What a mean, nasty, cold old hag. I cheered when she fell down the stairs.
Well done, Gladys Cooper!
Actually, she threw herself down the stairs to make Charlotte feel guilty...but I agree. Dispised and and her death was too easy for such a rotten person!
shareI also agree. At first, I thought her overbearing attitude was a misguided attempt to love and protect her only daughter, but then I realized it was just about power and control. I hope throwing herself down the stairs really hurt.
share"I hope throwing herself down the stairs really hurt."
Erm, you do know that she is an actress and not a real person?
"The willow sees the heron's image upside down" from 'Sans Soleil'
"Erm, you do know that she is an actress and not a real person?"
An actress is a real person. Do you mean the character the actress was portraying?
Who is Erm?
Agree! Her motives were bizarre, keeping her repressed and dependent, but at the same time expecting her to make a good marriage and 'bring honor to the family name'. She reminded me of the mother in "Like Water for Chocolate", expecting her youngest to stay home and remain her unpaid companion in her old age.
shareShe was a nasty old bag, alright. I guess she only left Charlotte the dough to make her feel guilty! I did find her funny at times, though. Great performance from Cooper.
Yes... that's right... take your hats off in the presence of the patroon.
Charlotte was a lot more patient that I would've been. Parents who shame their children's sexuality are really disturbed. If you don't like that your adult child has sexual feelings, take it up with Mother Nature.
shareWomen of her generation would not have been sexually open with their daughters. There was a great deal of repression and the education of women about their bodies has always been a war of morals and science. It's still going on today. How many women know anything at all about their bodies as sexual knowledge is still controlled by parents, the media, and education through religion. How many women today have ever ready Our Bodies, Our Selves for instance?
-- Ew lover, you gonna make me clutch my pearls --
Just about every woman from my generation has read it, including myself back in the 70's. It is a biased book from a time when women were told they did not need men or children. It was virulently pro abortion, don't forget 1/2 the babies are female. But why shouldn't sexual knowledge be controlled by parents? I have a 16 year old and it was MY job. Who do you think should teach women about their bodies? If its some moldy old feminist tome count me out.
shareI was surprised to hear Charlotte talk about making love.....seems any films I've seen from this era have never implied anything about sex before marriage.
And having just seen the film for the first time, I realized that James Cameron completely ripped off the scene where Rose first comes to Titanic & steps out of her car. The large hat is almost completely covering up her face, and she turns her chin up & there appears her beautiful face. Anyway, both were done wonderfully but I was still a little disappointed!
The phrase 'making love' said by Charlotte in NV does not have the same meaning that it does today. What Charlotte and Leslie (the ship's officer) were doing in the car was 'making love' in 1942.
shareI saw this film for the first time today (7/13/2013), and I have kicked myself for not seeing it before.
Bette Davis is wonderful, from the frumpy young woman to the beautiful lady she became on the cruise.
Gladys Cooper proves once again how much character actors add to the richness of the film. What a rotten old bitch she was, so possessive. And, the wonderful "nurse" Mary Wickes responds to her after she's given a list of orders, her wisecrack of "Which one first, Queen Elizabeth?" cracked me up!
But the best part, after "dear Mama" faked a fall on the stairs to try to repossess Charlotte, is when Charlotte finally tells her off, and the old bag slides down in her chair enroute to the River Stxx, finally kicking the bucket and her will still has Charlotte getting the whole kaboodle.
It was almost as good a "bucket kick" as Jimmy Durante in "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World"!
She's also very masculine. Using money and power (a masculine characteristic) to keep Charlotte in line. She is not only a bad mother, she is a bad person. Oddly, she does seem to soften a bit once Charlotte agrees to marry the sexless Eliot Livingston, but once she breaks off the engagement (in one of the best played scenes of the movie), the mother totally turns into the monster she was in the early part of the film.
shareThe message was that Charlotte should not sever the relationship with her mother, but rather bridge the divide by rebuilding a new relationship. She did this by incorporating the lessons learned from her psychotherapy sessions.
I wonder if the story took place today, what would have happened? (certainly she would have moved out of the Vale Mansion). We live in a society that encourages blaming other people. Yes, Charlotte's mother was a mean, controlling b!tch. But so what? She was also the only mother Charlotte had. (Oh, and there's that boatload of money to be had by getting along with her.)
___________________________________
Never say never...
The funny thing is, reportedly that actress was a total sweetheart in real life, and people on her films found her a joy to work with and be around. I read that she and Davis got along, and Davis could try the patience of a saint.
But then again, some actors who play the most memorable villains are amazingly gentle and kind in real life...
"Value your education. It's something nobody can ever take away from you." My mom.
Yes, Gladys Cooper was awesome in this film. I know her from Rebecca, where she plays a somewhat prickly but kind hearted and generous character. It is an interesting comparison to her role in this film.
shareShe's always good - my introduction to her was as Mrs. Higgins, mother to Rex Harrison, in _My Fair Lady_. Oh, she tossed off those Shaw and Shaw-inspired lines so well, and made me like and respect her so much - then to see her next in _New Voyager_ was rather inspiring. It's wonderful to watch how quickly her characters establish themselves opposite or in alignment with the others around them. It makes for almost instant and exciting communication between Cooper and whoever she's acting with.
shareYou might also like her in "Separate Tables".
shareI loved her in The Song Of Bernadette.....absolutely SUPERB!
shareIn a November 17, 1971, appearance on Dick Cavett's ABC-TV show, Davis mentioned Gladys Cooper's recent death and made very kind statements about Cooper, as both person and performer. (The interview is included within the Cavett DVD box set HOLLYWOOD LEGENDS.)
Most great films deserve a more appreciative audience than they get.
I heard the same about Ann Blyth who played evil teen Veda in Mildred Pierce. Many old Hollywood stars stated she was a sweetheart.
shareThe film works so well because Davis is routinely at her best with a female nemesis played by an actress Davis genuinely respected. Like Mary Astor in other co-starrings, Cooper was that too. Like Davis, Cooper could fearlessly dare an audience to hate her, as Bette herself does in Of Human Bondage, The Little Foxes, Baby Jane, Beyond The Forest, The Anniversary and a few others.
The two of them assuredly render scenes between Mrs. Henry Vale and her daughter that crackle with long-held resentment and ominous tension.
- -
Truth is a hard master, and costly to serve, but it simplifies every problem.
But Bette was also superb opposite Miriam Hopkins and she despised her, although I think I remember reading that as an actress, she respected her.
shareFrom page 2: "I was surprised to hear Charlotte talk about making love.....seems any films I've seen from this era have never implied anything about sex before marriage."
It's important to remember that words and phrases change their meanings over time. "Making love" is one of the biggest in this respect. Until about 1960, it meant simply respectable public wooing, "keeping company," with no implication of sex.
Classic narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).
shareI am formerly known as HillieBoliday....Member since May 2006.
It wasn't the mother I wanted to push down the stairs (even though she deserved it); it was that self-absorbed, selfish, mealy mouthed, not very pretty, bully of a niece who started gossiping and insinuating total untruths about Charlotte and the Doctor right there in front of her crazy mother and the rest of the family.......I couldn't stand her spoiled, rotten arse!
"OOhhhooo....I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"