Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

Following the unexpected box-office success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), director Robert Aldrich wanted to make a film with similar themes that reunited stars Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The actresses, whose feud was infamous and legendary, were not initially eager to repeat themselves. Aldrich had originally suggested Ann Sheridan for Miriam, but the producers felt the success they envisioned would not be achieved without Davis and Crawford at the helm.

Writer Henry Farrell, on whose novel the film had been based, had written an unpublished short story called "What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?" that Aldrich envisioned as a suitable followup.[4] It told a similar story of a woman who manipulates a relative for personal gain, but for this film, Aldrich's idea was that the two actresses would switch the roles from the previous one, with Crawford playing the devious cousin trying to manipulate the innocent Davis into giving up her estate.[5] Aldrich's frequent collaborator, Lukas Heller, wrote a draft of the screenplay, but was replaced by Farrell in late 1963.[4]

In early 1964, prior to shooting, Davis became incensed when Crawford accepted Anne Bancroft's Oscar for The Miracle Worker on the absent winner's behalf at that year's ceremony, an award for which Davis had been nominated, but not Crawford. She believed Crawford had somehow ensured Bancroft would win so that she could upstage her costar and rival. After asking Aldrich if he had been having a sexual relationship with Crawford (much as Crawford had asked the director the same question about him and Davis before Baby Jane), she agreed to take the role only if she got a producing credit.[5]

Three other cast members from What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? were cast in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte, including Wesley Addy, Dave Willock and Victor Buono. The cast also included Mary Astor, a friend of Davis' since their days at Warner Bros. Astor retired from acting and died in 1987.[6] Recalling her casting, she said:

My agent called: 'There's this cameo in a movie with Bette Davis. It's a hell of a part; it could put you right up there again.' I read the script. The opening shot described a severed head rolling down the stairs, and each page contained more blood and gore and hysterics and cracked mirrors and everybody being awful to everybody else. I skipped to my few pages–a little old lady sitting on her veranda waiting to die. There was a small kicker to it inasmuch as it was she who was the murderess in her youth and had started all the trouble. And then in the story, she died. Good! Now, I'd really be dead! And it was with Bette–which seemed sentimentally fitting.[6]

Joan Crawford (left) was replaced by Olivia de Havilland (right) early into filming

Principal photography of Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte began in mid-1964, with the on-location shooting commencing in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, the shoot was temporarily suspended on several occasions early on.[7] Initially, it was halted after a third-party lawsuit was brought against Davis by Paramount Pictures over a commitment to complete additional filming on Where Love Has Gone (1964).[7] When this was resolved and filming recommenced, Davis began asking crew members whether they had allegiance with her or Crawford, and wound up with support from those who had disliked Crawford's imperious behavior on the shoot. On the last day of filming on location, Crawford, who had gone back to her trailer and fallen asleep in case she was needed for anything extra, awoke to find that everyone had left her behind, having gone back to the hotel after wrapping.[5] Crawford was convinced that Davis had engineered this, and upon returning to Hollywood where production was to continue on set, admitted herself to hospital and announced she was sick—at first a ploy to get changes made to the script, but then she actually convinced herself that she was sick.[8]

The production was postponed to allow Crawford to recover, though Aldrich hired a private investigator to track her and determine whether or not she was actually ill.[8] By August 4, 1964, the production had been suspended indefinitely, and the studio's insurance company insisted that Crawford be fired and replaced, or else the film would have to be cancelled entirely.[7]

Aldrich sought several actresses to replace Crawford, including Barbara Stanwyck, Loretta Young, and Vivien Leigh, but they were each either unable or unwilling to take the role.[7] Aldrich ultimately sought Olivia de Havilland for the part, and flew to her home in Switzerland to attempt to convince her to take the role.[7] De Havilland had long wanted to work with Davis, and agreed to take the part;[6] she subsequently flew to Los Angeles to begin filming.[9] In later interviews, de Havilland expressed displeasure with the film: "I wasn't thrilled with the script, and I definitely didn't like my part. I was reverse-typecast, being asked to be an unsympathetic villain. It wasn't what people expected of me. It wasn't really what I wanted to do. Bette wanted it so much, so I did it. I can't say I regretted it, because working with her was special, but I can't say it was a picture I am proud to put on my resume. Given the choice, I wouldn't have deprived Joan Crawford of the honor."[6] According to Crawford, she only learned of her firing from a news radio broadcast.[5] However, despite being replaced, brief footage of Crawford made it into the film, when she is seen sitting in a taxi in a wide shot (Miriam's arrival).

Scenes outside the Hollis mansion were shot on location at Houmas House plantation in Louisiana.[10][11] The inside scenes were shot on a soundstage in Hollywood.

The title song became a hit for Patti Page, who recorded a version which reached no. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $3,900,000 in rentals to break even and made $4,950,000, meaning it made a profit of $1,050,000.[12] In France, the film sold a total of 79,168 tickets.[13]

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte was another hit for Aldrich, opening to positive reviews. A pan, however, came from The New York Times. Bosley Crowther observed, "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 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, it comes out grisly, pretentious, disgusting and profoundly annoying."[14]

Variety's reviewer wrote: "Davis' portrayal is reminiscent of Jane in its emotional overtones, in her style of characterization of the near-crazed former Southern belle, aided by haggard makeup and outlandish attire. It is an outgoing performance, and she plays it to the limit. De Havilland, on the other hand, is far more restrained but nonetheless effective dramatically in her offbeat role."[15]

Judith Crist wrote about the film, "The guignol is about as grand as it gets." Kenneth Tynan asserted that "(Davis) has done nothing better since The Little Foxes."

A later review for Time Out (London) observed: "Over the top, of course, and not a lot to it, but it's efficiently directed, beautifully shot, and contains enough scary sequences amid the brooding, tense atmosphere. Splendid performances from Davis and Moorehead, too."[16] The film maintains a rating of 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews.[17]

Agnes Moorehead won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress. The film also received seven nominations for the 37th Academy Awards, breaking the record as the most for a horror movie up to that time.

Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte was first released on DVD on August 9, 2005. It was re-released on April 8, 2008 as part of The Bette Davis Centenary Celebration Collection 5-DVD box-set.[18] On October 17, 2016, Hush...Hush Sweet Charlotte was released onto high-definition Blu-ray by Twilight Time as a 3,000-print limited edition.[19]