Bette Davis

Olivia de Havilland

Joseph Cotten

Agnes Moorehead

Cecil Kellaway

Victor Buono

Mary Astor

Wesley Addy

William Campbell

Bruce Dern

Frank Ferguson

George Kennedy

Dave Willock

John Megna

Percy Helton

Kelly Flynn

Michel Petit

Alida Aldrich

Kelly Aldrich

William Aldrich

Ellen Corby

Carol Delay

Helen Kleeb

Marianne Stewart

Mary Henderson

Lillian Randolph

Geraldine West

Bill Walker

Idell James

Teddy Buckner

Cosmo Sardo

Robert Aldrich

Henry Farrell

Frank De Vol

Joseph F. Biroc

Michael Luciano

Evelyn Finley

Lukas Heller

William Glasgow

Raphael Bretton

Norma Koch

Robert Gary

John LaSalandra

Gene Hibbs

William McGarry

Sam Strangis

William F. Sheehan

Adell Aldrich

Herman Lewis

Bernard Freericks

Robert Sherman

Albert Woodbury

Mack David

Walter Blake

Jack R. Berne

Al Martino

John Orlando

Horror

Mystery

Thriller

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte

The Associates & Aldrich Company

20th Century Fox

United States of America

Glorious Southern Gothic Delirium.
 
Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is directed by Robert Aldrich and written by Henry Farrell and Lukas Heller. It stars Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead, Cecil Kellaway and Mary Astor. Music is by Frank De Vol and cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc.
 
It’s 1927, the Louisiana plantation home of Sam Hollis (Victor Buono), and Charlotte Hollis (Davis) is having an affair with a married man, John Mayhew (Bruce Dern). After a heated argument between Sam and John, John is brutally slain by an unseen assailant, only Charlotte appears on the scene covered in blood. Then it’s the present day and just Charlotte and her house keeper, Velma (Moorehead) live at the Hollis mansion, Sam having passed away many years ago. Charlotte is mentally scarred from the echoes of the past, she’s a recluse and seen by the townsfolk as the local mental case. As developers try to plough a road through the Hollis home, Charlotte sends for her cousin Miriam (Havilland), but then strange things start happening and Charlotte might once and for all tip over the edge.
 
A bit long at 2 hours 13 minutes and a bit too bonkers at times, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte still comes out as glorious Guignol entertainment. The setting is perfect, a Baton Rouge locale of whispering trees and ominous foliage, the Hollis mansion a place of dark secrets, shadowy halls and mental disintegration. Biroc’s black and white photography seems to revel in the misery and emotional turmoil that blows about the place, and the brilliant Aldrich unleashes delirious turns from Davis and Moorehead as the others play perfectly restrained foil. There’s a strong mystery element driving the plot forward, because what we think is true may not actually be the case? The narrative deftly reveals back stories as film progresses, hints at means and motives dangle tantalisingly in the Gothic tinged air, and then the finale doesn’t disappoint, it has some surprises in store and closes the picture down handsomely.
 
Best served with a good helping of Sour Mash, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is Southern Gothicana with bells on. Or should that be Belles? 8/10

English

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte ≣ 1964 ≣ Trailer #2

Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte ≣ 1964 ≣ Trailer #1

HUSH.HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (Masters of Cinema) New & Exclusive HD Trailer