CHUT, CHUT, CHÈRE CHARLOTTE
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
En 1927, en Louisiane. Lors d'une réception, la jeune Charlotte Hollis apparaît devant les invités couverte de sang. John Mayhew, son amant, vient d'être assassiné. Charlotte et John étaient sur le point de s'enfuir, loin de l'autorité d'un père possessif et de la jalousie d'une épouse. Des années plus tard, en 1964, Charlotte vit toujours dans la somptueuse propriété qui a été le théâtre du drame. Charlotte devenue la risée des habitants est considérée par tous comme folle. Celle-ci est menacée d'expropriation car un pont doit être construit à l'emplacement de son manoir. N'entendant pas se laisser faire, elle fait appel à sa cousine Miriam Deering.
Réalisateurs
Distribution
Bette Davis
Charlotte Hollis
Olivia de Havilland
Miriam Deering
Joseph Cotten
Drew Bayliss
Agnes Moorehead
Velma Cruther
Cecil Kellaway
Harry Willis
Victor Buono
Big Sam Hollis
Mary Astor
Jewel Mayhew
Wesley Addy
Sheriff Standish
William Campbell
Paul Marchand
Bruce Dern
John Mayhew
Frank Ferguson
Newspaper Editor
George Kennedy
Foreman
Dave Willock
Taxi Driver
John Megna
New Boy
Percy Helton
Funeral Director
Kelly Flynn
Boy #2
Michel Petit
Gang Leader
Alida Aldrich
Young Girl
Kelly Aldrich
Boy #3
William Aldrich
Boy Dancer
Equipe
CRITIQUES (1)
VOUS POURRIEZ AUSSI AIMER
Angel Heart - Ascensore per l'Inferno
La Casa dei Mille Corpi - The House of 1000 Corpses
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Non Aprite Quella Porta
Wrong Turn 2 - Senza Via di Uscita
Riflessi di Paura
The Children
Il Patrigno - The Stepfather
Non Aprite quella Porta
Fright – L'Allucinante Notte di una Baby Sitter
American Gothic
You're Next
AVIS DE LA COMMUNAUTÉ
(1)
John Chard
Glorious Southern Gothic Delirium.
Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is directed by Robert Aldrich and written by Henry Farrell and Lukas Heller. It stars Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotton, Agnes Moorehead, Cecil Kellaway and Mary Astor. Music is by Frank De Vol and cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc.
It’s 1927, the Louisiana plantation home of Sam Hollis (Victor Buono), and Charlotte Hollis (Davis) is having an affair with a married man, John Mayhew (Bruce Dern). After a heated argument between Sam and John, John is brutally slain by an unseen assailant, only Charlotte appears on the scene covered in blood. Then it’s the present day and just Charlotte and her house keeper, Velma (Moorehead) live at the Hollis mansion, Sam having passed away many years ago. Charlotte is mentally scarred from the echoes of the past, she’s a recluse and seen by the townsfolk as the local mental case. As developers try to plough a road through the Hollis home, Charlotte sends for her cousin Miriam (Havilland), but then strange things start happening and Charlotte might once and for all tip over the edge.
A bit long at 2 hours 13 minutes and a bit too bonkers at times, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte still comes out as glorious Guignol entertainment. The setting is perfect, a Baton Rouge locale of whispering trees and ominous foliage, the Hollis mansion a place of dark secrets, shadowy halls and mental disintegration. Biroc’s black and white photography seems to revel in the misery and emotional turmoil that blows about the place, and the brilliant Aldrich unleashes delirious turns from Davis and Moorehead as the others play perfectly restrained foil. There’s a strong mystery element driving the plot forward, because what we think is true may not actually be the case? The narrative deftly reveals back stories as film progresses, hints at means and motives dangle tantalisingly in the Gothic tinged air, and then the finale doesn’t disappoint, it has some surprises in store and closes the picture down handsomely.
Best served with a good helping of Sour Mash, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte is Southern Gothicana with bells on. Or should that be Belles? 8/10
Avis fournis par TMDB
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