Casting Coup Tuesdays: Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

With the success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were hot commodities once again and psycho-biddy films were born. And Hollywood being, in the end, all about the green, you know they had to have a sequel of some sort for the Oscar-winning, fourth highest-grossing picture of 1962. Of course, the way Baby Jane ends, a direct sequel would be impossible, not to mention anticlimactic.

Luckily, source novelist Henry Farrell had another gem in paperback: What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?. It's another faded beauty gem, this time set in a dying plantation in Louisiana, where mad Charlotte Hollis has been living for forty years. Haunted by the mysterious murder of her married lover John Mayhew in 1926, a crime which she was suspected of but never convicted for, Charlotte's only company is poor white trash companion Velma and the workers trying to demolish her home to make way for the new highway. Charlotte loves Velma; the workers, on the other hand, she fires at with her daddy's shotguns. Desperate to save the place, she calls upon citified cousin Miriam to help her keep the place -- but Miriam is more interested in the vast wealth of the estate, wealth that would be hers if she can successfully have Charlotte committed. And with the help of former lover Dr. Drew Bayliss, she may get her way...

Once again, Lukas Heller adapted (this time with some help from Farrell), Robert Aldrich directed, and Bette Davis and Joan Crawford acted opposite each other. This time, Crawford was to play the cunning manipulator to Davis's shut-in, though of course the latter was getting the juicier role. Alas, the first publicity still featuring the two divas on location is all we'll see of the Crawford-Davis version: the animosity between them finally came to a head, and Joanie walked off the picture. Davis recommended her friend, fellow two-time Oscar-winner Olivia de Havilland...and surprise of surprises, her subtler, more insidious performance almost steals the show from Davis's histrionics!

Once again, audiences responded: the film was the ninth highest-grossing flick of 1964, ahead of A Hard Day's Night and right behind Viva Las Vegas!. And although it didn't bring home the gold come Oscar night, the film was still graced with seven Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Agnes Moorehead as Velma; Best Film Editing (Michael Luciano); Best Original Score (Frank De Vol); the black-and-white categories for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design (Norma Koch) and Best Cinematography (Joseph Biroc); and Best Original Song.

Of course, we've covered most of this before: last year, I did a retrospective of the year 1964, and I did profiles for five of those categories. So strong were the technical categories that year, I couldn't even give my personal vote to Score or Song, both of which I play repeatedly on my iTunes. My own Hollmann Awards could only fit Moorehead in -- and once you've seen the performance, you'll understand why.

I expect interest in this film, which has never really weakened, to come on still stronger in the near future. People will want to check out the Bette Davis Psycho-Biddy Double Feature that started it all once Walter Hill's remake of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? is completed. And if they want to give the same treatment to Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte...well, shouldn't they stop here for a look first?

SHERIFF LUKE STANDISH

Who is He: Local sheriff, knows and respects the Hollis family, tries to reason with Charlotte but more or less knows its fruitless.

Originally played by:

Wesley Addy (Tora! Tora! Tora!, Network)

My Choice: SAG Award Nominee for Best Ensemble (Dreamgirls)

Hinton Battle (Foreign Student, TV's Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story)

BIG SAM HOLLIS

Who is He: Charlotte's daddy, a wealthy man who sought to separate his daughter from the married John Mayhew. It was his party that played host to murder, with his gazebo as the star.

Originally played by: Academy Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)

Victor Buono (The Greatest Story Ever Told, Beneath the Planet of the Apes)

My Choice:

Ken Howard (1776, J. Edgar)

HARRY WILLIS

Who is He: An insurance investigator posing as a journalist, he's poking about for the truth behind John Mayhew's decades-old murder.

Originally played by: Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Luck of the Irish, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?)

Cecil Kellaway (The Postman Always Rings Twice, Harvey)

My Choice: Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor - Drama (Wilde), SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (Gosford Park)

Stephen Fry (Tales of the Riverbank, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows)

DR. DREW BAYLISS

Who is He: A local doctor and old friend of the Hollis family, he courted Miriam as a young man but left her after the murder of John Mayhew. Now that Miriam's back in town, single, and close to a fortune, Bayliss is more than happy to pick up where they left off.

Originally played by:

Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, The Third Man)

My Choice: Academy Award/Golden Globe Winner/BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Adaptation), SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (American Beauty)

Chris Cooper (The Town, The Muppets)
Can bring a slick Southern charm, and also nail the sleazier aspects. Cooper's a master, of course, and I dare say he'd find a more nuanced approach than Cotten (and don't get me wrong: I adore Cotten).

JOHN MAYHEW

Who is He: The husband of Jewel Mayhew, he was going to elope with Charlotte Hollis the night of Big Sam's party. Instead of marital bliss, a hatchet to his hand and head saw to it that he enjoyed a honeydoom.

Originally played by: Hollmann Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (The Great Gatsby), Academy Award/Golden Globe Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (Coming Home)

Bruce Dern (They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, The Driver)

My Choice: SAG Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actor (J. Edgar) and Best Ensemble (The Social Network)

Armie Hammer (Billy: The Early Years, Mirror Mirror)

MRS. JEWEL MAYHEW

Who is She: John's widow, respected in the community, still in mourning-dress, more reclusive. Oddly, she seems to bear little ill will for Charlotte; it's Miriam who sticks in her craw.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Supporting Actress (The Great Lie)

Mary Astor (Dodsworth, The Maltese Falcon)

My Choice:

Morgan Fairchild (Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge, TV's Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady)
The first to be cast, actually. I was thinking, "Who could pull off the small but important role of widow Jewel Mayhew? Who could do it but not be so distracting as to take away from the film?" Diane Keaton? No, something didn't sit right with that. Morgan Fairchild? But of course! She could bring the aging beauty queen thing into it, the former belle who's still got the confidence to hurl a metaphorical loogie in Miriam's face.

VELMA CRUTHER

Who is She: Charlotte's loyal cook, housemaid and companion, white trash from the bayou who'd do anything for her employer but talk down to her. She knows the truth about everything that goes on 'round these parts...if only she would keep her mouth shut!

 

Originally played by: Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte), Academy Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (The Magnificent Ambersons, Mrs. Parkington, Johnny Belinda, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte), Golden Globe Winner for Best Supporting Actress (Mrs. Parkington, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte)

Agnes Moorehead (Raintree County, The Singing Nun)

My Choice:

Beth Grant (Crazy Heart, The Artist)
A large role worthy of her talents, one that allows her to "LET IT RIP" as far as her dialect goes. She's played homely before, but rarely as central as this. You know I love her.

MIRIAM DEERING

Who is She: Charlotte's glamorous cousin from the city, still a beauty, who's come to town to take care of Charlotte and the estate. Like all beauties throughout history, however, Miriam is playing another, more manipulative game, one that ends with Charlotte in the madhouse and Miriam in a penthouse. She's a "vile, sorry little bitch".

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (To Each His Own, The Heiress), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress (The Heiress)

Olivia de Havilland (Gone with the Wind, The Swarm)

My Choice: Academy Award/Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress [Drama] (Blue Sky) and Best Supporting Actress (Tootsie), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Actress (Tootsie), SAG Award Nominee for Best Actress (Blue Sky)

Jessica Lange (Broken Flowers, The Vow)
Still lovely, capable of a regal bearing, and great at playing controlling or sinister family members. Plus, she'd have great chemistry with my Charlotte.

CHARLOTTE HOLLIS

Who is She: Big Sam's impressionable daughter, she never got over the murder of her lover -- especially since she's the Number One Suspect! The kiddies sing, "Chop-chop, sweet Charlotte/Chop-chop 'til he's dead..." But Charlotte's miserable without him, her family, her riches, aging away in a dying plantation set for demolition, close to crazy already before Miriam and Bayliss get their hooks into her.

Originally played by: Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Dangerous, Jezebel), BAFTA Award Nominee for Best Foreign Actress (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actress - Drama and Musical/Comedy (All About Eve, A Pocketful of Miracles, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)

Bette Davis (The Nanny, Death on the Nile)

My Choice: Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Supporting Actress (Get Low), Academy Award Winner for Best Actress (Coal Miner's Daughter), BAFTA Award  Nominee for Best Actress (Coal Miner's Daughter, Missing, In the Bedroom), Golden Globe Winner for Best Actress - Musical/Comedy and Drama (Coal Miner's Daughter, Crimes of the Heart, In the Bedroom), SAG Award Winner for Best Ensemble (The Help)

Sissy Spacek (Carrie, An American Haunting)
 Could find the crazy and the lady, creating an entirely fresh performance out of a character we all think we know. I imagine something in the vein of her Crimes of the Heart character. And speaking of that film: she and Lange have been sisters before, so why not cousins this time around?

Ghoulish Delights Forthcoming!

They're coming to get you, reader...

Yes, lovelies, HALLOWEEN is rearing its horrifying, awesome head, which means it's time to re-imagine those gran guignol faves of mine with the stars of today! Why? Because at the rate moviemaking is going, they're going to remake them anyway, so why not throw in my two cents at the outset?

But what would this be without you telling me what you want? I've already got four of the films in mind; now you're gonna tell me what to finish with. And here's the best part: no matter what you choose, I've never seen it before! I'll be reviewing a new (to me) film and offering a Casting Coup! Hooray!

poll by twiigs.com

 

You can also see this poll on the sidebar.

Of course, I'll also try to put up reviews of the horror flicks I watch this month, so feel free to recommend your own favorites!

Oh, and before I forget, the other four Casting Coups for October:

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

October 2

 Strait-Jacket

October 9

Young Frankenstein

October 16

 Theatre of Blood

October 23

YOUR PICK

October 30 

This Silver is Gold: Cinematography, 1964 - Part Two

Some movies refuse to be seen. I caught the last fifteen minutes of Fate is the Hunter months and months ago on Turner Classic Movies, and since then I've searched for it in vain. I don't order from Amazon, I get my movies from the library, Netflix or YouTube -- money and all that. But sometimes you just got to admit defeat, and Fate is the Hunter has bested me in this regard. I won't judge an entire film's cinematography based on the fifteen minutes I saw, but the show must go on. Because of this, you'll find only four of the nominees rated here, and one abstention.

But, hey -- look how gorgeous the rest of these films are! This is, after all, the Black-and-White Cinematography category. Let the beauty wash over you...

THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY

 Philip H. Lathrop, director of photography

**

Really, except for these stills from the film's climax, I didn't find the work all that remarkable or challenging. Still, what's done is done well, and the film is great, besides.

FATE IS THE HUNTER

ABSTAIN

Milton R. Krasner, director of photography

 HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE

 Joseph F. Biroc, director of photography

****

Those shadows and candles and silhouettes provide much of the creep factor of Charlotte. Biroc works real magic with this horror piece. God, I love that shot above with Charlotte in light and her cousin (that "vile, sorry little bitch") in shadow. Even when we cut to her coverage, Miriam is still a little...shady? Shall we say?

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

Gabriel Figueroa, director of photography

*****

By day, it is so bright that you feel the heat, the sun and the sand. By night, the moon provides the only illumination as Burton and Kerr engage in some serious soul-searching...and Gardner in some serious sex-dancing. It's so so so so gorgeous.

ZORBA THE GREEK

Walter Lassally, director of photography

****

Goddam I love the technicals of this film. Look at that. It's moody, it's beautiful, it's its own story. The conspirators in shadow, the heroes in light. It's cinematography with meaning, man.

----------------------------------------

Lassally won the Oscar. Of course he won the Oscar. Not only was his a Best Pic nominee but..I mean..look at that. Still, you know that my heart belongs to another.

GABRIEL FIGUEROA

for

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

 so sensual

Food of Love, Indeed: Original Score, 1964

The wrong music can kill a film (Aaron Zigman's The Proposal). Luckily, '64 had it mostly right. Two Best Picture nominees appear here, of course, but there's also Mancini's most famous work, a make-up to De Vol for the Baby Jane snub two years earlier, and legendary composer Tiomkin's thirteenth nomination in the category! Let us begin!

Laurence Rosenthal for Becket
***

Appropriately righteous in flavor and, as befits the church, subdued. The holy chants echo throughout the film, and the big brass is only used when needed. The strings in this particular piece, like a gathering storm, are particularly effective.

Dimitri Tiomkin for The Fall of the Roman Empire
**

I love these old historical epics, with the big orchestra proudly proclaiming its importance. Tiomkin certainly succeeds in bombast, even if he falls a little short of memorable.

Frank De Vol for Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
***

The titular theme is frequently revisited, but we also get those horror trappings of eerie violins, chimes and harpsichords. Gothic grand guignol at its best!

Robert and Richard Sherman for Mary Poppins

****

One can just refer to my write-up in Adapted Score, as that's what's really being nominated here. The score is fantastic, of course, though I still think it's strange that there are two separate categories for the same work. Eh, bask in the beauty and ignore all else.

Henry Mancini for The Pink Panther

*****

Iconic. We all know the "Pink Panther" theme, and this is where it all began. Not that it rests on those laurels alone, though, with some slinky lounge music to set the mood for those Claudia Cardinale scenes, the sexy "It Had Better Be Tonight", and comical Sennett-esque music for the chase scenes.

-----------------------------------

Hard to argue with the Oscar bestowed on the Sherman Brothers for their iconic work in Mary Poppins. But I will. The Oscar goes to....

HENRY MANCINI

for

THE PINK PANTHER

if it's gonna win an Oscar, it had better be tonight

All the Single Ladies: Supporting Actress, 1964

Ah, Supporting Actress! I can't believe there was once a time when other categories seemed to matter. When Stinky Lulu devoted himself to those Actresses at the Edges, it was as though the clouds had lifted and all was revealed. "Of course!" I realized. "This is the greatest category ever!" Truth: the first time I made a conscious decision to sit down and watch the Oscars, it was because of Best Supporting Actress (Smith/Mirren/Connelly/Tomei/Winslet). My five favorite actresses are Maggie Smith, Meryl Streep, Patricia Clarkson, Judi Dench and Drew Barrymore; four have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress, three of them winning. When I think back to my favorite performances of a given year, it's usually a supporting actress: Meryl Streep in 2006, Amy Adams in 2008, Mo'Nique in 2009, Valerie Perrine in 1974. Can 1964 also offer a Year's Best from this category? Is the Supporting Actress crop an improvement on Supporting Actor, or is it more of the same? Read on...

Gladys Cooper in My Fair Lady

**

Oh, she's amusing, certainly, and her unconcealed annoyance at her son, Henry Higgins, does its job well. Cooper's his equal, and you can see where he gets that witty snobbery from, though she's much warmer than he is. Still, there's not much there, is there? Does she even change expression?

Dame Edith Evans in The Chalk Garden

*

It's not her fault she's saddled with a dull character in a dull film, but she could liven it up a little. Bonus point: she and Gladys Cooper are making the exact same face -- Grande Dame Haughtiness.

Grayson Hall in The Night of the Iguana

*****

As chaperone to a lusty Sue Lyon, Hall is the chief antagonist of Richard Burton's shamed Father Shannon, a minister given to drink and the ways of the flesh. She is also the best thing about this movie. Give her a secretly "butch" spinster to play and Hall will deliver a lonely woman fighting herself with her faith. As written, she's a harpy, but as played by Hall...I mean, my God! Her tears at the beach as she begs the beautiful nymphet to get away from Shannon. Her maternal cooing as she tries to win the girl back to her side. Her fear and confusion when Ava Gardner's Maxine calls her out on being a lonely butch. Aw, hell, just watch her in the background, look at her ever-watchful eyes as they follow Shannon and Sue Lyon (I forget her name in this, obviously) simultaneously, even if they're on opposite sides of the room. She's incredible, and the film is rarely as exciting as when she's on screen.

Lila Kedrova in Zorba the Greek

***

I shudder to think what others might have done with such a role, since it's a character that is so tempting to overplay: bawdy stories, silly foreigner, incurable illness, etc. Kedrova underplays so much of it while giving her character a great zest for life. She plays it with both sadness and a glimmer of hope, and breaks your heart in the meantime.

Agnes Moorehead in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

****

Moorehead surprises via the deglam approach, as the po' white trash housekeeper who mutters under her breath in her Louisiana patois, shuffling slowly, her big ass hanging in the air. Well, don't just stand there: applaud the woman, for she uses all the tricks of a broad comic without compromising the believability of the characters of the tone of the film. Her almost feral approach to the role makes Elvira a devoted dog, baring its teeth at the intruder who threatens her mistress. This truly is one of Moorehead's most accomplished performances.

-------------------------------------------------

Kedrova won the Academy Award for her role -- a role for which she learned and quickly mastered English. Awesome feat, great performance, but I give the Oscar to...

GRAYSON HALL

for

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

if only it was The Night of the Chaperone!

The World is Full of Singing: Original Song, 1964

Apologies for my absence. I actually planned to have posts up for every day this week, but I've been so busy with The Move. Yes, friends, after twenty-two years as a Florida resident, I have finally packed up my bags and headed west...to LOS ANGELES! Like Xtina in Burlesque, I am following my dreams and took the first bus out of town. Well, no, it was an airplane, and it was an evening flight, and I bought it a month in advance, but the feeling is the same! Now that I've figured out the gas stove, lunched at Sony, seen the Hollywood sign from the road (!!!!), and settled into my new apartment (shared with a few of my best friends), I figure I can get back on track (although how more on track could one get than to be living in Cinema Paradise?).

So, let us continue our 1964 journey with...BEST ORIGINAL SONG!

"Dear Heart" from Dear Heart

***** 

A beautiful song for a beautiful film. The heroine's longing and the hero's epiphany are both wonderfully expressed in the lyrics, and those sweeping strings make it soar. Used in the film's final scene, its timed to perfection so that, like "Moon River" in Breakfast at Tiffany's, we are swept up in the music and the romance and have no defense against the tears. So lovely.

"Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte" from Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

****

Well, I have loved this song since before I saw the movie, and I always thought it was strange that this Patti Page tune could be used for a hag horror flick, which just shows that one should never underestimate the instincts of Robert Aldrich (director) and the talent of Frank DeVol (composer). The song is played and replayed throughout the film, as a mocking nursery rhyme along the lines of Lizzie Borden; an eerie atonal ballad screeched by Bette Davis; and a triumphant, climactic sweep with some male singer. A lovely and haunting tune.

"Chim Chim Cher-ee" from Mary Poppins

****

The tune comes up frequently, brief bits here and there as jack-of-all-trades Bert brings us into a new sequence. It's really quite a fun and catchy tune. I think it's the most solid representation of what this movie is all about, more so than "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" or "Spoonful of Sugar" or what-what. For me, it's all about finding joy where you can in life, for though "you might think a sweep's on the bottommost rung/...In this 'ole wide world there's no 'appier bloke." Then you step in time!

"My Kind of Town" from Robin and the 7 Hoods

***

Man, this movie is a lot of fun, but most of the songs have little to do with the plot...such as there is. This song is not only the exception, but is one of Sinatra's most popular tunes. It's pretty good, though it's no "Mr. Booze" or "Bang! Bang!". Still, I suppose the Academy could have done worse...

"Where Love Has Gone" from Where Love Has Gone

*

And they did! A boring song for a lifeless film. Blech.

--------------------------

Mary Poppins won here, and I am so down with that! Any of its songs are Oscar-worthy, really. Love of The Poppins aside, though, I have searched my heart and found that I would have voted for something else...

 MANCINI & LIVINGSTON/EVANS for "DEAR HEART"

from

DEAR HEART

makes me cry every time

Silver Screen, Slick Sets: Art Direction, 1964 - Part One

As color was becoming more prominent, the Academy found it necessary to separate the colorful from the monochromatic in the craft categories. After all, a black-and-white film cannot emphasize reds and blues the same way a color film can, and a color film cannot emphasize its shadows and light-play the same way a black-and-white film can. The nominees for B&W Art Direction were for subtle approaches, whether single-set, minimalist work, or dressing up what was already there.

THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY

George W. Davis, Hans Peters & Elliot Scott, art directors

Robert R. Benton & Henry Grace, set decorators

**

From the offices of high-ranking naval officials to supply rooms, every detail is seen to. It's organized clutter, as only the military can do.

HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE

William Glasgow, art director

Raphael Bretton, set decorator

***

From the wealth of the father to the chaos of the daughter. Good ol' Southern Gothic.

THE NIGHT OF THE IGUANA

Stephen Grimes, art director

****

Looks like the kind of small getaway my parents would love. It may not look like much, but it'll do.

SEVEN DAYS IN MAY

Cary Odell, production designer

Edward Boyle, set decorator

****

From the honorable Oval Office to the sinister Joint Chiefs Conference Room. The not-too-distant future is eerily close.

ZORBA THE GREEK

Vassilis Photopoulos, art director

*****

From the wealthy Frenchwoman to the poor Greek. Every item is deeply personal, giving us a sense of the residents.

---------------------------------

Photopoulos' art direction for Zorba the Greek won, and for good reason! Indeed, I'm inclined to agree...

PHOTOPOULOS

for

ZORBA THE GREEK

someone built that