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| Bette Davis & Olivia de Havilland go face to face in 1964’s southern gothic suspense movie, “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte
was a follow-up to the shock 1962 smash, What
Ever Occurred to Child Jane? Whereas Child
Jane was aptly launched that Halloween, Charlotte
oddly opened throughout the 1964 Christmas season. Each fright movies bought largely
good evaluations and made cash, however Child Jane
was the one which stayed mounted in film followers’ recollections, with its comedian horror
take a look at Hollywood. Nonetheless, Charlotte
succeeds as a straight-up southern gothic suspense movie. Whereas there are
quite a few similarities to Child Jane, Charlotte additionally has some surprises.
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| “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte” was the 4th and final movie that Olivia de Havilland & Bette Davis co-starred collectively. |
Apart
from the twisty story, the highest drawer solid actually places Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte over. Bette Davis, as Charlotte Hollis,
will get a raucous position to sink her tooth into. Davis’ son, Michael Merrill, stated that
she initially didn’t wish to play one other hag horror position and thought the
script was too ugly. Even after Child
Jane, work and cash for 50-something feminine stars have been scarce, so Bette accepted
Charlotte.
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| Victor Buono’s a giant daddy certainly, as Sam Hollis, who needs to ensure daughter Bette Davis does not change into a Jezebel! 1964’s “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte
begins with a prologue in 1927 on the Hollis household mansion. Patriarch Sam
Hollis is raging at John Mayhew, a married man who’s having an affair together with his
younger daughter, Charlotte. After some wrangling, John agrees to finish it. At a
ball within the Hollis mansion, Charlotte’s married lover meets her on the “summer season”
home. She doesn’t take the information effectively, regardless of John’s claims that he did love
her. Moments later, somebody comes again. John thinks its Charlotte and whoever
the customer is, they introduced a cleaver that’s been used to open champagne instances.
The ball involves a halt when Charlotte reappears with blood on her white ball
robe. Although she isn’t charged, everybody assumes that Charlotte butchered
John Mayhew. Reduce to current day 1964, with eccentric Charlotte combating the
authorities over shifting out of the household manse, to make means for freeway
development. When Charlotte’s Cousin Miriam comes to assist, it’s a fair
bumpier experience.
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| Bruce Dern’s characters suffered grisly flashback demises in each 1964’s “Marnie” & “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
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| Younger Charlotte’s fame is ceaselessly stained by the suspicion of homicide of John Mayhew, in 1964’s “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Whereas
Bette Davis doesn’t maintain again portraying Charlotte’s pepper pot character, she
has delicate moments too, comparable to scenes with a curious reporter, performed by Cecil
Kellaway. The identical is true of Agnes Moorehead as brash however devoted maid Velma.
Moorehead is actually outrageous in some scenes, particularly when she spars with Charlotte’s villains. Agnes has sly
silent moments in addition to honest ones, like when Velma goals to look out for
Charlotte’s welfare. The veteran character actress makes essentially the most of her over
the highest position and bought a well-deserved Greatest Supporting Actress Oscar nomination,
and profitable a supporting Golden Globe.
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| Agnes Moorehead has a subject day as fiesty housekeeper Velma, in 1964’s “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
As
Cousin Miriam, Olivia de Havilland makes one easy villain. Because the poor
relation taken in as a baby by the Hollis household, Miriam returns at
Charlotte’s behest. Olivia’s honeyed gentility and wide-eyed concern harkens
again to her traditional position as Melanie in Gone
with the Wind. Besides this time, her southern cousin IS too good to be
true. Certainly one of Olivia’s few dangerous woman roles, she’s fairly intriguing, and solely goes
excessive like her different feminine co-stars when Miriam exhibits her
hand—generally actually!
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| Olivia de Havilland performs “candy” Cousin Miriam in “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Barbara
Stanwyck stated that she was by no means requested to play Miriam, as generally written, however
was requested to play Jewel Mayhew, John’s spouse. Which Stanwyck turned down, as
the half consisted of two scenes. On this cameo position, Mary Astor as Jewel is
mesmerizing. Mary performs a dying girl in her ultimate appearing job, and performs the
position merely and hauntingly. Mary’s encounter with Olivia is zingy, and her lengthy
scene with Kellaway is melancholy. Astor makes
each second rely.
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| Mary Astor is great in her cameo position as Jewel Mayhew, the spouse of Charlotte’s slain lover. From 1964’s Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
There
are a number of encore actors from Child
Jane: Victor Buono performs Charlotte’s imposing Large Daddy, Sam Hollis;
Wesley Addy—Blanche Hudson’s “good Dr. Shelby”—is the sheriff who should deal
with cranky Charlotte; and Dave Willock, Child Jane’s beloved daddy, is the cab
driver who brings Miriam again to the scene of the crime.
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| Joseph Cotten was the unique Dr. Drew! He is Charlotte’s doc and Miriam’s ex-suitor in 1964’s “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Joseph
Cotten presents his easy southern attraction, performed with laconic humor, as Drew
Bayliss, Charlotte’s physician and Miriam’s former beau. Cotton co-starred with
Bette Davis 15 years earlier, in her WB swan track, Past the Forest. George Kennedy simply tangled with Crawford in Strait-Jacket, and does the identical as head
demolition man in Hollisport. Bruce Dern performs John Mayhew, Charlotte’s married
beau, within the prologue. Later, he’d work once more with Davis, as one her felony
sons, in a really particular Gunsmoke
episode. Cecil Kellaway’s light scene stealing presents distinction to a few of the
women and their surroundings chewing. And
search for John Megna (Dill from To Kill a
Mockingbird) as the brand new child who’s dared to go inside outcast Charlotte
Hollis’ mansion. Lillian Randolph, the beloved Annie of It’s a Fantastic Life, is without doubt one of the packing women; squeaky-voiced
Percy Felton is the funeral director; The
Waltons Ellen Corby and Helen Kleeb are native gossips; and Frank Ferguson
performs the native newspaper editor, whereas he was enjoying Eli Carson on TV’s Peyton Place.
Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte
has the identical upsides and drawbacks as Child
Jane. On the plus facet, the solid is uniformly good, the story entertaining,
and the manufacturing values sturdy. The debit facet is usually director Robert
Aldrich’s weak factors. Whereas he’s a robust storyteller at his finest, Aldrich’s
tendency to overstatement causes Charlotte
to run 2 and ¼ hours, and like Child Jane,
about quarter-hour too lengthy. Each motion pictures have entertaining however prolonged prologues
and drag a bit within the final half. Each thrillers have some plot factors that
don’t bear scrutiny. Additionally, each motion pictures have theme songs that get reprised one
time too many!
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| Cecil Kellaway as a curious reporter & Bette Davis as Charlotte share some delicate moments in “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Amongst
the opposite similarities between Charlotte
and Child Jane: Prologues that get a
kicker within the movies’ finales; two outspoken housekeepers; Bette as a disturbed
daughter with daddy points; Davis’ antagonists are charming phonies; useless
our bodies that have to be disposed of; and Charlotte and Jane’s final scenes are of them
being gawked at by onlookers.
Charlotte
and Child Jane have been made within the early
‘60s, when there was the final vestige of movie glamour versus plot sense. In Jane, Joan Crawford’s invalid Blanche
nonetheless has pretty nail polish and lipstick regardless of having been a recluse for 3
a long time. In Charlotte, after Bette
Davis bravely threw down the glamour gauntlet as weird Child Jane, is that this
day out the star that sneaks in a bit glam for her ageing Jezebel. Although
Charlotte Hollis has seen solely the maid and her doc for the final 35 plus years,
she nonetheless sports activities make-up mortician Gene Hibbs’ battle paint. And wears excessive heels,
when not operating round barefoot sporting a nightie and a shotgun! If solely
Bette had sported a extra genuine no-makeup seem like co-star Mary Astor. However
then, perhaps that’s why Bette was enjoying the title position and Astor had a
two-scene cameo. Curiously, Olivia de Havilland exhibits her Paris lifestyle
in her personal Dior wardrobe and stylish bouffant, plus make-up that stays contained in the
strains of her facial options!
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| “I believed this Gene Hibbs make-up was alleged to make me look youthful!” |
A lot
has been made from Joan Crawford’s departure from Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte. I’ll solely say that Joan may have
performed the silky villain with assurance and magnificence. The truth is, Crawford performed a
variety of charismatic, insincere varieties for practically 15 years earlier than Charlotte. Who is aware of whether or not Joan left
as a result of she was genuinely sick or simply sick of sparring with Bette Davis.
Crawford claimed sickness in one other tense state of affairs practically 20 years earlier than,
on Oscar night time of 1946, with related hypothesis. What’s unlucky is that some
Joan followers take out their ire on Olivia, who was a reluctant final minute
alternative. Crawford in all probability would have performed in a grander type, nearer to
Bette and Agnes’ performances. However Olivia’s casting towards kind, as a cool
villain is its personal enjoyable.
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| Joan Crawford was to play Cousin Miriam however claimed sickness and dropped out. |
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| Was this the sparkly costume that Olivia’s Miriam discovered slashed within the closet? |
Trivia:
Was the sparkly costume that Olivia’s Miriam finds slashed in her closet the one
that Joan’s Miriam wore for the homecoming dinner scene? Additionally, I discovered it
amusing that Bette, who appreciated to slap co-stars as a lot as Joan did, chickened
out within the automotive scene the place Miriam drops her masks. Although new Miriam Olivia was
a long-time good friend and co-star, Bette requested that her slaps be faked, and it
exhibits! Lastly, whereas a youthful double is used for Charlotte, why on earth did
they use Bette’s 60-ish cigarette voice, the place she tried to sound youthful?
And
typical of the mid-century moviemaking, the flashback scene of a ‘20s celebration
seems to be like a ‘60s promenade with a flapper theme. Additionally unlucky is that the one
blood on Charlotte’s costume is on her lap space! Not less than the opposite ladies didn’t
throw tampons at her, like Carrie!
The
story/script by Henry Farrell and Lukas is most intelligent, regardless of some holes in
logic. The music by DeVol is atmospheric, and Joseph Biroc’s fantastic
cinematography is hanging and actually provides to the temper. Additionally, I’ve visited one
of the 2 Louisiana’s mansions featured in Charlotte.
Miriam’s house is definitely Oak Alley Plantation and it’s beautiful.
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| Mary Astor as Jewel, with a the reporter, performed by Cecil Kellaway. Jewel’s house is represented by the Oak Alley plantation. “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Right here’s
my tackle the legendary Child Jane! https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2016/10/bette-and-joans-acting-duel-whatever.html
Right here’s
the one different time Olivia performed evil,
in The Darkish Mirror! https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2023/07/10-takeaways-olivia-de-havilland-dark.html
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| Bette Davis & Olivia de Havilland aren’t precisely kissin’ cousins in 1964’s “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
