Camp?
I've heard many critics refering to it as a camp film, but why exactly is it considered camp?
shareThe over the top, scenery chewing performances. Like Bette's "What do you think I asked you here for......COMPANY?? Agnes's "What's going ONNNNNN up there that you don't want me to see?". Victor Buono's "As I recOHlect, she was sittin' right about 'chere." Olivia hissing "I'm NEVER going to suffer for you again!". And on and on. I adore this film!
shareYeah, as some critic noted - Bette Davis being out-overacted by another cast member isn´t something you see every day.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
Yes this is definitely campy. But it is a very good type of campy, where it actually helps the film instead of hurts it.
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It's not just a Bette Davis film.
I consider it among de Havilland's best work too. Olivia deserves a lot of credit for stepping in at the last moment so the film could be made after Crawford was let go. She's got some of the sharpest lines and she delivers them with subtle nuances too.
She not only holds her own against Davis and Moorehead, but some have said she and Mary Astor give the two classiest performances.
"Somewhere along the line, the world has lost all of its standards and all of its taste."
Absolutely. I know people who think Astor gave the best performance in the film. With a total of 4 minutes of screen time. As for Olivia, she's brilliant. In my opinion much better than Crawford would have been. As you said, nuanced.
shareI love Astor's scene with Cecil Kellaway on the patio as she talks about her "ruined finery" and failing health, before she turns the letter over to him. There was a sort of Tennessee Williams quality about her little monologue.
And yes, I'm glad Olivia took the role, after much persuasion from director Robert Aldrich. She managed to play it to the hilt with much finesse.
"Somewhere along the line, the world has lost all of its standards and all of its taste."
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Olivia gave the audience a chance to get away occasionally from the heavy emoting and shouting going on at Hollis House...until she reveals her true self. And even then, as Judith Crist said in her review, she gave Miriam "exquisite refinement." I think the contrast between the two actresses was a welcome one.
I believe Olivia at least gave the role more subtlety and nuance than it would have had with Joan Crawford.