Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965)
Hush, Hush, Sweet
Charlotte (1965)
The surprise hit, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane” (1962)
triggered the remarkable revival of the careers of its aging and fading Stars
Betty Davis and Joan Crawford and created
a short-lived Horror sub-Genre called “Grand Dame Guignol” or (less respectfully) “Psycho-Biddy” or “Hagsploitation.”
I’m not surprised the film’s Studio, the Associates and Aldrich, was
thrilled that their leader, Director Robert Aldrich, was willing to do another
film in the same vein, but I’m surprised that he was, at least at first, looking
forward to doing it with the same two stars. By all accounts, during “What Ever
Happened …” Davis and Crawford, who had long hated each other, made everybody’s
life a total hell. Their Diva-ish behavior became so Legendary there was
eventually a TV series about it, “Feud” (2017).
Both Actresses were once legendary beauties but by
this point had been far kinder to Crawford’s face than Davis’, so one would’ve
expected Crawford’s renewed Stardom would burn brighter, but that’s not how it
worked out. She proved the more intolerable of the two notorious [rhymes with “Witches”]
and soon was reduced to really embarrassing projects while Davis remained in
demand until the late-1980s even though she was, by-then, too physically frail
to continue working (during the production of her last film, “The Wicked
Stepmother” (1989), which she didn’t complete, she wasn’t only difficult, she
was dying).
One could’ve
predicted both actresses’ ultimate fate had they been behind the scenes for the
production of “Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte.” Crawford accepted the role only on the condition that her name come
first in Billing, apparently angry that film Davis got an Oscar nod for the
first film and she didn’t. On set, Crawford and Davis went to War again
almost immediately, Davis allegedly told Aldrich of Crawford, "I wouldn't
piss on her if she was on fire." After only ten days, Crawford walked off and
checked herself into a Hospital claiming Respiratory Issues, but Aldrich
thought that was contrived and eventually fired her. Crawford reacted, "I heard the
news of my replacement over the radio, lying in my hospital bed ... I cried for
nine hours.”
Meanwhile, Davis
rocked the house. She’d agreed to allowing Crawford’s Top-Billing in exchange
for being paid more than the other Crawford and ultimately walked home with
even more money than Producer/Director Aldrich. In fairness, she earned it, not only for her performance but
her un-titled duties as Associate Producer and tirelessly promoted the film,
showing great public generosity to the contributions of others, and famously
preforming the title song repeatedly in public even though she didn’t sing it in
the film or record it in a studio. Critic Kenneth Tynan asserted that
Davis "has done nothing better since ‘The Little Foxes’
[1941]."
Still, Alrich was desperate, “Hush, Hush,
Sweet …” was already burdened with a bigger budget than “What Ever Happened …”
and was going over-budget with each day’s delay (I do not know what the
original budget projections were, but “What Ever Happened …” was made for a
total of $980,000 while “Hush, Hush, Sweet …” ultimately ballooned to nearly
$2.5 million). He reached out to numerous actresses “of a certain age,” and was
turned down one-time-after-another. Most famous of these were Katharine Hepburn, who didn't return the studio's
calls, and Vivien Leigh, who said, "No, thank you. I can just about stand
looking at Joan Crawford's face at six o'clock in the morning, but not Bette
Davis'."
Davis recommended her good friend Olivia de Havilland and Aldrich
flew to a remote Resort in Switzerland to make a personal appeal. “I spent four
terribly difficult days with all the persuasion I could command ... I don't
believe half of the things I said myself; but I knew there was no other place
to go. If I came back without de Havilland, we wouldn't have a picture, because
we had gone through all the other people that Fox would live with.'" 20th
c. Fox didn’t make the film, but they were a large part of the financing and Associates
with Alrich needed them to distribute it.
Olivia de Havilland later remembered,
"I always thought it would be fun if [Bette and I] could work together.
Then, I was offered the chance to work with her on the film that became ‘Hush,
Hush, Sweet Charlotte’ when Joan Crawford withdrew. I knew Bette wanted
badly to work, and ‘Jane’ had been such a success that Bette
was quite anxious. They had to find the replacement, and Bette wanted me. The
problem was I wasn't as anxious to work as she was. I didn't need to. I wasn't
thrilled with the script, and I definitely didn't like my part. I was
reverse-typecast, being asked to be an unsympathetic villain. It wasn't what
people expected of me. It wasn't really what I wanted to do. Bette wanted it so
much, so I did it. I can't say I regretted it, because working with her was
special, but I can't say it was a picture I am proud to put on my résumé. Given
the choice, I wouldn't have deprived Joan Crawford of the honor ..."
“[It]was full of traps, it was a delicate
tight-rope walking assignment. I found that very interesting. Aldrich gave it a
very special style, a kind of dark glittering style which fascinated me. It's
always the charming ones of evil intent who are the dangerous ones; the others
you can see coming. But you can't see Miriam [de Havilland's Character] coming,
and she's really dangerous."
According to Film Historian Hal Erickson. "On the first
day of shooting, Davis and de Havilland pulled a ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead’
routine by toasting one another with Coca-Cola - a catty observation of the
fact that Joan Crawford's [late] husband was an executive of the Pepsi-Cola
company!"
This film contributed to de Havilland’s comeback. She was
also a Stage Actress and doing quite well, but had been doing fewer films that were
less successful for almost a decade, but following this and another Grand Dame Guignol of the
same year, “Lady in a Cage,” she found herself much in demand for film and TV.
Ultimately, a few seconds of Crawford did remain, though in a
scene where she’s too small to be recognized. The Production had been plagued
with many delays, not just Crawford taking a hike, and ultimately didn’t have
time for all the needed reshoots. When the Character Miriam arrives at the
mansion, it’s Crawford in the taxi.
The whole cast was remarkable good, reflecting the primary
strength of the first film and therefore Aldrich’s exceptional skills. That’s
why these two are virtually the only Grand Dame Guignols anybody bothers watching anymore. I’d argue this film’s Acting is even superior
to the of the first film and that the richly textured Cinematography of Joseph Biroc surpassed the earlier achievement
of Ernest Haller. Biroc especially impressive
with the location footage shot at the
Houmas House Plantation in Burnside, Louisiana. As for what was studio bound, he
was much aided by William Glasgow’s superb
set designs. Biroc had already
collaborated with Aldrich in the past and, following this film, would become Aldrich’s
primary Cinematographer.
Unfortunately the script,
by Henry Farrell and Lukas Heller, was weaker. It was based
on Farrell’s unpublished short story, "What Ever Happened to Cousin
Charlotte?" Farrell was the author of the novel the first film was based
on, and the title clearly indicates this tale was meant to ride on the other
film’s coat-tails from inception. Heller did the script adaptation of Farrell’s
novel into the first film.
The change of the title to “Hush, Hush, Sweet …” was
promoted by Davis who feared this film would be mistaken for a sequel. "They had already composed a song for
the film, and I liked it. It was sort of a lullaby that started off with 'Hush,
hush, sweet Charlotte,' and I suggested that might be a better title.” This also
had a marketing impact. Composer Frank de Vol wrote it, Patti Page
preformed it commercially (Al Martino sung it in the film) and it became a Top
Ten Hit. De Vol was another holdover from
“What Even Happened…” and composed the whole of this film’s beautiful, heavy on
the harpsicord, score.
Critic Bosley Crowther, harder on the film than
he should’ve been, still nailed its fundamental flaw, “So, instead of coming
out funny, as did ‘Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?’ it comes out grisly,
pretentious, disgusting and profoundly annoying.”
Though the dialogue was energetic, the story was
uninspired. It lifted plot points from both “Diabolique” (1955) and
“Straight Jacket” (1964, also starring Crawford) and everyone could see that. It
tells the story of an elderly woman, the Charlotte Hollis of the title (Davis)
who might not be in a cage but certainly wasn’t free. Her whole life had been
over-shadowed as she was suspected of a gruesome Murder of her married lover
John Hayward (Bruce Dern) which she was never charged for. Everyone in the town
thinks she’s crazy (she isn’t, or at least not yet) and her pride and joy, a
grand Planation House is decrepit and facing demolition for an Interstate
Highway Project.
It opens with a longish prologue is set in 1927 and details
the Murder (the goriest scene I saw on TV during the 1970s). Then film then jumps
to the contemporary with children harassing Charlotte in the dark of night, in
the local folklore the Planation House is said to be Haunted. Davis is first
seen in the Charlotte role alone, vulnerable, half-asleep and confused, also
hag-like. She calls out the name of her dead lover. Then the title sequence
featuring a cruel parody of the title song tauntingly sung be the children.
In the very next scene, we get a much different image
of Charlotte, not yet losing her wits and proving herself indominable as she chases
away a Construction Crew away with her shotgun. Apparently, Charotte’s only
friend at that point is her crotchety Servant Velma Cruther (Agnes Morehead).
Though for several this film and “What Ever Happened
…” represented a career revival, that wasn’t true with Morehead only because it
wasn’t necessary. Still, it brought her the greatest honors of her career, an
Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win.
Charlotte calls on her less-wealthy cousin Miriam
for help with the threat from the State and on arrival Miriam hooks up with her
old-flame Dr. Drew Bayliss (Joesph Cotton). Miriam is there to rescue, but is
full of spite towards Charlotte. The poisonous semi-sisterly relationship reflects
first film except with a role reversal, Davis as Baby Jane had been the chilling one, but as Charlotte she’s the victim and is often
touching, Meanwhile de Haviland in Crawford’s role is the persecutor. Oh
course, Davis still gets to be the crazy one and having an utter ball. Critic
Rob Aldam wrote, “Davis delivers a performance which flits between
regal and harridan.”
Charlotte starts hearing music that no one else can,
it’s a song her dead lover wrote for her. Then she is terrified by a
disembodied hand and later head (John had been dismembered).
Velma, at least, doesn’t think Charlotte’s losing it,
she thinks Miriam and Drew are up to no good. She seeks help from Harry Willis
(Cecil Kellaway), an Insurance Investigator long fascinated by John’s famous
murder. This gets Velma fired by Miriam.
Harry visits John’s widow, Jewel (Mary Astor), who
is dying, and she gives Willis an envelope only to be opened after her death.
The film ends with two surprise twists, but at this
point, pretty early in, both have been heavily telegraphed. The strongest legitimate
criticism of this film is that its Horror comes off as watered-down a Tennessee Williams.
Astor would’ve enjoyed the same career revival as so
many others but didn’t want it; she was already happily retired after more than
forty-years in cinema and only took the role because of her friendship with
Davis:
“My agent called:
'There's this cameo in a movie with Bette Davis. It's a hell of a part; it
could put you right up there again.' I read the script. The opening shot
described a severed head rolling down the stairs, and each page contained more
blood and gore and hysterics and cracked mirrors and everybody being awful to
everybody else. I skipped to my few pages–a little old lady sitting on her
veranda waiting to die. There was a small kicker to it inasmuch as it was she
who was the murderess in her youth and had started all the trouble. And then in
the story, she died. Good! Now, I'd really be dead! And it was with Bette–which
seemed sentimentally fitting …
“[T]he locale was the deep South and
we went on location to Baton Rouge and it was hellish hot … It was an hour's
drive from the hotel and we had to get up at the crack of dawn-naturally! The
first day of shooting I was, as always, full of anxiety tremors. Every actor
worth his salt has them, and you never get over it. I had lots
of dialogue in a southern accent, and I had never worked with the director, Bob
Aldrich.
“Bette was not in the scene and so
naturally had the day off. But she had the sensitivity and courtesy to take the
long drive out to the location and be a friendly, familiar face on the
sidelines. 'Hi, Astor!' said she, 'You look great!' And I knew that she didn't
mean the usual Hollywood flattery. She took a quick look at my costume,
listened to my accent, watched a rehearsal, and said to Aldrich, 'Turn her
loose, Robert, you might learn something!'"
Aldrich underlined the
connection between to two films by casting a three more people from “What Ever
Happened to … ” in “Hush, Hush, Sweet …” the above-mentioned Bruno, Wesley
Addy, and Dave
Willock.
The film is less admired today than it was at the
time, it’s now viewed as a lesser effort to “What Even Happened …” Back in the
day though, it received seven Osar nominations (no wins), so two more
than “What Ever Happened …” (which had wins for Best Costume and Sound) but,
oddly, one less in the acting category, Davis got snubbed. Still, it broke the
record for Oscar nods for a Horror film up to that point. It was also a hit,
though not quite as much so as “What Ever Happened…”
Aldrich would dip his toe into the Grand Dame Guignol one more time, but only as Producer. He hired
prolific TV Director Lee H. Katzin to helm “What Even
Happened to Aunt Alice” (1969). There seems a sense throughout that it would be
futile to try to top the first two films, so they didn’t even try, but they
still kept in entertaining and found a new story, the adventures of septuagenarian
Amateur Detective Ruth Gordon going dangerously undercover to expose sexagenarian Serial Killer
Geraldine Page.
Trailer:
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