Year of Release: 1964Country of Origin: USA
Director: Robert Aldrich
Cast: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead
Plot outline: The arrival of a lost relative, engulfs terror upon an aging southern belle, forever plagued by a horrifying family secret (IMDb).
Bette Davis plays the looniest character in this movie. But there are other mildly mad and murderous characters drifting in and out this house of horrors, so it is safe and fair to describe it as a comparable looney bin. But so calculated and coldly carpentered is the tale of murder, mayhem and deceit that Mr. Aldrich stages in this mansion that it soon appears grossly contrived, purposely sadistic and brutally sickening. So, instead of coming out funny, as did What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, it comes out grisly, pretentious, disgusting and profoundly annoying. By the unwritten rule of criticism, I won't tell you who the plotters are - nor, indeed, will I try to tell you the details of the plot. That is mainly because it is so fuzzy and full of ridiculous holes, which apparently has not bothered Mr. Aldrich in his grim bent to generate shock. But the fact that it is so fuzzy is only another reason to resent the darkly-lit, crudely-gimmicked horror he has tried to perpetrate. Resentable, too, is the acting - the style of acting - done in this movie. It is weirdly exaggerated for sensational effects and nothing more. Miss Davis, with heavy eyebrows and lines in her face, is plainly directed to accomplish a straight melodramatic tour de force. Olivia de Havilland is closer to normal as a relative of the demented woman who comes to be with her, but Joseph Gotten overdoes and over-accents the seamy role of the family physician. Agnes Moorehead as her weird and crone-like servant is allowed to get away with some of the broadest mugging and snarling ever done by a respectable actress on the screen. Cecil Kellaway and Mary Astor mumble and fumble lesser roles. (NYT)
My judgement: ** out of 4 stars
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