A merced del odio

You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out who the nut job is in "The Nanny". This is Bette Davis in post "Baby Jane/Sweet Charlotte" mode. She's nanny to disturbed little Joey, (an excellent William Dix), who may or may not have drowned his little sister in the bathtub. Joey is a sulky little sod given to rather extreme practical jokes, (little pretending to hang himself), but one look at Mary Poppins Davis and you might be inclined to run a mile. That fine and underrated director Seth Holt directed his excellent psychological chiller well adapted by producer Jimmy Sangster from Evelyn Piper's novel. Davis is superb but so too are Wendy Craig and Jill Bennett as Dix's mother and aunt. It has now built up something of a cult reputation.

"The Nanny" probably just started out as an attempt to cash in on the immense success of lead actress Bette Davis (who starred in "Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte" and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" the previous years) and – who knows - maybe even the profitable concept of "Mary Poppins", since that classic also revolved on the nanny/children relationship; albeit a much happier and cheerful one. By no means, however, this means that "The Nanny" is an inferior thriller production. Quite the contrary, this is a hugely atmospheric and very suspenseful pot-boiler and perhaps even one of Hammer's most underrated efforts ever. The legendary British horror studio is mainly known for its grueling takes on classic monster stories ("Dracula", "Frankenstein"…) and stupendous Sci-Fi movies (the "Quatermass" trilogy), but they were also responsible for several gore-free but spirited and story-driven psychological thrillers with a film-noir type of atmosphere, and "The Nanny" is unquestionably one of the highlights in this often overlooked sub category alongside "Hysteria" and "Paranoiac".

Our lead actress, with her uniquely creepy charisma and eyes that were sung about specifically (Bette Davis Eyes – Bette Davis' Eyes), stars as an exaggeratedly polite and overly dedicated nanny in a household full of neurotic outcasts. Mommy is an emotional wreck since the death of her cherubic daughter; daddy is a senseless prick who's never there when needed and ten-year-old son Joey just left a mental institution because he's suspected of drowning his sister. Joey hates Nanny with a passion, claims she killed little Suzy and now openly accuses her of wanting to do the same to him. No matter how patient and loving she tries to be, Joey's behavior grows increasingly aggressive and uncontrollable. Admittedly no one, not even the most inexperienced and/or unintelligent horror viewer, will have much trouble figuring out what's really going on quite early in the film already, but Hammer veterans Seth Holt ("Taste of Fear") and Jimmy Sangster ("Fear in the Night") nevertheless maintain the tension level high and the delivers the chills on a very regular basis. It's a slow-paced but non-stop ominous film, with the photography in good old black & white – which always adds to the atmosphere – and a truly depressing depiction of certain uptight British social classes. It's praiseworthy how, even though the denouement is transparent from the beginning, Holt and Sangster still manage to occasionally make you wonder who speaks the truth: the little boy who acts like Dennis The Menace on acid and simply asks for a thorough spanking … or the stoically cold but unimpeachable nanny? Davis is sublime, but young actor William Dix definitely doesn't have to yield to her persona as he gives away a marvelous performance. It even is truly incomprehensible and unfortunate that he just appeared in only one more movie after this.

Bette Davis gives her most chilling performance in this film. Her restraint is remarkable, following Baby Jane as this film did. If you ever want to see what passive aggressive looks like, watch this movie. I've seen it twice, and would want to see it again.

There was something about Bette Davis that made everything she did great viewing. Whether she was evil Bette, headstrong Bette or misguided Bette, she dominated all her films. In this film she is strange Bette, a queer housekeeper that could just be off her rocker. The film rachets up the tension from the very beginning. No setup at the beginning to explain anything, any questions the viewer might have will be answered in due time. The one problem, as with all films dealing with troublesome kids is that William Dix's Joey is so rotten in the beginning that one wants someone to knock him off, also he displays an unusual amount of intelligence for a 10 year old boy. But watch this for Davis as you wonder, did she or didn't she.

This is a rather oddly presented story with the common theme of something awry with the nanny....or butler or....anyone who you think you can trust.

Suspense films like this are excellent in that one really can guess what is to happen next, and the characters and their behavior is quite mercurial.

Wendy Craig , (who later starred in comedies such as "Butterflies" on NY station PBS) is good here as the mother of young Joey Fane, a troubled child with whom no one seems to know what to do with. Or is that really the case?. There is a Hitchcockian element to this story in that the black and white cinematography is slightly foreboding, little Joey's butter cream cake (to welcome him home after the hospital) looks inviting, but is it poison?.

Jill Bennett who has been in other films of this genre as the narcissistic aunt Virgie, who feels she is up to the task of minding Joey until odd occurrences begin to shake her resolve.

Ms. Davis as the nanny has a secret past, which is not divulged other than when we see the squalor in which her own daughter had lived. Her expressions are sublime, then jaw dropping. She acts with expression, her movements and beats are the mark of her talent. She does not need to vocalize what is percolating internally. A gem here worth seeing for Davis alone. 9/10.