No, it's not an annoying sitcom from the 90s, but a creepy 60s thriller from the masters of British Horror. Probably director Seth Holt's most famous film, "The Nanny" of 1965 is a different, but highly suspenseful thriller from the great British Hammer Studios. While the Hammer Stuidos are best known for their stylish Gothic Horror films, they also produced a bunch of tense Hitchcockian thrillers, of which "The Nanny" is probably the most widely known. After the success of Robert Aldrich's "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane" (1962) and "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" (1964), the aging Bette Davis had established herself in the Horror/Thriller genre, and "The Nanny" definitely is a film that strongly relies on this great leading actress.
Having spent a longer period of time in a special boarding school for disturbed children after his baby sister's mysterious death, 10-year old Joey is released to go home to his parents' house. The incident has left his mother with clinical depressions and hysteria, and his father is constantly busy. From the moment he is picked up from the boarding school, the boy shows extreme animosity towards the nanny, refusing to eat anything that she cooks and accusing her of trying to poison him. The nanny reacts with kindness to all his accusations. However, there is something uncanny about this constantly friendly and devoted elderly lady...
Bette Davis delivers a truly chilling performance in the role of the superficially friendly but sinister Nanny. 10-year old William Dix is also amazingly good in the lead. The film is creepily shot in black and white and the storyline bears several interesting twists. One of the film's greatest assets is the fact that it manages too keep up the suspense, and even the mystery about who is telling the truth. The twists are unpredictable, and it isn't clear until the film's climax whether the nanny is evil, or just the victim of a disturbed boy's morbid fantasy. Overall this is a truly suspenseful and sometimes disturbing thriller that should definitely not be missed by my fellow Hammer fans. Personally, I still prefer Hammer's Gothic Horror films, but "The Nanny" definitely is a film that all lovers of suspense should appreciate. Highly recommended.
Having spent a longer period of time in a special boarding school for disturbed children after his baby sister's mysterious death, 10-year old Joey is released to go home to his parents' house. The incident has left his mother with clinical depressions and hysteria, and his father is constantly busy. From the moment he is picked up from the boarding school, the boy shows extreme animosity towards the nanny, refusing to eat anything that she cooks and accusing her of trying to poison him. The nanny reacts with kindness to all his accusations. However, there is something uncanny about this constantly friendly and devoted elderly lady...
Bette Davis delivers a truly chilling performance in the role of the superficially friendly but sinister Nanny. 10-year old William Dix is also amazingly good in the lead. The film is creepily shot in black and white and the storyline bears several interesting twists. One of the film's greatest assets is the fact that it manages too keep up the suspense, and even the mystery about who is telling the truth. The twists are unpredictable, and it isn't clear until the film's climax whether the nanny is evil, or just the victim of a disturbed boy's morbid fantasy. Overall this is a truly suspenseful and sometimes disturbing thriller that should definitely not be missed by my fellow Hammer fans. Personally, I still prefer Hammer's Gothic Horror films, but "The Nanny" definitely is a film that all lovers of suspense should appreciate. Highly recommended.