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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 in the course of the 1964 Christmas season. Each fright movies received principally
good opinions and made cash, however Child Jane
was the one which stayed mounted in film followers’ recollections, with its comedian horror
have 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 function to sink her enamel into. Davis’ son, Michael Merrill, mentioned that
she initially didn’t wish to play one other hag horror function and thought the
script was too grotesque. 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 an enormous daddy certainly, as Sam Hollis, who needs to ensure daughter Bette Davis would not turn out to be 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 time”
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 circumstances.
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. Lower to current day 1964, with eccentric Charlotte combating the
authorities over transferring out of the household manse, to make approach for freeway
development. When Charlotte’s Cousin Miriam comes to assist, it’s an excellent
bumpier journey.
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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 popularity is perpetually 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 persona, she
has refined moments too, similar 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 really 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 function and received a well-deserved Greatest Supporting Actress Oscar nomination,
and profitable a supporting Golden Globe.
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| Agnes Moorehead has a discipline 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 toddler by the Hollis household, Miriam returns at
Charlotte’s behest. Olivia’s honeyed gentility and wide-eyed concern harkens
again to her traditional function as Melanie in Gone
with the Wind. Besides this time, her southern cousin IS too good to be
true. One among Olivia’s few dangerous lady roles, she’s fairly intriguing, and solely goes
excessive like her different feminine co-stars when Miriam reveals her
hand—generally actually!
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| Olivia de Havilland performs “candy” Cousin Miriam in “Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte.” |
Barbara
Stanwyck mentioned 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 function, Mary Astor as Jewel is
mesmerizing. Mary performs a dying girl in her remaining appearing job, and performs the
function merely and hauntingly. Mary’s encounter with Olivia is zingy, and her lengthy
scene with Kellaway is melancholy. Astor makes
each second depend.
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| Mary Astor is excellent in her cameo function 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 Massive 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 affords 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 tune, 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 legal
sons, in a really particular Gunsmoke
episode. Cecil Kellaway’s light scene stealing affords distinction to a few of the
girls 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 Great Life, is among the packing girls; 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 taking part in Eli Carson on TV’s Peyton Place.
Hush… Hush, Candy Charlotte
has the identical upsides and disadvantages as Child
Jane. On the plus aspect, the solid is uniformly good, the story entertaining,
and the manufacturing values sturdy. The debit aspect is generally director Robert
Aldrich’s weak factors. Whereas he’s a powerful 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 films 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 films 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 refined 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
trip the star that sneaks in somewhat glam for her growing old 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’ warfare paint. And wears excessive heels,
when not working round barefoot sporting a nightie and a shotgun! If solely
Bette had sported a extra genuine no-makeup appear to be co-star Mary Astor. However
then, possibly that’s why Bette was taking part in the title function and Astor had a
two-scene cameo. Curiously, Olivia de Havilland reveals 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 assumed this Gene Hibbs make-up was alleged to make me look youthful!” |
A lot
has been fabricated 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 elegance. The truth is, Crawford performed a
variety of charismatic, insincere varieties for almost 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 almost 20 years earlier than,
on Oscar night time of 1946, with comparable hypothesis. What’s unlucky is that some
Joan followers take out their ire on Olivia, who was a reluctant final minute
substitute. 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 gown that Olivia’s Miriam discovered slashed within the closet? |
Trivia:
Was the sparkly gown 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 preferred 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 pal and co-star, Bette requested that her slaps be faked, and it
reveals! 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 get together
seems like a ‘60s promenade with a flapper theme. Additionally unlucky is that the one
blood on Charlotte’s gown is on her lap space! A minimum of the opposite women 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 great
cinematography is putting and really provides to the temper. Additionally, I’ve visited one
of the 2 Louisiana’s mansions featured in Charlotte.
Miriam’s dwelling is definitely Oak Alley Plantation and it’s gorgeous.
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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.” |
