Product Description

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 (Cotton) 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. System Requirements:Running Time: 132 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CLASSICS Rating: NR UPC: 024543507307 Manufacturer No: 2250730

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40569 in DVD
• Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
• Released on: 2008-04-08
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 133 minutes

Amazon.com
Poor Charlotte Hollis. She's been shunned by the community for decades, ever since the fateful night in 1927 when her lover was hacked apart with an axe. Her antebellum southern mansion is slated for the bulldozer, as it stands in the way of highway construction. Charlotte's only hope lies in her cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland), coming down from up north to help settle things. Miriam, however, has other designs. Together with her boyfriend Drew (Joseph Cotten), she embarks on a scheme to systematically drive Charlotte out of her mind (not a great leap) and get her mitts on the family fortune. From there, things only get more complicated. Charlotte puts the "gothic" in southern gothic, as a great showcase for completely bizarre, overwrought, and out-of-control performances from all involved. Agnes Moorehead plays Charlotte's loyal, disheveled housekeeper to the hilt, with an odd inflection that calls to mind Amos and Andy more than southern gentility. As the drunken, conniving Dr. Drew, Cotten's accent is indeterminate at times, and seems to come and go. As great as the supporting players are, though, the crown goes to Bette Davis as the shrieking Charlotte, a portrait of isolation and decay stuck in a world of tragic delusions inside her crumbling mansion. De Havilland is a close second as the scheming Miriam; the scene where she slaps the holy snot out of a hysterical Charlotte is itself worth the price of admission. Mary Astor (in her last role) and Cecil Kellaway (as a kindly Lloyd's of London adjuster) put in the only performances with any restraint, acting as counterweights for the rest of the cast. Besides, you'll never get another chance to see Joseph Cotten playing the harpsichord and singing, or caked in mud and lily pads! With Robert Aldrich's claustrophobic direction, Charlotte is as Southern as a field of kudzu, and as subdued as a train wreck. --Jerry Renshaw

Customer Reviews

Oh, so THAT'S what's meant by "Southern Gothic"!
I went into this movie knowing nothing about it. I bought it because I liked the lead actresses and Joseph Cotten is always fun up on the screen. So imagine my surprise when, just a few minutes into the film, someone's hand gets rather graphically cut off! Not something I would've expected for 1965.

The movie centers around Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis), who lives in an old mansion. It was the scene of a crime in 1927, the previously mentioned hand-chop, which ended up being a murder, and she was blamed for it. She was never charged but everyone "knows" she's guilty (especially since she was having an affair with the murder victim). She's spent her entire adult life living in the house with her servant (Agnes Morehead, and I gotta say, I had no idea it was her), and not really doing anything else, going very slightly crazy (though she's far more sane than she pretends to be, at least at the start).

Sadly her house is about to be knocked down to make room for an expressway. I guess that's better than having your planet demolished to make room for a hyperspace bypass, but still harsh. She's not too pleased about this and so enlists the aid of her cousin (Olivia de Havilland), and her doctor (Joseph Cotten) to save her house.

Not surprisingly, things don't go entirely as planned, and Charlotte starts to halucinate, thinking she's seeing or hearing her dead beau. Even more ominous things start to happen, like a butcher knife (the murder weapon), being found stuck into the floor next to a severed hand. Is Charlotte actualy going round the bend now, or is someone just trying to make her thnk she is?

This is certainly one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a while. The story is gripping, the direction is excellent and Bette Davis really kicks ass as Charlotte. She really keeps the audience wondering what's going on in her head. Olivia de Havilland and Joseph Cotten are also excellent.

This is a great film, and one I'd recommend to anyone who likes horror or mysteries. Very, very good!

Hush Hush
Love the line..."Public Relations? Sounds like something dirty to me." And of course, "you're a vile, sorry, little Bit h!" Bette is at her best, BUT...to really enjoy this era of Madame Davis, one needs to also purchase "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" and "Dead Ringer." She is the greatest character!

Perfect Gay Camp Material but realistically true!
Our family has its own Charlotte so there is more drama and truth to this then one wants to accept. I find it much more interesting then Grey Gardens. Perfect Gay Camp! High Drama! Plus the title song is a hit!