Review of Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) by Noel V — 29 Oct 2010

Still more fun. Much better cast than its predecessor (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?) with a stronger visual style from the director, this is still somehow the lesser film. Olivia de Havilland is a subtler actress than Joan Crawford, and she gives Bette Davis as good as she's got--it's a far more even match--but somehow you miss the sadism of the first picture.

That one was pathos to the pth level, here Charlotte is more of a victim, and it tends to mute Davis. Everyone does their all, everyone is at their best, but sometimes that doesn't always result in the better--or at least more memorable--picture.