Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Director:

Robert Aldrich

Writers:

Henry Farrell (screenplay) &
Lukas Heller (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

24 December 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't Tell Anyone What Happened In The Summer House!

Plot:

An aging, reclusive southern belle, plagued by a horrifying family secret, descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | House | Guilt | Recluse | Southern Belle

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 5 wins

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Charlotte
Olivia de Havilland	...	Miriam
Joseph Cotten	...	Drew
Agnes Moorehead	...	Velma
Cecil Kellaway	...	Harry
Victor Buono	...	Big Sam
Mary Astor	...	Jewel
Wesley Addy	...	Sheriff
William Campbell	...	Paul Marchand
Bruce Dern	...	John Mayhew
Frank Ferguson	...	Editor
George Kennedy	...	Foreman
Dave Willock	...	Taxi Driver
Michel Petit	...	Gang Leader (as Michael Petit)
John Megna	...	New Boy
Kelly Flynn	...	2nd Boy
Percy Helton	...	Funeral Director
Alida Aldrich	...	Young Girl
Kelly Aldrich	...	3rd Boy
William Aldrich	...	Boy Dancer
Carol Delay	...	Geraldine
Ellen Corby	...	Town Gossip
Marianne Stewart	...	Town Gossip
Helen Kleeb	...	Town Gossip
Lillian Randolph	...	Cleaning Woman
Geraldine West	...	Cleaning Woman
Maye Henderson	...	Cleaning Woman (as Mary Henderson)
Bill Walker	...	Chauffeur (as William Walker)
Idell James	...	Ginny Mae
Teddy Buckner and His All-Stars	...	Band (as Teddy Buckner And His All Stars)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Robert Adler	...	Mr. Howard - 1927 Party Guest (uncredited)
Teddy Buckner	...	Jazz Band Trumpeter (uncredited)
Jerry Leggio	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Aldrich

Writing credits
Henry Farrell		(screenplay) &
Lukas Heller		(screenplay)
Henry Farrell		(story)

Produced by
Robert Aldrich	....	producer
Walter Blake	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Frank De Vol		(as DeVol)

Cinematography by
Joseph F. Biroc		(director of photography) (as Joseph Biroc)

Film Editing by
Michael Luciano

Art Direction by
William Glasgow

Set Decoration by
Raphael Bretton

Costume Design by
Norma Koch

Makeup Department
Gene Hibbs	....	makeup artist
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Robert J. Schiffer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Peggy Shannon	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Monty Westmore	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Jack R. Berne	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William McGarry	....	assistant director
William F. Sheehan	....	assistant director
Sam Strangis	....	assistant director

Art Department
John La Salandra	....	construction coordinator
John Orlando	....	property master

Sound Department
Bernard Freericks	....	sound mixer
Herman Lewis	....	sound mixer

Stunts
Evelyn Finley	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Albert Woodbury	....	orchestrator (as Al Woodbury)
Bob Bain	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)

Other crew
Adell Aldrich	....	script apprentice (as Adell Aldrich Bravos)
Robert Gary	....	script supervisor
Robert Sherman	....	dialogue supervisor

Production Companies

• Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1964) (USA) (theatrical)
• Centfox (1965) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1968) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Key Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Australia:M | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Spain:T | Germany:12 (nf) | West Germany:18 (nf) | USA:Approved (certificate #20791) | Canada:PG (video rating) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Greystone Park & Mansion - 905 Loma Vista Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Associates & Aldrich Company, The

Trivia:

Life magazine was interested in the re-teaming of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, so Robert Aldrich thought it would be a great idea to have the women pose for photographs sitting on tombstones. Davis was all for it while Crawford was a little reluctant, but because it was for Life magazine she went along with it. Aldrich had a fake cemetery built a short distance away from the house and the photos were done in three to four sessions. The sessions were done during filming, and lasted for hours. Joan would be ready when Bette would be called away. Then when Bette returned, Joan would be gone, back in her trailer, with her clothes off, resting. She would take a long time getting ready. For the last session, Bette came back and Joan was missing, so Davis went to the back of the house to Crawford's dressing room, rapped on the door, stood outside and yelled, "Joan Crawford. Get your clothes on and come do these photographs, right away." Joan came hurtling out the door and the photographs were finished.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Charlotte is telling Miriam off at the dining table ("Sounds pretty dirty to me!") she lifts her wine glass to her mouth; a split second later she is lifting it mid-air.

Quotes:

Charlotte:What do you think I asked you here for? COMPANY?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "This Is Your Life: Bette Davis" (1971)

Soundtrack:

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Great film but slightly flawed in the middle

John Mayhew (Bruce Dern), a married man, is having an affair with Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis). When Charlotte's father, Sam (Victor Buono), a local bigwig (the town is even named after the family) finds out that John was planning on eloping with Charlotte, he demands that John tells Charlotte during a big party that he's breaking off their relationship. John ends up dead, and Charlotte is the likely suspect. Thirty-seven years later, Charlotte is still living as a recluse on her family's plantation, but now she is being forced to move, as a highway is going to be built across her property. Gradually, people come back into her life to ostensibly help her.

For at least the first 45 minutes to an hour or so into the film, Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte is a 10 out of 10. Unfortunately, given a 133-minute running time, director Robert Aldrich can't sustain the intensity for the length of the film, but Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte finishes as an 8 out of 10 for me.

Although there are some thriller and horror elements, both take up relatively little screen time. At that though, these elements are extremely effective. Some parts are surprisingly graphic for 1964--just enough to be a surprise and evoke the appropriate sense of shock. The best horror/thriller material in the film is in the haunted house vein, and for a time, we wonder if Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte is going to end up being a ghost story.

But the focus here is primarily on Charlotte and Miriam Deering (Olivia de Havilland) and their relationship to one another. Davis and de Havilland are both incredible in the film, and both go through a very wide range of emotions. Oddly, Agnes Moorehead (as Velma Cruther) was more recognized for her performance than the rest of the cast in terms of awards and nominations, with de Havilland receiving neither. Not that Moorehead wasn't good, but in my view, she wasn't the standout performance. However, that's just further fuel for my belief that the Academy Awards have little to do with rewarding the best films, actors and filmmakers.

There are also broader themes explored as a subtext, including the changing way of life in the southern United States between the early and mid-20th Century.

I subtracted two points because the film lost a bit of its momentum and direction in the middle, but the last half-hour is as exciting as the beginning.