It all begins in 1927 during a society party in Louisiana when Jewel Mayhew's (Mary Astor) husband has been found decapitated...the head is never recovered. There are suspects galore. Could it have been his mistress Charlotte? Could it have been his loveless wife, Jewel? Could it have been Charlotte's domineering father (Victor Buono)? Or could it have been the over-protective servant (Agnes Moorehead, in an Academy Award-nominated performance)? Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte is an engrossing film about the ruthless machinations of Miriam Deering (Olivia de Havilland) and her doctor lover (Joseph Cotten) as they try to push her cousin, the disturbed Charlotte (Bette Davis) over the edge in order to get Charlotte's inheritance. Blackmail and deceit abound in this psychological suspense drama which exceeded my expectations; much better than the cheap blood and gore that I thought it would be. Bette's performance was at times heart-breaking, sometimes humorous and mostly macabre. One of the better performances she gave towards the end of her career. Olivia de Havilland gave a chilling performance as a scheming, vicious vindicator of envy...a long cry from her roles as the good woman in such films as To Each His Own and In This Our Life. The film made me sit up and watch, some scary bits, some humour, some malevolent emotions. All very exciting. Very well executed. Very much worth watching when you're in the mood for something highly entertaining.
