Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Masters of Cinema)

Many diferent releases of this little classic which I have had for years and saw again last night. My version is a perfect transfer - 16.9 ratio, excellent picture sound and subtitles. This is grand guignol (sic) melodrama done as only Hollywood and Robert Aldrich/Bette davis could do. Davis is at her mad woman best as Charlotte, a recluse in her mansion in the deep south. She believes her much loved father (Buono) killed her lover (Dern) and she hopelessly hides from the world. She is jopined by her cousin De Havilland, who comes to take care of her. The temeprature risies at a pace. madness, murder, thunderstorms, the kitchen sink, and....an incredibly awful OTT performence from that much respected actress Agnes Moorhead (I bet she loved every minute). The support cast is full of well known faces some just getting started (George Kennedy), Cecil Kellaway, Percy Helton, William Campbell and many more plus a cameo from Mary Astor. If you like full blown melodrama you should love this. I think it is as good as, if not better, than "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" Just my opinion of course.

A superb film

I rented this film as it's my partner's favourite. So after watching this film my own conclusions was it's good. The performance of Bette and Olivia are good with believable performances. The film is just about about someones scheming to get her(Bette) fortune at they mental well-being, but it kept me watching. It's a long at over 2 hr, but it didn't feel like that as the pace was good. The reason 4 star's is it's scenes of special affect are laughable in our modern world of films. Also it should be free to watch after all it's 61 years old. I would give it a watch, if you have a spare few pounds. Enjoy!!!

A quiet day at home

This is the movie I've watched numerous times, but upon the beginning of every viewing, always seem to have forgotten the outcome of the story. This was the second film on a similar theme to 'Baby Jane' made two years earlier, but far more complex, and as a consequence, can at times appear a little over-long. Agnes Moorehead deservedly earns herself an award here as the faithful and loyal servant of the alleged crazy 'Miss Charlotte' (played by Bette Davis) Compare Moorehead's performance to that of her role in the US 60s sitcom: 'Bewitched' and you will see what I mean! Olivia de Havliand is at her most cold and cunning in this, as Charlotte's cousin Miriam. There is one spectacular and un-missable scene between she and Moorehead at the top of the stairs when one character is highly suspicious of the other. Some of the best movies in this genre from the 60s were led by women such as the aforementioned; 'Baby Jane', Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice' and Britain's 'The Beast In The Cellar', and somehow have more impact, and are more disturbing, because of their sex.'Hush Hush' almost has the exact same cast as starred in 'Baby Jane', and it would have been complete but for Joan Crawford, who because of the strain of working with Davis in 'Baby Jane', after only a short time of filming had been forced to drop out, and was replaced by de Haviland. The switch could have potentially been fatal to the success of this picture, but for de Haviland's outstandingly cold performance!One of the extras on this DVD is the original Trailer - re-mastered (Trailers are not often polished up), and is one of the very best I have ever seen for this type of movie!True movie gold!

Masterpiece, I love this classic film never tire of watching it

Having seen the late, great Bette Davis in The Anniversary and Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? I knew that I wasn't going to be disappointed! It's such a simple story, about a woman who believes she is slowly going mad, only to discover that this is not the case. It reminded me a lot of Gaslight, featuring Ingrid Bergman, in that she believes she's going a bit gaga, and an epiphany moment makes her realise that it was the one person she ought to have been able to trust with her life, her husband, who has been turning up the heat. Davis, or, Charlotte, has a distorted version of events that transpired long ago, resulting in her becoming an eccentric recluse who is the talk of the town. It's when her sister arrives on the scene, to care for her, that, bit by bit, we get to learn that all is not what it seems. I won't spoil the ending for those of you yet to see it, but, Davis's performance will keep you riveted throughout, and there's a great sense of dignity in her character at the end, that comes when she learns the truth, and I found this to be quite compelling. It's no surprise that she was one of the greats of her time. If you like dark thrillers that don't go in for the big reveal, but keep you interested, and guessing to the very end, then this is for you. Well worth it for the plot and performances alone!

I've always been a fan of Bette Davis and think she was a super actress. This film is fairly watchable and has a lot of drama and so on. However her movies in the 30s and 40s were definitely her best.

Produit conforme à mes attentes.

Muy recomendable, tanto la película como los audio comentarios.

Nach dem riesigen Kinoerfolg (9 Millionen Dollar Kasse) von "Was geschah wirklich mit Baby Jane ?" hatte Hollywood Regisseur offensichtlich Spass noch ein weiteres grotesk-triviales Horrorstück im Stil des Grand Guignol zu inszenieren. Und es sollte wieder mit dem herrlich funktionierenden Grusel- Duo Bette Davis und Joan Crawford besetzt werden. Doch die Crawford wurde krank. Es ging aber auch das Gerücht herum, dass sie aus dem Unternehmen ausstieg, weil sie empfand, dass Aldrich Bette Davis bevorzugte. Vivien Leigh und Katharine Hepburn sagten ab - so kam es zur Verpflichtung der großartigen Olivia de Havilland, die es wunderbar beherrscht völlig gütige Charaktere zu spielen (Cousine Melanie in "Gone with the wind oder als Ruth in der Doppelrolle in "Dark Mirror") oder auch das krasse Gegenteil (Terry in "Dark Mirror" - die von Hass und Paranoia zerfressene Zwillingsschwester der gütigen Ruth). In "Wiegenlied für eine Leiche" durfte sie die Cousine der seltsamen und etwas durchgeknallten Bette Davis spielen. Und zwar etwas angelegt wie in Henry Kosters "Meine Cousine Rachel" - dort ist der Zuschauer auch erst mal damit beschäftigt diese Cousine richtig einzuschätzen. Ist sie gekommen um zu helfen oder hat sie etwa finstere Pläne ?"Wiegenlied für eine Leiche" spielte wieder reichlich Geld ein - mit 8 Millionen Dollar Umsatz schaffte es Robert Aldrich auf Platz 20 der Kinojahrescharts. Und tatsächlich ist der Film beinahe genauso stark wie der Vorgänger - er fällt lediglich beim zweiten Sehen etwas ab, da man dann die vielen Wendungen des Psychothrillers mit fiesem Horroreinschlag bereits kennt. Und es gibt darin nicht nur ein Wiedersehen mit diesen Legenden der Leinwand Bette Davis und Olivia de Havilland.Auch für die Nebenrollen hat Aldrich ein paar grandiose Kinostars der 40er verpflichtet: Joseph Cotten, Mary Astor, Agnes Moorehead oder Cecil Kellaway.Ein langes Intro führt den Zuschauer zurück ins Jahr 1927, nach Louisiana. Dort hat sich die Southern Belle Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) in den verheirateten John Mayhew (Bruce Dern) verliebt. Die beiden haben vor nach Mexiko zu fliehen, er hat für sie sogar ein Lied "Hush Hush sweet Charlotte" geschrieben. Doch der Vater von Charlotte, der steinreiche und einflussreiche Big Sam Hollis (Victor Buono) erfährt von der untragbaren Liason und zwingt den Liebhaber sich von Charlotte fernzuhalten. Am gleichen Tag findet im Herrenhaus von Hollis ein riesiger Ball statt. John gibt Charlotte im Pavillon den Laufpass und wird später brutal ermordet. Die Hand wird ihm mit einem Schlachtermesser abgetrennt, ausserdem wird er enthauptet. Charlotte erscheint dann im Ballsaal mit einem blutigen Kleid.37 Jahre später: Die Kinder im Ort machen sich schon seit Jahren einen Spass mit einer Mutprobe. Wer den Mut hat in der Dunkelheit in das Haus zu gehen, der ist ein Held. Ausserdem haben sie schon vor Jahren den Song von Charlottes Liebhaber als Spottlied umgedichtet. Im Ort gilt Charlotte, die nie heiratete, als verschrobene, reizbare und leicht verrückte Einzelgängerin, für die die Zeit stehen geblieben ist. Sie gilt jedoch als harmlos, obwohl sie immer die Hauptverdächtige in diesem bis heute unaufgeklärten Mordfall des Jahres 1927 war. Sie hat nur eine echte Bezugsperson - die Haushälterin Velma (Agnes Moorehead). Gelegentlich schaut der Arzt Dr. Drew Bayliss (Joseph Cotten) vorbei. Oder neuerdings Luke Standish (Wesley Addy), der Sheriff des Orts, denn Charlotte will das alte Anwesen nicht verlassen - obwohl die Räumung schon angesetzt ist. Die schrullige Charlotte wäre wohlhabend genug, um in einem viel schöneren Haus zu wohnen. Doch sie hängt an ihren Erinnerungen fest und glaubt die Räumung wäre ein Komplott von Jewel Mayhew (Mary Astor), der Witwe ihres ehemaligen Lovers. Nur gut, dass vielleicht Hilfe in der Person ihrer Cousine Miriam Deering (Olivia de Havilland) kommt - zumindest setzt Charlotte auf sie. Mit dem Einzug von Miriam mehren sich aber auch mysteriöse und schreckliche Vorkomnisse im Haus. Kann es sein, dass Charlotte nun endgültig den Verstand verliert. Zur gleichen Zeit taucht auch der Versicherungsagent Harry Willis (Cecil Kellaway) in der Stadt auf, der sich für den alten Mordfall besonders interessiert....Natürlich spielt so ein erlesenes Ensemble mit riesiger Freude. Für Agnes Moorehead als Velma sprang sogar eine Oscar-Nominierung heraus. Nominiert wurde der Film ausserdem für die beste Kamera (Joseph Biroc), Art Directon (Glasgow & Bretton), Beste Kostüme (Norma Koch), bester Schnitt (Michael Luciano), beste Filmmusik (Frank de Vol), ausserdem wurde der Song selbst nominiert. Obwohl der Film viel weniger subtil ans Werk geht wie der Vorgänger. Dort bezieht die Geschichte ihren Horror aus dem Umgang der beiden Schwestern miteinander. In "Wiegenlied für eine Leiche" agiert Bette Davis noch überzogener - aber es funktioniert prächtig. Auch die Geschichte ist viel sadistischer und grob inszeniert. Eine eh schon durchgeknallte reiche Jungfrau soll wirklich verrückt im Sinne von "krank" gemacht werden. Dafür setzen die Übeltäter abgetrennte Körperteile ein, sie spielen nachts auf dem Klavier und rufen mit dem "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" ihr potentielles Opfer aus dem Bett. Eine Geschichte um Mord, Chaos und Täuschung. Sehr wendungsreich - wenn man an die vielen heutigen Filme mit den irren Wendungen denkt, dann ist "Wiegenlied für eine Leiche" sogar ein sehr zukunftsweisender Schocker. Für seine Entstehungszeit waren auch die Gruseleffekte recht krass. Aus heutiger Sicht natürlich schon etwas veraltet...aber es ist dennoch ein Vergnügen diesen kranken Südstaatencharakteren bei ihrem perfiden Spiel zuzusehen. Das Ende heißt Mord - aber auch Erlösung durch einen Brief.

conseille par un ami ce film que j ai recu etait en vo donc pas tres bien compris l histoire mais bon ca a l;aior passable mais bette davis trop exageree

Surprisingly this film is over 40 years old, and still captures one's imagination and attention. As a child, i was too young to see the film in the theaters, tho i do remember the film making it's TV debut, as it was a big deal for some reason back then.Seeing it on a black and white tv set dampered things a bit, as i thought that because of the grand scale the production seemed to possess that it was filmed in color. I was taken aback when i found out it was filmed in black and white. I only remembered at the time the dark scenes around the house, Bette Davis slowly deteriorating, and the 'mirror' scene near the end of the film with Davis confronting her dead 'ex lover'. Well, kinda. Won't give the ending away. Otherwise, it was scary all in all to me.It took years of waiting and seeing the film on different TV stations to finally get a video version of the film, which was uncut. TV at the time had a strange practice of editing down films to conform to their airtime, and also the violence to not offend the easily offended, tho sometimes makes a film incomprehensible.The violence in the film is minimal, tho the first murder is and was a shocking set-piece that sets the whole tone of the film. Unlike Joan Crawford's 'Straight-Jacket', a film that Crawford opted for after leaving Charlotte and replaced quickly by DeHavilland where ax murders continue, the initial horror is not repeated in Charlotte, but you never know, right? That's how a good horror film is made. It's not exactly what you see, it's what you think you may see.For it's time, the film boasted a boatfull of seasoned actors, and did a very good job with the material. The cinematography isn't as smooth as one would like, but given the time-span between murders and eerie moments a viewer needs to be on one's toes.It's a shame that the film wasn't photographed in color, but, according to Davis herself, the film would have looked like 'Gone With The Wind' if it was. DeHavilland was a superb replacement for Crawford, as her rather laid-back approach to acting played against type. She's no Melanie here, and gave another powerful performance. As for Joseph Cotten, for some reason i never did like his style of acting. Aside from his classic performance in Citizen Kane, Cotten seemed rather bored in his acting chores, and never grabbed my attention in anything else he did, including this film.Agnes Moorehead's performance was again, against type, as she by then was famous for her portrait of the over-bearing mother-in-law in 'Bewitched'. Here, she plays a dedicated servant, who is both outspoken, and knows from the early frames that something shady is going on.It took quite a few viewings to figure out who the actual killer was. Either i was stupid child, or because it was not actually 'said' who the killer was in a way where it seemed important at the time when Davis's character is being transported away from her home is lost. After a few viewings it did sink in that it was Cecil Kellaway's character who did fill in the empty blanks and let us realize what was going on.Most claim that the film's running time is rather long. One must think of the scope of the material involved, and you'll understand why it took some time to not only get to know each character, but slowly know thier intent, and importance in Charlotte's life.The expanded DVD version persented here is a curiousity. It has a few TV and film trailers, which are superb to look at. The quality of the film is again, superb.I was just wondering if there was any footage of Crawford on the set, or any footage shot of her in character. Would have been nice to see what she would have looked like if she actually did the film, but, much too late now.So, Charlotte is a classic melodrama with some horror thrown in for good measure. It's still not a film for the little kiddies, as some images may be a little disturbing, and in some areas they may become bored and fall asleep. For us adults, it's an example of good filmmaking, utilizing some of our most beloved actors.