler; there are weaknesses in the story's structure (that letter at the end seems to serve no purpose other than relieve Davis of guilt - but by then she must have known that she was wrongfully accused of Dern's murder, just from listening to de Havilland and Cotten); but, every time I watch it, by the time the closing titles roll down, I'm happy to have re-watched this beguiling and beautiful film, however murky some of its characters might be. Recommended.
lasttimeisaw
Originally a star vehicle to reunite Bette Davis and Joan Crawford after the runaway success of WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962), HUSH…HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE intended to continue cashing in on projecting their backstage rivalry onto the theatrical canvas of a grueling tale with a similar theme, with Robert Aldrich staying in the director's chair. But when the personal collision between Ms. Crawford and Ms. Davis escalates (as Aldrich, the intermediary, failed to juggle with these two high-maintenance divas this time), also for fear of being upstaged again by Ms. Davis, who insinuates herself into gaining an upper hand during the production for a showier role, Ms. Crawford bowed out completely from the picture by feigning illness, and Ms. de Havilland, a long-time friend of Ms. Davis, was brought to fill her shoes in the eleventh hour. Whereas the legendary off-camera feuding is still of great interest up to a point (Ryan Murphy has an upcoming series named FEUD, starring Susan Sarandon as Davis and Jessica Lange as Crawford, to chronicle the infamous anecdotes for today's audience), the movie per se is a marvel of its own. A prelude sets in Ascension Parish, Louisiana in 1927, effectively tampers its Dixieland gaiety with a grisly tinge when John Mayhew (Dern), a married man, is brutally butchered after his elopement plan with Charlotte has been thwarted by the latter's father Big Sam Hollis (Buono, in a brief but menacing performance bolstered by a heavy make-up to play a character nearly doubles his real age). Then, the story fast-forwards to 1964, 37 years later, Charlotte (Davis), now a faded southern belle, presumably the murderer of her beau, never gets married and lives alone in her father's mansion like a demented recluse, her sole accompanies are the housekeeper Velma Cruther (Moorehead) and Dr. Drew Bayliss (Cotten), who occasionally comes to attend to her well-being. When the estate is on the risk of being torn down by the government in favor of building a bridge, Charlotte seeks help from her cousin Miriam Deering (de Havilland), the only family member she has presently, invites her to stay under the same roof first time after the horrific happening, but many many strange things ensue to drive her further down into lunacy. The intriguing whodunit has been brilliantly contrived as a collision course of no-holds-barred collision course between two leads, and is fraught with pathos and suspense through its full- throttle noir atmosphere, actually, the picture must represent the apotheosis of chiaroscuro cinematography, captured to a mesmerizing effect by DP Joseph Biroc, lights, shades, shadows and facial close-ups all being flawlessly framed against the haunting tableaux where threats and secrets skulking insidiously in the darkness, just like Charlotte's disconcerting confession "It's only real when it's dark". The sequences blurring the line of reality and imagination are extraordinarily conceived and executed, sublimate its pulpy material to cinematic surrealism. But do viewers ever question Charlotte's sanity or regard her as a heartless murderer? No, not when Ms. Davis is is her absolutely most vulnerable state, unlike in BABY JANE, here she switches to the victimized party, tormented and devilled by a past trauma and can never let it go (and someone with an ulterior motive doesn't want her to do that either), battles solitude with delusion and paranoia, marvellously, even in such a passive position, she still obstinately hams it up whenever she feels apt, which injects a perverse defiance into Charlotte's fragile persona, and when she finally gets that vindication, Bette Davis raises again, in her immutably triumphant flair. As great as Ms. Davis in her utmost fearless attempt, it is Ms. de Havilland's sinister turn hits a more rewarding mark for my money, ever so rare, she sloughs off her front of elegance, benignancy and deference, to demonstrate how deceitful, nefarious and hell-bent she could be if given the chance, it is extremely tempting to envision what Ms. Crawford could've improved from her contrasting shifting. Dishearteningly, both these two-time Oscar-winners were snubbed in the Oscar race whilst the movie surprisingly racked up seven nominations (compared with BABY JANE's five but a win for Black & White costume design), so were Mary Astor as the widow Jewel Mayhew, the splendid two- scenes stealer (also it is her final appearance on the silver screen) and Cecil Kellaway, who even- temperedly portrays the reporter Harry Willis from London, introduces a pleasant scent of well- adjusted phlegm to counterpoise the heady melodrama. Only the protean Ms. Moorehead got her fourth and final Oscar nomination in her ostentatiously uncompromising appearance as the muttering caretaker of Ms. Charlotte, but her loyalty is cunningly motivated by the vested interest, she is feisty enough to fight for what she wants against all odds, only too gormless to reveal her intention too early when standing in a perilous position, which is the same fatal mistake the villains eventually make - celebrate too soon when they still have one more show to play, a slightly bathetic feeling transpires when everything is said and done, that swell sensation from the finale of BABY JANE is seemingly nowhere to be found this time.
