The Nanny (1965)

Here it is, folks, my favourite Hammer film. And it's quite ironic that as a horror fan more than a thriller fan that I should find this Hammer thriller a better, more riveting film than any of their horror films. But life can work out that way sometimes.The plot starts off with a simple concept, which goes as follows - the parents of a 10-year old boy pick him up from an institution he's being held in and bring him back home. It's implied that the boy has done something wrong that led him to being confined. But we're never told what. It's this air of mystery throughout the film that forms the frame on which the rest of the other great aspects of the film are built. The atmosphere at times is reminiscent of the other masterpiece Bette Davis starred in - WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? But the two films are very different in other ways.There are some interesting characters to be found here.The boy's mother, played brilliantly by Wendy Craig, is a depressed woman, easily upset and unable to cope with the responsibilities of life, particularly motherhood. The boy's father, played equally brilliantly by James Villiers, is a calm man, in control but somewhat impatient of his wife's mannerisms and her behaviour. You get the impression that things weren't always this way and that once their marriage and home life was a happy one before whatever sad event caused things to change. This all adds to the air of mystery and the film keeps you guessing until late on.Then we have the boy's nanny, a sinister woman with a very creepy vibe about her, played to perfection by the one and only Bette Davis. Does the boy really have anything to fear from his dear, old nanny? Or are his fears irrational? You'll have to watch the film to find out. But the film really keeps you guessing.Jill Bennett plays the sister of Wendy Craig's character. Bennett's character is, on the surface, much stronger-willed than Craig's and finds the boy's behaviour ridiculous at times. The contrast in the characters of the two sisters is interesting but what's more interesting still, is that she does have a vulnerability of her own, which I won't reveal here.The film is well-paced and the script is simply excellent (kudos to Jimmy Sangster). Too many thrillers, particularly Italian ones that I've seen, have thrown away the solid foundation they are initially built on by descending into tedium. THE NANNY doesn't fall into that trap. It keeps you on the edge of your seat and you will want to stay with the film until the mystery is solved. The revelations don't disappoint or ruin what comes before them either. It's all rather disturbing when the truth comes out but it's not depressing to watch. There is much suspense and tension in those scenes. Seth Holt does an outstanding job.Overall, THE NANNY is my favourite Hammer film. There's none of the cheesiness found in their better known horror films. This is a serious film from beginning to end and a true mystery thriller masterpiece.

Although she did have other and good roles in her last three decades, it seems that after Whatever Happened To Baby Jane, Bette Davis was forever trapped in the horror/fright genre where all good actresses of the studio era seemed to gravitate. No one gravitated more than Bette Davis.Hammer Film, British horror specialists signed Davis for The Nanny. It's the day of the arrival home of William Dix the young son of James Villiers and Wendy Craig. It seems as though a few years back young Dix drowned his sister in a bathtub. He swears that it was The Nanny who did it. But everyone took Davis's word over a child. I'm also not understanding why if one kid was dead and one was in a psychiatric facility there was a need to keep a Nanny employed.Why Dix was let out is a mystery to me since he was completely incorrigible in his incarceration. Maybe they needed bed space. When he gets home Dix really acts out hostility toward Davis.What did happen to the little sister? There are as Catholic doctrine tells us sins of omission and sins of commission. Davis was guilty of a sin of omission but the results were fatal. The fright part of this is that you never know until the end what really happened and just how to parse out the guilt. The Nanny is an all right piece of fright work from Hammer. It will never be rated as a top Bette Davis film.

IMDb 7.2/10 ROTTENTOMATOES 3.7/5 A boy wants his nanny out of his life.I think this film is widely overrated.Most of the performances are mediocre, except for Bette Davis and the little girl (she performs for just a minute). Still, the story manages to keep you slightly interested due to a well built tension every now and then and some disturbing moments. Unfortunately, the end is really weak and disappointing.Funny thing is that even if Bette Davis carries pretty well the weight of the film and that she's on the screen a big deal of time, I had the feeling her character was not well developed.I was disappointed by the film: I was expecting much more given the good reviews on the site.

Although Seth Holt is no Robert Aldrich and "The Nanny" is less than "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" and "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte," Bette Davis provides another classy performance from her fright-film period of the 1960's. These films were more Gothic tales than horror films, and Davis plays menacing characters with a depth and skill that raises them above the genre pieces they could have been.A troublesome young boy returns home after a period in an institution. Despite the patience and understanding of the family nanny, the boy harbors an intense dislike for the woman and rejects any gifts, gestures, or overtures from her. When a series of malicious events takes place, the boy's complicity seems evident, or is it? Although fans of this type of film will guess the truth early on, the fun lies in the chase. While set in London, Davis plays the nanny with little attempt at an accent, but she is convincing and not entirely unsympathetic. The rest of the cast, headed by Wendy Craig, Jill Bennett, and James Villiers, are English; and the crisp black-and-white photography by Harry Waxman captures London in the 1960s and the moody shadows of the family townhouse."The Nanny" is a tidy little film of modest aspirations with a talented cast and an intelligent script, even if the concept is not entirely original. Not a classic, but Bette Davis is worth watching, and the story is engaging for the film's tight 90 minutes..