Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

“So you’re finally showin’ the right side of your face. Well, I seen it all along. That’s some kinda drug you been givin’ her. Isn’t it? It’s what’s been making her act like she’s been. Well, Ah’m goin’ into town and Ah’m tellin them what you been up to. ” – Velma

Number of Times Seen – 1 (22 May 2019)

Brief Synopsis – Years after her lover was decapitated by an unknown assailant, a spinster tries to keep her life together despite the fact that everyone around her still believes her to be a murderer who has been going insane for years.

My Take on it – This is another film that I knew absolutely nothing about before coming across it in my quest to watch all films that have Oscar nominated performances.

This film is a great psychological thriller that is able to work on multiple levels and keeps things interesting from start to finish.

The cast is quite talented here and Bette Davis, Olivia DeHavilland, Joseph Cotten and Agnes Moorehead all give great performances.

The story is filled with lots of great twists and turns as they keep making us try and guess what is truly going on.

This actually makes things a bit more confusing but that helps the viewer get into the mindset of the character who is slowly going crazy by all of the events going on around her.

I liked the fact that this film establishes quite early that we cannot trust any of the characters and that helps the story move along at a great pace sue to the viewer’s suspicion of everyone we encounter along the way.

The mystery of this film is presented really well and they slowly give us new facts that even some of the characters are unaware of which helps make things even more enjoyable to watch unfold.

Agnes Moorehead was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in this film as the housekeeper and was even able to win a Golden Globe in that category.

Bottom Line – Great psychological thriller that manages to work on multiple levels. The cast is superb with David, DeHavilland, Cotten and Moorehead all giving great performances. The story has a few great twists and turns along the way that help make things feel even more confusing yet interesting at the same time due to so many of the questions raised along the way. The fact that we quickly know that all of the characters are untristworthy helps make this a great mystery as we slowly learn new facts that even the main character is unaware of which adds so much to the story line. Moorehead was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in this film and won the Golden Globe in that category. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – When Olivia de Havilland agreed to make this movie, Director Robert Aldrich called Bette Davis to give her the good news. He also requested she keep the news a secret until he returned in two days, when he would legally inform Joan Crawford and her lawyer by letter. However, Bette didn’t listen, she called her press agent, Rupert Allan, who immediately leaked the story to the press. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)

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