| | | Cinema Classics Collection.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, English, French, Spanish, Subtitled, Sensormatic
This is the tale of a wealthy southern spinster Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) who lives with her eccentric maid (Agnes Moorehead) in a decaying southern mansion, shunned by the townsfolk after the mysterious axe-murder of her late lover.When her jealous cousin (Olivia de Havilland) and her cousin's wily husband (Joseph Cotten) arrive for a visit, the two conspire to drive Charlotte insane and have her commited so the two can sell off her estate and pocket the proceeds.
"...a Grand Guignol romp from beginning to end...Long after you've watched the movie you'll be haunted by the soundtrack..." Don Willmott, FilmCritic.com
"...must-see viewing simply for Aldrich's atmospheric direction, and for its historical importance as Baby Jane's infamous "sequel"..." FilmFanatic.org
Editor's Note
Bette Davis plays Charlotte Hollis, a hermetic spinster haunted by memories of her murdered fiancé. Charlotte, whose only social contact is with her maid, Velma (Agnes Moorehead), is crushed to learn that the state wants to tear down her mansion and put up a highway in its place. She calls on her cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland) for help, but Miriam fails to offer any assistance other than bringing in the family physician (Joseph Cotten) to have her troubled relative committed. As the nightmares of her fiancé continue to haunt her, Charlotte ends up fighting not only for the Hollis estate but for her sanity as well. Director Robert Aldrich resumes the electric collaboration with Davis begun in the terrifying smash hit WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? Davis heads up the stellar cast (which includes Bruce Dern and George Kennedy in small, early roles and Mary Astor in her last film appearance) with a performance that radiates desperation, entrapment, and inevitable collapse. HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE provides a chilling investigation of a heartbreakingly demented mind.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital Mono | | Interactive Menus | | Interactive Pressbook Gallery | | Lobby Card | | New Featurettes: Hush...Hush, Sweet Joan - The Making Of Charlotte, & Bruce Dern Remembers | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Photo Galleries | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Vintage Featurette: Wizard Work Narrated By Joseph Cotten |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 4/8/2008 |
| Running Time: 132 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1965 | | Catalog ID: 2250730 | | UPC: 00024543507307 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.66:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Winner (1965) | | | Golden Globe, Agnes Moorehead, Best Supporting Actress | |
Nominee (1965) | | | Oscar, Agnes Moorehead, Best Actress in a Supporting Role | | | Oscar, William Glasgow, Raphael Bretton, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White | | | Oscar, Norma Koch, Best Costume Design, Black-and-White | | | Oscar, Joseph F. Biroc, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White | | | Oscar, Michael Luciano, Best Film Editing | | | Oscar, Frank De Vol, Mack David, Best Music, Original Song | | | Oscar, Frank De Vol, Best Music, Score - Substantially Original |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"Though Davis gives her standard spectacular performance, it's Ms. de Havilland who gets the chance here to show some range." 08/09/2005 p.E5Entertainment Weekly
"Robert Aldrich's cast of great vets keeps mystery in the magnolia-scented air." 08/19/2005 p.127 DVD Town 8 of 10
I've always thought of "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" as a last hurrah for the Hollywood of old. Not only did it star of bevy of old-time stars--Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead, Cecil Kellaway, Mary Astor--it was shot in black-and-white...Not that this 1964 Robert Aldrich film was the last picture these actors ever made--far from it, except in the case of Ms. Astor--or that it was the last picture ever shot in black-and-white; but it was among the last memorable films these folks made together, and it was at the tail end of the great B&W era. Be that as it may, the movie is probably best known today as a somewhat campy if always engrossing exercise in Grand Guignol...Aldrich fills his story was all the elements of good film noir, with shadowy passageways and angular photography the order of the day. Equally important, he fills the story with enough quirky and suspicious characters to keep a viewer busy guessing for hours, and it all starts with Ms. Davis's Charlotte. Davis is made up to look as old and dowdy as possible, a stark contrast with the enduring beauty of cousin Miriam, whose radiant beauty doesn't seem to have succumbed to the same ravages of time as Charlotte's. - John J. Puccio
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