"Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte," Good Bette Davis Performance

This is one of those movies where, if you tell about it in just about any way, you give away the story to those who have not seen it, or to those who may have forgotten some parts.

The film, produced and directed by Robert Aldrich, was released in 1964, with Charlotte played by Bette Davis. The story centers around the murder of Charlotte's married lover, John Mayhew (played by Bruce Dern), at a party given by her father (played by Victor Buono). This happens after Charlotte's father had "convinced" Mayhew, through threats, to break off a relationship with his daughter, which the young man then does at the party. Shortly thereafter, the audience sees a meat cleaver disappear from the food area, and not long afterwards, Mayhew is brutally murdered, with both his head and one hand cut off. Charlotte walks into the midst of the party in the family mansion, her white dress covered in blood, and her father proceeds to try to comfort her.

The scene shifts to the 1960s and the now run down mansion and a reclusive Charlotte, who has not aged well. Like with the mansion, Charlotte has let herself go, just going about an existence that involves little personal contact with others, except mainly for her doctor (played by veteran actor Joseph Cotten), and her faithful housekeeper Velma (played by Agnes Moorehead). Her father has passed on, but Charlotte has considerable wealth left to her, although she doesn't enjoy it, as she just goes about her lonely life. The townspeople all believe she is a murderess, and the kids in the area torment her with songs about the killing. The thing is, modern times come calling, as the state (Louisiana) plans to tear down her home for a new highway. Charlotte totally ignores all of the notices sent to her, and the sheriff, an old family friend, tries to persuade her to leave the old mansion peacefully, as she had fired on a work crew sent to prepare the mansion for demolition. Charlotte believes the widow of her former slain lover is behind all of the attempts to evict her, as well as bundles of hate mail sent to her through the years (the widow, Jewel, played by Mary Astor). 

Her doctor tells Charlotte that she'll have to leave the house, and she turns to her one known living relative, a cousin who actually had grown up at the mansion many years before, Miriam (played by Olivia de Havilland). As is Charlotte's wont, she reminds Miriam how she was taken care of at the mansion many years before, just as she had earlier reminded the sheriff how he owed his career to her father. Meanwhile, an insurance investigator (played by veteran actor Cecil Kellaway) has been checking on the old case of John Mayhew's murder, talking extensively with Jewel Mayhew and also with Charlotte, before she becomes upset.

I just don't see how I can go further here, without giving away too much and ruining the movie for you. Agnes Moorehead was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The movie is available on DVD, and I'm sure you will not regret seeing this film, a long time favorite of mine.

Photo from the 2005 20th Century Fox DVD

WORD HISTORY:
Sweet-This common word goes back to Indo European "suwad," which had the notion of "pleasant tasting." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "swotja," which meant "sweet." This gave Old English "swete," which then became "sweete," before dropping the ending "e," to give us the modern version. The idea of "sweetness" being pleasant also led to the secondary meaning of a person or animal being "sweet," in the mild and caring sense, and of course, to the noun "sweetie," a shortened form of "sweetheart." The noun form "sweet" (often used in the plural in this sense) came to be used for candies, cookies, cakes, etc; that is, products sweetened with sugar or honey. The other Germanic languages all have related forms: German "süß," ^ Low German Saxon "sööt," Dutch "zoet," West Frisian "swiet," Danish "sød," Norwegian "søt," Icelandic "sætur," Swedish "söt."

^ The high Germanic dialects underwent a sound shift long ago, with certain sounds often changing. The high dialects eventually became the basis of modern standard German. In this case, the ending "t" sound in the other Germanic dialects of those times changed to double "s." Other examples are: English "kettle," but German "Kessel," and English "better," but German "besser."   

"The Third Man," One Of The Great Films

"The Third Man" is a British produced, although with assistance from American David O. Selznick, black and white suspense film set in Vienna after the end of World War Two. It is often seen on lists of the greatest films ever. The movie's music, played only on a zither, remained a popular song in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of the film was shot on location right in Vienna, with the rubble and devastation of the war still all around. The city was a hot spot for corruption, as people trying to survive the aftermath of the war would wheel and deal to get the necessities of life, or more. Vienna, like Berlin, was divided into occupation zones by the Allies, along with joint control by the victorious powers of the central city. Also like Berlin, Vienna became a center of espionage during the increasing tensions between "the Western Allies" and the Soviet Union.

The story centers around an American writer, Holly Martins, played by Joseph Cotten, who goes to Vienna to see his friend, Harry Lime, played by Orson Welles, only to learn that Lime had been hit and killed by a vehicle not long before Martins' arrival. British military authorities tell Martins that Lime is a ruthless con man involved in the theft of scare penicillin, having the antibiotic diluted and then sold on the black market. The dilution of the drug made it ineffective to treat many ailments, costing literally life and limb for many a person, including children. Martins only knows Harry Lime as a friend and he seeks to refute the charges against Lime by conducting his own investigation, along with help from Lime's girlfriend, Anna, played by Alida Valli, to whom Martins takes a liking. One witness tells Martins that there was "a third man" at the scene of Lime's death, something denied by other witnesses. It is tough to write much more about this film without giving away some of its twists and turns for those who have not seen the movie, so I will leave it here, except to say there are scenes which include the Wiener Riesenrad (Vienna Ferris Wheel) and, believe it or not, the Vienna sewer system. That last is a clue to the story. I think you will likely agree with many of the lists which include this film as one of the greatest ever. Oh... and after watching it, try getting the theme song out of your mind! If you've seen the movie before, it is well worth seeing again ... and again. The film won the Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography, and it was nominated for Best Director (Carol Reed) and Best Film Editing.

The photo is from the DVD from Korea (don't panic, it is in English. If you only speak Algonquin .... PANIC!!!)

WORD HISTORY:
At-This common word goes back to Indo European "ad," which meant "near, to, at." This gave Old Germanic "at," with the same meanings. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "æt," which meant "to, toward, at." This later became "at," and it has remained such for many centuries. The other Germanic languages have: German once had "az," with the "z" pronounced "ts," but the word died out. Low German Saxon has "at," which means "when, as," but I'm not really sure if this is the same word in heritage, or if it is just another word that developed that spelling. Dutch also lacks a modern version, as does West Frisian, but the much diminished North Frisian dialect of Frisian has "et," meaning "at." Danish has "at," which means "to," Icelandic has "að," which means "to," and Swedish and Norwegian both have "åt," meaning "to, towards, of."