Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

There's definitely a few surprises in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.

Watching Bruce Dern getting his right hand cut off with a butcher knife in a 1964 film was definitely unexpected. Blood spattering on a wall caught me off-guard.

Seeing a major character fall down a flight of stairs, in rather convincing fashion, wasn't anticipated.

How about a brief cameo from screen icon Mary Astor, in her final film role? That's pretty cool.

Some twists in this horror/suspense effort from director Robert Aldrich are fairly easy to see, but one major plot point definitely isn't anticipated and packs a punch near the film's finale.

This seven-time Oscar nominated film starts in the past. It's 1927 and Big Sam (Victor Buono) is reading the riot act to John Mayhew (Dern). The married Mayhew is having an affair with Sam's daughter, Charlotte (Bette Davis). The relationship must end, dad decrees. Charlotte is devastated when John calls off the relationship. The same night, at a party hosted at Sam's mansion, Mayhew is murdered. Charlotte appears to be the likely suspect. She spends the next 30-plus years largely alone in her childhood home. Only her maid, Velma (Agnes Moorehead), sticks it out alongside the woman townsfolk brand insane. "She's not really crazy," Velma suggests.

Charlotte taps her cousin, Miriam (Olivia de Havilland) for help when a highway development threatens her home with demolition. Miriam looks like she's loaded up on sedatives, staying extraordinarily calm while Charlotte has visions of her long-dead beau coming back to be with her. Velma is suspicious of Miriam's intentions. Harry (Cecil Kellaway) rolls into town from England wanting to meet with Charlotte and hear her story. Drew (Joseph Cotten) is a local doctor who has a connection to Miriam and Charlotte. But is he looking out for the best interests of this patient?

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte has its creepy moments. The setting just invites a good case of the heebie jeebies - an old home in the middle of nowhere with lots of shadows. What's up with that unseen dog who can be heard barking at night? Davis is often hysterical through its two-hour running time. We never learn why she remained so devoted to John years after his untimely demise. These points get a little frustrating. Harry's travelled a long way to get Charlotte's story, but he doesn't press as often as he needs too. I can't see his editor back in England being very happy with his so-so efforts. An American tabloid shooter has less tact, but gets the job done much more effectively.

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte would work better if it was a little shorter and some of its plot points made a little more sense once the full story is known.

RATING: 7/10

FUN FACTS: Agnes Moorehead made her debut in Citizen Kane. She also appeared in a classic Twilight Zone episode, The Invaders.

John Megna makes a brief appearance at the film's start. He was Dill Harris in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Al Martino sings the title song. The American signer's hits included Spanish Eyes and I Love You Because.

Harvey (1950)

Hop to it and see Harvey. This is a very funny comedy.

The laughs are numerous, and usually prolonged, with this fine film version of the Broadway play by Mary Chase.

Josephine Hull is the real gem here in a role that earned her an Academy Award for best supporting actress.

As Veta Louise Simmons, she's at the end of her rope with younger brother Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart). Simmons and her daughter Myrtle Mae (Victoria Horne) returned to live with Dowd after their their mother's death. Mom left all of her estate to Dowd.

It's then, Vera notes, that Elwood was acting "different." His best friend, and constant companion, is a white rabbit that stands more than six feet tall and is invisible to just about everyone by him. Harvey, he says, is a pooka, a fairy spirit that appears in animal form at times. Simmons is trying to get her daughter married off, but ladies of high society stay away in droves from her home because of Dowd's odd behaviour. Veta isn't keen about Elwood's habit of inviting "a lot of riff raff" to dine with them at his home. That includes bar patron Mr. Minninger, who tells Elwood he's been away a couple of times in recent years with "a job for the state" making licence plates and constructing roads.

When Simmons decides to commit Dowd to a home for the mentally ill, she ends up behind bars. It seems her stories about Harvey convince Dr. Sanderson (Charles Drake) that she's the one who needs help at Chumley's Rest. Meanwhile, Dowd, who was originally checked in, is sprung free. It's only after he leaves the property that Sanderson and his boss, Dr. Chumley (Cecil Kellaway) realize they've mixed up the sibling who should be in care. They fear lawsuits and race to find Dowd.

He's not too hard to find, since he spends a lot of time in bars. But Harvey might not be the creation of Dowd's memory everyone thinks. Even Veta, on occasion, will acknowledge his unseen presence. Chumley sees possibilities in his own life where he'd like to be friends with Harvey.

While Sanderson and Chumley like to speak softly and talk in medical terms, orderly Wilson (Jesse White) is more than willing to use brute force to get patients under control. He strikes fear into Veta. She is convinced he's "a white slaver." But even he manages to notice Myrtle Mae. Romance blooms.

There's a fun, if a little strange, passive/aggressive subplot involving Samuelson and Nurse Kelly (Peggy Dow). She's keen on him, but he's oblivious to her interest. It's Dowd who shows an interest in her and gives her the attention missing from Samuelson's daily rounds.

Harvey is a very funny film about someone who's a little different. It boasts a great cast, with fine support work from William Lynn as Judge Gaffney. See this film.

RATING: 9/10

FUN FACTS: Wallace Ford, who appears here as The Taxi Driver, made his last screen appearance in A Patch of Blue. That film was also reviewed on this site. It's a must see.

Charles Drake appeared as a reporter in The Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart.

Jesse White had a long stint as advertising personality Maytag Repairman. He also appeared in Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood. I have to see this film!

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

is all over the map.



This film noir steers into melodrama, courtroom drama and a very strange love story.

Frank Chambers (John Garfield) has itchy feet. This guy keeps moving from town to town, job to job.



When he gets dropped off at a roadside diner, he finally finds a reason to stay in one place for awhile.



Business owner Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) needs a hired hand to pump gas and serve burgers to customers. It's not so much Nick's offer of employment, but his drop-dead gorgeous young wife Cora (Lana Turner) that Frank likes.



Turner makes a great screen entrance when her tube of lipstick rolls down the cafe floor to Frank. The camera pans along the floor and up to Cora's very nice legs.



Frank doesn't waste much time making a move on Mrs. Smith. These two characters supposedly love each other, but it looks more like lust.



Cora and Frank conspire to off clueless Nick. This chap has no clue of the illicit goings-on with his wife and the hired help.



Now, this is a film noir so chances are things are not going to work out as planned. A first attempt to off Nick is botched. District attorney Kyle Sackett (Leon Ames) gets suspicious about Frank's activities at the roadside business. A court case and legal wranglings follow.



Hume Cronyn shines as defence attorney Arthur Keats. Present-day audiences know him for Ron Howard's Cocoon. But check out his dramatic work in The Postman Always Rings Twice. He's cocky. He's conniving. He pulls off some great strategic moves in the courtroom.



Keats taps ex-cop Ezra Kennedy (Alan Reed) for some help to save his case. There are a few moments in Postman when reality seems to be miles away from what happens on the screen. Watching Frank whup a beefy police officer is one of them.



Postman keeps turning in directions audiences may not expect. This movie-goer was shaking his head at times thinking things were getting a little silly on this screen take on James M. Cain's book. The twist ending has some punch and we finally get to hear the postman reference.



RATING: 7.5/10



FUN FACTS: John Garfield and Cecil Kellaway are both two-time Academy Award nominees. Garfield was recognized for his work in Body and Soul and Four Daughters. Kellaway received nods for The Luck of the Irish and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.



Leon Ames' last role was in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married (1986).



Actress Audrey Totter is still alive. She played Madge Gorland, the woman Frank picks up when Cora leaves town, in The Postman Always Rings Twice. She'll celebrate her 94th birthday on Dec. 20, 1918. Totter, like Cronyn, has a smaller role but she definitely stands out in this film. Wow.



Alan Reed is the voice of Fred Flintstone.



NOT-SO-FUN FACT: Garfield died in 1952. He was just 39.