Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Synopsis:

In 1927, the married lover of a Southern socialite, Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis), is brutally murdered by an unknown assailant. Nearly forty years later, Charlotte is haunted by memories of the still unsolved murder. Meanwhile, Charlotte is on the verge of losing her sprawling mansion to eminent domain. She asks her cousin Velma (Olivia de Havilland, The Heiress) for help, but things go from bad to worse.

Reaction & Thoughts:

“What do you think I asked you here for? Company?”

As the song says, “money makes the world go around.” And money was the prime motivation for producing Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Despite the fact that it was made with the sole purpose of cashing in on Robert Aldrich’s smash hit What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hush…Hush is pretty good in its own right.

Comparisons can be odious but sometimes you can’t help it. Baby Jane and Hush…Hush (originally titled What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?) have a lot in common — similar technical crew and actors, the same Grand Guignol sub-genre — but they are also different in some key areas. Baby Jane mixed horror with black humor. On the other hand, Hush…Hush is a thriller filled with tragedy, sadness and melancholia.

Granted, Hush…Hush is an old hat by now. The plot is as easy as instant coffee. The original screenplay, written by Henry Farrell and Lukas Heller (Flight of the Phoenix and The Dirty Dozen), relies too much on silly red-herrings and surprises that are no surprises (the “shocking twist” is pretty obvious from the outset). Sadly, Hush…Hush also resorts to totally unnecessary (and kind of tacky) gore and mayhem.

That being said, Hush…Hush is beautifully constructed, stylishly directed and photographed (Joseph Biroc’s shadowy, Oscar-nominated black and white cinematography is fantastic!). I will admit that it does have some slow spots — the movie tends to drag in places — but I usually enjoy slow-burn thrillers and director Aldrich keeps the momentum going all the way to its expected but satisfying climax.

Bette Davis gives a first-rate performance as Charlotte. She manages to create a real human being, not an easy task by any means considering the plot’s implausibilities. Davis also takes chances when the scene permits. There is a particularly unforgettable moment near the end of the movie that only an actor of Davis’s caliber could pull off: she crawls on the floor, whimpering and moaning as her character finally loses her mind.

As every movie buff knows, Hush…Hush was meant to reunite Davis with Joan Crawford (Mildred Pierce), but the latter supposedly got sick and left the production. Last-minute replacement Olivia de Havilland does a commendable job as Bette’s chic cousin, but as much as I like her performance, I think Crawford would have been better. Plus, Bette and Joan had the kind of fascinating chemistry that cannot be duplicated.

While Bette and Livvie pull each other’s hair out, the impressive supporting cast keeps us entertained. Joseph Cotten (Shadow of a Doubt) is wonderfully viperish as Dr. Bayliss and Agnes Moorehead (The Magnificent Ambersons) managed to nab an Oscar nomination as Bette’s faithful servant Velma. Cecil Kellaway (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?) plays an inquisitive reporter. Victor Buono (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) has a small role as Bette’s “Big Daddy.” It was fun to see Bruce Dern (Coming Home) and George Kennedy (Cool Hand Luke) in small roles.

Mary Astor (The Great Lie) is the standout in the cast by sheer force of talent. Astor is Jewel Mayhew, the scornful wife of Bette’s lover. In her 1971 memoir, A Life on Film, Astor fondly recalls Davis telling director Aldrich, “Pay attention to this woman (Astor), you may learn something.” Astor has only a couple of scenes but she is terrific! This was Astor’s very last movie. The Oscar-winning actress retired from acting and became a best-selling novelist — there ARE second acts in American lives!

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte wasn’t nearly as successful as its predecessor, yet there is a small but outspoken group of movie buffs who prefer Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte over What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? In fact, both director Robert Aldrich and star Bette Davis preferred the former over the latter. In any case, both movies are tons of fun. Highly recommended! B&W, 133 minutes, Not Rated.