What's the problem with my housekeepers?

ulicknormanowen

Although he's only a producer here,it's the third installment in Aldrich's grand guignol trilogy ,after "whatever happened to Baby Jane " and "hush hush sweet Charlotte "; it possesses a strong appeal for fans of ladies 'feud ,but is definitely inferior to the previous works ; "Baby Jane "was a camp masterpiece ,and "Charlotte " was not far behind.

The main problem is that Geraldine Page (excellent when directed by Don Siegel's Gothic tale "beguiled" ) overplays all along the movie;in "hush hush sweet Charlotte" ,Olivia De Havilland saw the danger and suggested that the screenplay should be modified :her character would be a well-mannered lady ,considerate ,all smile ,before she revealed her true colors .The movie was all the more successful and did not suffer for Joan Crawford's absence.

Here Page is the absolute baddie,and her actions are too predictable, but it's mainly the director's fault ; on the other hand , Ruth Gordon (brilliant as Maude in "Harold and Maude" and unforgettable as Minnie Castevet in "Rosemary's baby") gives a more restrained performance ,but her character is not very interesting ,being too straight.In "Baby Jane " and "Charlotte" there're no nice persons, and Aldrich's faultless direction perfectly masters camp excesses.

Watch it anyway :its several creepy moments are worth your time.

score 7/10

ulicknormanowen 7 October 2020

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6154865/