The Ending (spoilers) - Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1965) Discussion

[–] zuzupetal_99 15 years ago

Me too!!! I got emotional thinking about this poor character, not only having suffered losing the love of her life, but to be blamed for his murder, and living a nightmare for so many decades of torture. Incredibly sad, but I must say I was really glad when Charlotte knocks down the planter on the two conspirators & when she finally learns the truth. I know it's just a movie, but sometimes you can't help but really care & be affected by these characters/actors on screen.....

Walk like it's for sale and the rent is due tonight- Miss Jay

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[–] dustinthewind25 15 years ago

I'm with ya, zuzu. So powerful to see someone, who's been clinging to the past her whole life, leave it behind in such a beautiful sequence. Bette Davis has no dialogue in those last minutes of the film, yet conveys so much.

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[–] ms-zanadu 15 years ago

I totally agree with you both dustinthewind25 and zuzupetal_99 . That ending was of such closure - I loved it ! They just don't make movies of this top notch quality anymore it's such a shame . Bette Davis was just fabulous in this one ( this ones in my top three ) but she was awesome in every film she ever did . We will miss her . I was glad to see that they finally put her on a stamp recently - I bought them and they were beautiful . What a wonderful way to honor her memory . Thanks so much dustinthewind25 for this subject post .

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[–] HarlowMGM 15 years ago

I love the ending too, it's deeply touching and very sad but I hardly think it indicates "everything is going to be alright" for Charlotte. Charlotte, innocent all those years of murder, actually becomes a murderer. Her life is in shreds at the end. She is presumably being carted off to a mental institution, never to return to her beloved home which most certainly will be torn down now. Ultimately in a peverse twist of fate, Charlotte is being sent to the mental institution, Miriam was scheming to get her in all along.

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[–] ms-zanadu 15 years ago

Thank you for clairify this ending for me HarlowMGM . I've only seen this movie once ( real late around 4 AM on AMC ) so the ending appeared to me as Charlotte being free from those who were making her miserable and could move forward in her life ( that's what I meant when I said " That ending was of such closure " for her ) . I didn't realize she was actually going away to a hospital at the end - I thought she was going to make a court appearance for the crime . If you don't mind me asking why did you put a " spoilers shield " on your reply when this subject post already indicates " ( spoilers ) " ? Thanks again for this explanation on the ending . I will have to watch this movie again real soon .

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[–] HarlowMGM 15 years ago

I put the spoilers shield up because even the headline says spoilers, I don't think previous posters elaborated on the ending as much. Of course, the subject post does say spoilers but you would be surprised how many people ignore what's in the headlines.

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[–] ms-zanadu 15 years ago

I was just wondering . I myself don't mind spoilers at all . I would just watch the movie or TV Show anyway even with spoilers . Thanks again HarlowMGM .

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[–] dustinthewind25 15 years ago

Thx ms-zanadu, for your kind words, and HarlowMGM, I always appreciate a different perspective. But I definitely disagree, I totally believe that everything about the ending is leading us to think that Charlotte is going to be okay. She's very sane and composed in her appearance and actions, totally in control. And I think that as she leaves the music box in her house, she's letting us the audience know that she's turning her back on the past that's chained her all these years and caused so much pain, and that she's headed for a bright future. One of the busybody onlookers says "she'll probably get away with it this time too", and I think that's the story's way of telling us that she's not going to be put away for the deaths of Drew and Miriam. And the letter from Harry Wills is one step further in showing us that Charlotte is being released from the past. I think if she was going off to prison or a madhouse, they would have been carting her off in some kind of handcuffs or straight jacket, and the final scenes would not have the serenity that they do. I'm left with the impression that the truth is finally going to come out about everything, and that Charlotte is going to be able to move on with her life. I don't even have any doubt that that's the way we're supposed to interpret the ending, but again HarlowMGM, I respect your different opinion.

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[–] ms-zanadu 15 years ago

That's the very impression I recieved from the ending dustinthewind25 and I only watched this film once . Your right she did seem calm as she went to the car . I assumed maybe she was going to appear in court for this resent crime - not jail or a hospital . I would think she would have been going back to her home too after that since it was the only home she had . ( but that's just my opinion ) . Thanks so much again .

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[–] zuzupetal_99 15 years ago

dustinthewind25 - you said exactly what I thought when I watched the ending, and you said it so well. My interpretation of the ending was the same as yours, that Charlotte was being released from the past and would probably appear in court - I too picked up on that line "She'll probably get away w/ this too" and thought the same thing as you, which I thought it was great the way they put that in there in a way to tell us what would happen even beyond the ending of the film. But I guess people can interpret it however they want and that's cool too. But I'm w/ you - I see Charlotte as finally getting her life back and that everything will be okay from now on for her.

Walk like it's for sale and the rent is due tonight- Miss Jay

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[–] thomas196x2000 15 years ago

I agree, however she is going off to a mental facility. You can see the sheriff "signing her over" to a guy with a medical bag.

I have to agree with the readers that she might very well get off, but it doesn't really matter. She is free of the past and very sane, so she does essentially win.

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[–] thomas196x2000 15 years ago

OMG I remember that...The Nanny. She scared me in that movie, I remember seeing it, sick with a cold, in my parents master bed as they had a TV in their room and felt sorry for me.

The Nanny made me feel worse!!!!

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[–] Crystal (534) 5 years ago

She can't. It is still going to be torn down. She does have all the money to find another comfortable place though.

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[–] HarlowMGM 15 years ago

Well, I'm happy to see someone disagree so poiltely and with courtesy. I still feel however Charlotte is being carted off to a institution. If everything is going to be alright, why is she leaving? How could she possibly get away with the deaths of Miriam and Joseph Cotten? Temporary insantity? That may be true but with all of the parish long thinking Charlotte was "off" and a previous murderer, and now unquestionably responsible for these deaths, she's not about to be released to freedom anytime soon. The letter may prove she was not guilty of the first murder but it's not going to spare her any judgement on the recent ones. I take the comment "She'll probably get away this time too" to mean the harboring resentment of her past "misdeed" (sic) will further penalize Charlotte from any hope of freedom. And certainly the state is not going to wait for this affair to be settled before tearing down the house. They'd probably wreck it the first day Charlotte's gone! I personally believe she takes the music box because she knows she is leaving for good and she wants to hold on to something precious from her past.

I can't imagine any writer or director giving a story like CHARLOTTE a happy ending anymore than say Norma Desmond marrying Joe Gillis or Blanche and Stanley patching up their family feud or Baby Jane and Blanche becoming friends. A story like this almost has to have a tragic ending.

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[–] mizhu 14 years ago

I personally believe she takes the music box because she knows she is leaving for good and she wants to hold on to something precious from her past.

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I only quoted this again because it's a very big error on the part of the poster.

Charlotte does NOT take the music box with her. She puts it down and walks out of the house without it, as if to say.... all of this past is gone now, finally. I'm not taking it with me.

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[–] Crystal (534) 5 years ago

She doesn't take the music box. LOL She has to leave either way. The house is going to get torn down whether she leaves or not. She did commit murder and she won't be released anytime soon. You forgot that she was being drugged and mentally manipulated though. This made her less responsible for her actions.

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[–] Crystal (534) 5 years ago

Even if so, Miriam did not win. There's your twist of fate.

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[–] flipshoes 15 years ago

I also fully agree. - Plus, the ending is IMHO one of the most touching in movie history, due to Bette Davis's fine acting (what an actress indeed she was - there will never be another one like her), the elegant direction, and the beautiful music by Frank DeVol.
Someone recently posted it on Youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR1jwqGkOT0).
We see Miss Davis sitting in the limo, painfully gazing back at her house, then making up her mind and turning around. At the same time Al Martino's powerful voice starts singing the title song, a sweet and melancholic harmonica is heard in the background, the scene cuts to a beautiful overhead shot of the black limo gently driving, the camera decently pulls back (a nice cinematographic effect), and the end credits roll (BTW, what an amazing cast!) while the music joyously swells, a female chorus in the background. What a cathartic effect! This is all so masterly executed by director Robert Aldrich that I always get wet eyes (forgive me saying so) upon watching this scene.

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[–] Harold_Robbins 15 years ago

Even those of us who love Bette Davis will usually admit that she was sometimes excessive and over-the-top, but as I often say, her final scenes in CHARLOTTE demonstrate that when she wanted to, she could do "less is more" with the best of them and achieve great results - she certainly does that here - no dialog, just body language, that face, and those eyes. And we get it all.

"Somewhere along the line the world has lost all of its standards and all of its taste."

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[–] cmjohnson87 15 years ago

I would hardly call Charlotte crazy. She had just been alone/in seclusion for so many years she kind of lost bases with reality. And she always trusted Joseph Cotten had no clue he was out to drive her crazy and ship her off to an institution so he and Ms. De Havilland could live like royalty with her fortune. And when she finally grasped what they were doing to her, i think she saw killing them as the only way to free herself from their grasps. Yes she committed murder, no I do not think she was insane. But in my personal opinion, she committed the crime in an act of self defense. Be it twisted as it was, and I highly doubt it would have ever held up in a court of law. But I believe that was how she saw her actions. And HarlowMGM, who by reading some of his posts has obviously done his homework in The Golden Age of Hollywood 101 was very right. When stating: "I can't imagine any writer or director giving a story like CHARLOTTE a happy ending anymore than say Norma Desmond marrying Joe Gillis or Blanche and Stanley patching up their family feud or Baby Jane and Blanche becoming friends. A story like this almost has to have a tragic ending." Is very true.

There is almost no way to provide this story with a happy ending. And to clear up a misconception the car that Ms. Davis is carried away in is not a limousine. I am by no means a car historian but by looking at the emblem on the front of the car i would say it was an Imperial (the top of the line Chrysler in that time) and it was a typical 4 door sedan.

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[–] billslark 15 years ago

The car is a 1964 Buick Electra 225 4-door sedan. Definitely not a limousine...but a very elegant car in its day. To me, in some ways it is more handsome than the same year's Cadillac but is less ostentatious.

Bill

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[–] lm362 7 years ago

What is unhappy about the ending? It is a truly happy ending for Charlotte. She is free of guilt and of the people who tried to harm her. She is now viewed by others as a nice, respectable person.

"Do All Things For God's Glory"-1 Corinthians 10:31
I try doing this with my posts

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[–] whatwouldyourmomsay 14 years ago

But doesn't Cotten say something about the drugs he's giving her are traceable when he and Olivia are speaking about the treatments they gave Bette over her sleeping body in her bedroom?

Maybe that would be how "Charlotte" defends herself and the doctor being "signed off" by the sheriff could be an acknowledgement that there were drugs in her system? That would have the gossips be right as "Charlotte" could this time use the temporary insanity plea or a version thereof in her defense and there would be medical proof of it. The letter from "Jewel" would be the proof that she had been innocent of the first murder. And "Wills" leaking the story to that other reporter...would he follow up or go for the "sexed-up" version?

Or, was it just enough to have been vindicated of the first murder and she just didn't care anymore since she had already let the past go, and she really was being carted off? Was the ambulance then there for the bodies and not for her?

Good Heavens, more questions than anwers!
Anybody?

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[–] dustinthewind25 14 years ago

I'm still convinced that when they have one of the side characters say, "she'll probably get off for this one too" at the very end, it's the filmmakers' way of telling us that Charlotte won't be held to account for Drew and Miriam's deaths, at least not in the long run.

I'm not saying it's a happy ending, per se. She's not dancing off into the sunset with Gene Kelly.

But I'm convinced that the conventions of filmmaking that are used at the end of this movie would lead us to believe that Charlotte is free from the past, and a further implication to me is that she's not going to be made to pay for Miriam and Drew's deaths.

The whole point of this movie is Charlotte clinging to the past, and at last having the courage to let go. That's the theme of the film, and that wonderful, beautiful, moving scene at the end wherein Charlotte leaves the music box in the house, is really the culmination of the film. I think it's one of Bette Davis' finest moments.

I believe that the makers of this movie like Charlotte, flaws and all, and are not begrudging her the chance at a new beginning. The point of the movie is letting go of the past, and I believe they allow their heroine to do just that.

I respectfully feel that the previous poster who felt that the ending made a case for her being insane and being carted off was off base on this one.

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[–] lenlarga 14 years ago

I agree completely.

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[–] lm362 7 years ago

"I'm still convinced that when they have one of the side characters say, "she'll probably get off for this one too" at the very end, it's the filmmakers' way of telling us that Charlotte won't be held to account for Drew and Miriam's deaths, at least not in the long run."

Actually, I think having that side character say what she did was to show that some people are just wanting to be ignorant and say bad things about people, unlike the others who were saying kind things about Charlotte at the end.

"Do All Things For God's Glory"-1 Corinthians 10:31
I try doing this with my posts

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[–] heyteegs (1207) 4 years ago

Man, I cry at the ending every time. Cecil Kellaway is the perfect actor for his role and Bette...well, I can’t say anything that hasn’t already been said.

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[–] jdforyou1983 (1469) 3 years ago

A very good ending to a great movie

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[–] trevorh321 (5495) 4 years ago

She finally found peace.

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