The Nanny (1965)

There's just something not quite right when Bette Davis stars as an English nanny. And is her 10-year-old charge an emotionally disturbed murderer or just an insolent brat?

Director:

Seth Holt

Writers:

Jimmy Sangster (screenplay), Marryam Modell (novel) (as Evelyn Piper)

Stars:

Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, Jill Bennett

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bette Davis	...	Nanny
Wendy Craig	...	Virginia Fane
Jill Bennett	...	Aunt Pen
James Villiers	...	Bill Fane
William Dix	...	Joey Fane
Pamela Franklin	...	Bobbie Medman
Jack Watling	...	Dr. Medman
Maurice Denham	...	Dr. Beamaster
Alfred Burke	...	Dr. Wills
Harry Fowler	...	Milkman
Angharad Aubrey	...	Susy Fane
Nora Gordon	...	Mrs. Griggs
Sandra Power	...	Sarah

Storyline

Bette Davis is an English nanny whose charge is a rude 10-year-old Joey, just discharged from a disturbed children's home where he'd spent two years undergoing treatment for drowning his little sister in the bath. He returns to an unloving father, fragile mother, and doting nanny -- whom he hates. Suspicion arises again when his mother is poisoned, and Joey continues to insist Nanny is responsible. Joey contends the nanny was responsible for his little sister's death, and only the upstairs neighbour girl believes him.

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Plot Keywords:

london england | nanny | drowning | woman dies from abortion | dead woman with eyes open | 

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Taglines:

Would you trust the nanny . . . or the boy?

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1966 (Italy)

Also Known As:

A merced del odio

Filming Locations:

Walmer Road, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films, Seven Arts Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the first of many co-productions between Britain's Hammer Films and U.S. production company Seven Arts Productions. The partnership resulted in many other films over the next four years, including Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), One Million Years B.C. (1966), The Plague of the Zombies (1966), Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), The Reptile (1966), The Witches (1966), The Mummy's Shroud (1967), Prehistoric Women (1967), The Viking Queen (1967), The Anniversary (1968), The Devil Rides Out (1968), The Lost Continent (1968) and The Vengeance of She (1968).

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Goofs

In the scene where they put the doll into the bathtub to scare the nanny: When they first pick up the doll, it has blonde hair, then when they put it into the bathtub, it has black hair, then when the nanny finds it, it has blonde hair again. This is a technique that is repeated throughout the second half of the film, whenever the bathtub death is revisited by the characters.

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Quotes

Joey Fane: I'm cold.
Bobbie Medman: I'll get you something to wear.
Joey Fane: I'm not going to wear any girl's clothes!
Bobbie Medman: I'll get you some of my father's.

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Connections

Referenced in What's My Line?: Danny Kaye, Yves Saint-Laurent & Bette Davis (1965)

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Soundtracks

Shaking Shadows
(uncredited)
Music by Sam Fonteyn
KPM Music Ltd

User Reviews

Creepy and disturbing

There was something about Bette Davis that made everything she did great viewing. Whether she was evil Bette, headstrong Bette or misguided Bette, she dominated all her films. In this film she is strange Bette, a queer housekeeper that could just be off her rocker. The film rachets up the tension from the very beginning. No setup at the beginning to explain anything, any questions the viewer might have will be answered in due time. The one problem, as with all films dealing with troublesome kids is that William Dix's Joey is so rotten in the beginning that one wants someone to knock him off, also he displays an unusual amount of intelligence for a 10 year old boy. But watch this for Davis as you wonder, did she or didn't she.