Following the success of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Bette Davis returned to the screen in another shock thriller which also relied on a large old house for its suspense.
The house in which Southern belle Charlotte Hollis (Davis) lives holds many unpleasant memories for her, for it was here 37 years before that her married lover John Mayhew (Bruce Dern) was brutally murdered.
But despite this, when the house is due for demolition to make way for a new highway, she is still prepared to go to any length to keep it.
Charlotte roams the big house each night, convinced that her lover is still alive and trying to make contact with him.
Suddenly, a series of grisly events occur, and her lover appears as an apparition, almost sending Charlotte out of her mind – with some help from her wicked cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland in a role originally filled by Joan Crawford who dropped out of the film in its early stages) and family doctor Drew Bayliss (Joseph Cotten).
At this time, visitors arrive at the house, including Jewel Mayhew (Mary Astor), the widow of the murdered man, and Harry Willis (Cecil Kellaway), an elderly retired insurance agent from London investigating the unsolved killing.
The murderer’s identity is eventually revealed, and so is a terrible plot for further terror in Hollis House.
The film was shot at Houmas House Plantation and Gardens, outside the towns of Darrow and Burnside, in Louisiana (just south of Baton Rouge).
Agnes Moorehead won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination for her role as the wise-cracking, crotchety housekeeper, Velma.
Charlotte Hollis
Bette Davis Miriam Deering
Olivia de Havilland Dr Drew Bayliss
Joseph Cotten Velma
Agnes Moorehead Harry Willis
Cecil Kellaway Big Sam Hollis
Victor Buono Jewel Mayhew
Mary Astor Sheriff
Wesley Addy Paul Marchand
William Campbell John Mayhew
Bruce Dern Editor
Frank Ferguson Foreman
George Kennedy Gang Leader
Michel Petit Funeral Director
Percy Helton Geraldine
Carol Delay Ginny Mae
Idell James
Director
Robert Aldrich
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The house in which Southern belle Charlotte Hollis (Davis) lives holds many unpleasant memories for her, for it was here 37 years before that her married lover John Mayhew (Bruce Dern) was brutally murdered.
