Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964)

“Why wouldn't I tell him that his pure, darling little girl was having a dirty little affair with a married man?”
“You're a vile, sorry little bitch!”

My god I do not even know where to start with this post about Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte because IT WAS SO DAMN AMAZING!! For a few days this past week I house sat for my brothers’ friends parents and they have a small movie theater in their house (Jealous? Me too). The dad is an old movie freak which I absolutely loved. I came across Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte which I have been meaning to see because Olivia de Havilland, Bette Davis, and Joseph Cotton are in it. Let me just say I was happy the one son was out at the time because I was going crazy! The film is brilliant in every single way.

            Bette Davis plays the title character. Charlotte has been shut away in her home for several decades. She has been the talk of legend in her small Louisiana town since the late 1920s. The legend goes that Charlotte was set to runaway with a married man named John. Her father forbid them from doing so. The father had  weird relationship she wanted to keep her on the plantation that he had and have her run things when he was gone. The night that John went to Charlotte’s was when they were going to runaway after a party that was being held. That night the legend was born that Charlotte in a fit of rage and sadness took a knife and cut of John’s hand and his head.

            Forty years later the past begins to be dug up again as an insurance claims man named Harry (Cecil Kellaway) comes from Lloyds of London to investigate the unclaimed life insurance policy of John. Harry finds Charlotte living alone with her maid and only trusted friend Velma (Agnes Moorehead). The land her old plantation home has been on for generations is being taken over by the county to build a new highway. Time again Charlotte has fought off the workers and this time she shoots at them with a shot gun. The chief of police comes by telling Charlotte she has no choice but to move.  To help her move Charlotte wrote a letter to her cousin Miriam (de Havilland) to come to the house. The house is just as Miriam remembered it after so many years of being away.

            The more Miriam comes between Charlotte and the way she has lived her life for so many years the more we see her fall to pieces. Little by little Miriam brings out the past: she was supposed to marry the town doctor Drew (Joseph Cotton) but he could not marry her after what Charlotte did and the biggest part of the past that is brought to the surface is that Miriam was the one who told Charlotte’s father about her affair with John. One day in town Miriam sees John’s wife Jewel Mayhew (Mary Astor). She goes up to the woman has been very sick to talk to her. Jewel practically spits venom yelling at Miriam to go away saying that she has done enough to her over the years and wants to be left alone.

            As the days and nights go by strange things begin to happen at the house. Charlotte wanders downstairs in the middle of the night thinking she hears John playing the old harpsichord and another night she thinks she sees her father and in a fit breaks all the mirrors. Miriam begins to believe that Velma is playing tricks on her to get her to leave the house and Charlotte. In retaliation Miriam fires Velma. Velma sees there is something sinister going on between Miriam and Drew to drive Charlotte out of her mind. The maid goes to the police but they do not do anything which makes Velma try to take matters into her own hands. She tries to take Charlotte away one day but Miriam catches her and pushes the old maid down the stairs. Drew helps her to make it look like Velma fell in her own home in an accident.

            Miriam and Drew continue to play evil tricks on Charlotte. They have a head made to look like John’s and Miriam has it fall out of a box and onto the floor by Charlotte’s feet. The last one is truly cruel: in the middle of the night Charlotte has a nightmare and walks downstairs. She has a gun in her hand and freaked out that someone is in the room with her shoots. She shoots a real person and the person was Drew. Miriam hears the commotion. She sees that Drew is dead and makes her cousin go along with her to get rid of the body. Charlotte is like a scared little kid and Miriam the big bully. The next night Charlotte awakens and walks out to the porch on the second floor to see her cousin dancing with Drew who faked his death.

            Throughout this maze of a story Harry comes to learn several things about Charlotte that he never knew before. He also comes to find what really happened the night John died.

            This film is way too amazing to give too much detail and to give away the ending.

            I do not even know where to start with how incredible this cast was. Bette Davis was boss! I love seeing her as bat shit crazy characters because she played them very well. From the moment she comes out with the shot gun shooting the construction workers she is just awesome and owns the film. Olivia de Havilland hands down takes this film. Take the sweet adorable wonderful Olivia de Havilland from her films like Gone With the Wind, Fours a Crowd, The Strawberry Blonde and completely get those characters out of your mind. You know an actress/actor is good when you get so used to seeing them in a certain type of role then you see them in another and they blow your mind with their awesomeness and that is exactly what de Havilland is in this film. Miriam is a sinister- I repeat sinister- character. That is definitely not a word often used to describe the type of characters we are so used to seeing de Havilland play. Joan Crawford was supposed to play Miriam and even filmed a few scenes before she had to back out. Crawford would not have done as well nor have been as believable. I think she would have made the character of Miriam very campy. Joseph Cotton was sinister too along with creepy. But is there any better Joseph Cotton than a creepy sinister one? I think not. Agnes Moorehead freaked me the hell out. The more films I see her in the more wacked out and scary she is. But I have to hand it to her she really was a good actress because she played women that were so ugly and so freakish at a time when top billed actresses were supposed to be glamorous no matter what their characters were. Moorehead was excellent at slipping into characters no matter what they were and seemed not to care what she looked like as long as she was getting the character across. This film was Mary Astor’s last film of her very long career. She was nothing short of brilliant as she was in her earlier films.

            Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever seen. It does have its plot holes and at times things get a bit difficult to follow but for what it is, the film is amazing. As soon as the film was over I wanted to watch it again and show it to my friend. I was thinking about the whole next day and just wanted to talk about it with someone.  The cast was so well put together and perfect in their roles. The direction by Robert Aldrich was fantastic he did a great job of building tension with his shots and angles. If you have yet to see Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte get on the ball with seeing it you will not be disappointed. 

The Third Man (1949)

“Go home Martins, like a sensible chap. You don't know what you're mixing in, get the next plane.” 

            The Third Man is considered to be one of the quintessential Noirs to see. When I read a synopsis of the film it sounded very interesting. And how could a film go wrong when the stars include Joseph Cotton and Orson Welles? The Third Man is a well made film but there were some things that I was not too thrilled with that kept it from being a really good film for me.

            Holly Martins (Cotton) is a writer who has fallen on hard times. His best friend Harry Lime (Welles) is living in Austria after World War II and has written to Holly saying he may have a job for him. On the day Holly arrives he finds out his best friend has been killed in an automobile accident. Holly cannot understand how his friend just died in a simple auto accident the whole thing seems suspicious to him. When he goes to look into his friend’s death he is told to go home by British Major Calloway who knew Harry in some capacity.

            Holly goes to the apartment building Harry was living in. He questions Harry’s porter who was a witness to the accident. The porter tells Holly that there were three men around Harry when he died. This information does not mix with what Holly has been told up to then. He was told by another of Harry’s friends that there were only two people around him when he died, his doctor was just on the other side of the street and that Harry’s own driver was the one who hit him. Now Holly is on a mission to find the other witness, this third man.

            The deeper into Harry’s death Holly explores the more he finds out his friend is someone he barely knows. Calloway tells Holly that Harry was a notorious racketeer selling stolen penicillin and selling it on the black market. The penicillin Harry has been selling is killing people not helping them. Until faced with all the evidence Holly cannot believe that his friend who he always thought was so nice and charming and wonderful is a thief whose product is killing and hurting innocent people.

            In between this is Harry’s girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Anna was in love with Harry. She knew what he was doing but never said anything. Holly has been dropping in on Anna and asking her about his friend. He also wants to help her with her fake passport that Harry made her, the international police got a hold of it and now she is in a bit of trouble. One night he goes to her house and sees a cat. She says the cat was only friendly to Harry.

            While walking back to his hotel Holly sees the cat cuddling up to figure in the doorway. The light of the moon shifts and Holly sees the face of his old friend. He gives chase to the figure but as quickly as he had seen Harry the man is gone. Holly goes to Calloway who does not believe him at first until they find a passageway leading to the sewers of Vienna.

            Alright so my explanation of the plot is not too great. For some reason I cannot fully explain I could not get into this film. I did not have any expectations for this film all I went into it with was that it is considered one of the best Noirs ever made and it had a good story. The story is good I liked the mystery but there was just something about the film I was not too crazy about. The one thing I will say I did not like was the music. I thought the music ruined what could have been amazing dramatic scenes. When the music came on to me it almost felt like I was watching a comedy not a dramatic mystery.

            The best aspects of this film were the direction by Carol Reed and the cinematography. Reed made some of the best camera angles and shots I have ever seen in films before. I was in awe of them. The cinematography is incredible especially the scene where Holly first sees Harry and when he chases his friend around dark corners of the streets. The chase, too, at the end was incredibly lit. The ending was great it fit the story so well and was so wonderfully filmed. 

            The cast was very good. Joseph Cotton there can be nothing bad said about him I have yet to see him give a bad performance. He could play any kind of character and just be amazing. Alida Valli was gorgeous and did such great job as Anna. Orson Welles was barely in the film and I am not too crazy about him but I will say he played his part perfectly.

            The Third Man is a film I was not too crazy about but I am glad I sat through it. It is a film that every film buff should see at least once.

 

Gaslight (1944)

“I am mad. I'm always losing things and hiding things and I can never find them, I don't know where I've put them.”

            Ingrid Bergman was the first classic film actress I admired. Before I found out how to download movies and found them used on Amazon I would spend a lot of money buying the DVDs. During that time I made some lousy purchases but one of the best films I got during that time was Gaslight. I can remember buying it just because Ingrid Bergman was on the cover. I remember buying the DVD like it was yesterday I bought it along with another Bergman film The Inn of the Sixth Happiness. The first time I saw Gaslight I was floored by how amazing Bergman was and how beautifully it was filmed.

            Paula Alquist (Bergman) was a young girl when her opera star aunt Alice was murdered in their home. The murder was never solved there seemed to be no motive. She was sent away to Italy where she studied music. While there she meets and falls in love with an older man named Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). He convinces Paula to live in her old home in London.

            For a while they live happily in their home facing a square. Things begin to change one day when Paula finds a note from a man named Sergis Bower hidden among her aunt’s sheet music. After that she begins to hear footsteps in the attic and the gaslight dims down then burns brightly again. Gregory convinces her that she is losing her mind and losing things around the house and that she is seeing and hearing things.

            One man who sees something is not right is police detective Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotton). He is curious why after so many years Paula has come back. When he first meets Gregory he senses the man is no good. No matter how hard he tries he cannot get into the house to speak to Paula.

            By the time Brian is able to get into Paula’s house to help her she has been driven towards real insanity. Gregory wants something in the house that once belonged to Alice and the only way he could get what he wanted was to drive Paula away to an asylum.

            I have to say even though the story of a man driving a woman to insanity or to a breaking point had been done before and has been since 1944- Rebecca, Suspicion, Sorry Wrong Number, Laura- but what makes Gaslight so menacing comes down to the direction and lighting and acting by Charles Boyer. It is a gothic story filmed in the noir style; they are two of the most interesting and psychologically thrilling genres mixed together.

            While reading reviews of the film on IMDB one person excellently wrote: “If you're looking for everything you've ever wanted to know about horror, mystery, depression, and suspense, go take a peek into Ingrid Bergman's eyes.” The reviewer summed up Ingrid Bergman perfectly in the film. You can see Paula’s fear, sadness, and confusion in her eyes. There are so many shots of just her eyes and they say so much. Bergman is amazing this is definitely one of her best films she ever made. This film attests to her incredible acting talent. Bergman was one of those great actresses that no matter what type of character she played you believed she was the character you were not watching an actress you were watching the character. You believe she is a woman who wants love, the love she thought she found is only trying to drive her mad and you can see her questioning her identity and struggling to find herself again.  I will admit there are quite a few scenes that Bergman goes a little too dramatic but those are balanced out with her other scenes especially the one at the end (you will know what I am talking about if you have ever seen it or when you see it).

            Charles Boyer as Gregory Anton creates the most tension. He has the look of a person who is only out for what they want and does not care who they hurt or how to get it. You really just want to punch him the face. He was perfect for the part I cannot imagine anyone else in the role.

            Joseph Cotten was wonderful as the good guy. He was the perfect balance to Boyer’s evilness. You want Paula to trust Brian and go with him when he eventually gets into the house. Cotten was such a great actor though he had that silent greatness he never commanded a scene either playing a bad guy or a good guy he was just there… in a good way. I look forward to seeing a film where Cotten is one of the stars.

            This was Angela Landsbury’s first film. She was eighteen years old at the time. She plays the tart house maid who aids in helping Paula lose her mind. All I ever think of her as is the sweet old lady from Murder She Wrote which makes her role in this film even better.

            George Cukor is known mostly for his adorable women’s comedies and dramas. To me this film is a world apart from what I am used to seeing from him. He did a fantastic job of filming Ingrid Bergman and creating an air of tension that does not let up until the very end.  

            Gaslight is one of the greatest psychological films ever made. Even one of my friends who is into all these weird modern psychological thrillers told me that one of his all time favorites is Gaslight. I think it holds up very well today there is so much suspense and so many things that Gregory does that drives not only Paula crazy but you as well! Every time I watch this film the more I love it and the happier I am that I spent money on the DVD all those years ago. Gaslight will have you on the edge of you seat from beginning to end. 

The Angel Wore Red (1960)

Before I watched The Angel Wore Red I had no idea what it was about. When I read “Love is nothing”: Ava Gardner by Lee Server he mentions the film and even includes a still from it so I was curious and of course had to see it. I could not find it until the summer when TCM aired it (yes I have had this film on my DVR for months and just finally got around to watching it) I recorded it. This is a film I am on the fence with I am not sure if I liked it or if it was just blah… and this is the type of film that drives me a little nuts.

            The setting is during the Spanish Civil War. A priest named Arturo Carrera (Dirk Bogarde) has left his cathedral not having lost in faith in God but losing his faith in the church as an institution. The cathedral where he was a priest holds a relic apparently containing a drop of the blood of St. John which is a central part of the story because it is believed this blood has great powers and helps those who gain control of it. The Republicans are after the priest for turning the people against them and Arturo is one of hundreds of priests that are being targeted.

            One night Arturo is wanted by the police and he runs into a night club and hides. There he meets Soledad (Gardner) and after some time they fall in love. Before the two of them can get away Arturo is captured because the Republicans believe they know where the blood is (which is does but plays dumb) and they want it for their army. The general Clave has both Arturo and Soledad arrested and sent on a march with hundreds of other prisoners.

            There is a lot more to this story but it is complicated, I really do not understand too much of it myself  and do not want to confuse you.

            I always look up reviews of films on IMDB and I have to agree with the reviews I have read and the points they brought up. I am not too much of a fan of Nunally Johnson his films besides The Black Widow (and maybe some others here and there but not many) are not too greatly made. Johnson wrote, produced, and directed The Angel Wore Red and once again I was not impressed with his work. What really made me nuts was that the story had a lot of potential it was an interesting story it just was not filmed right. It was filmed way too dark there were some scenes that were way too gray or just too black. Most of the time I barely knew where the characters were there was no explanation for half the sets and scenes. Another reviewer commented on how it looked like the actors’ voices were dubbed and there are times when it does appear to be.

            The only person I thought gave an excellent performance was Ava Gardner. One reviewer on IMDB said that Gardner was past her prime and she was not beautiful. First of all the woman no matter her age just always exuded sexuality and gorgeousness and that was what she exuded in this film, second she had the perfect look for the part she looked like a woman who has been through so much in her life and likes to stay out and have a good time because that is what she did in her real life. Gardner said it herself she never really cared for acting and never really tried until her later roles and you can see her effort here. Her acting was excellent.

            Dirk Bogarde was good but he really did not do anything for me he was not great but he was not terrible, he was just there. I will say he was a great match with Ava Gardner he was very handsome.

            Joseph Cotton plays an American reporter. It felt like he was just thrown in the film for good measure which I am sure he was. The character feels completely out of place amidst the chaos of everything that is going on. I did like one scene with him and Ava Gardner: his character has one eye and as he was talking to Gardner he tells her to move so he can look at another girl who is dancing and she asks him “How would you like to lose the other eye?”

            As I said at the beginning of the review I do not know how I feel about The Angel Wore Red. Ava Gardner was excellent and that was all I felt was good about the film. The story had so much potential but it fell flat from the direction, the lighting, the scenery, and the sound. If I ever had the chance to remake a film I would want to remake this one just because it had potential… but unfortunately I feel that no one would be able to do a better job or look as perfect that Gardner in the role. So I guess I can say catch the film The Angel Wore Red if TCM airs it again since it is not available on DVD or youtube and see what you think.