Sixty years ago, Houmas House survived a diva rivalry to become part of Hollywood history

Murder, betrayal and mental trickery.

“Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte” had all the elements of a psychological thriller when it was released in theaters in 1964.

The film also had A-list Hollywood legends Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland playing out the lead roles in Houmas House in Darrow.

Houmas House's spiral staircase featured in 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte'

Sixty years later, the movie is still good for a few screams, and especially in its signature scene, where the head of a young Bruce Dern tumbles down the house’s spiral staircase into the entryway, stopping at Bette Davis’ feet.

Davis was Charlotte, Dern was her married lover whose head and hand were severed in a 1927 murder thought to have been committed by Charlotte.

Was it?

Houmas House's spiral staircase, the location of the film's signature scene of a disembodied head rolling downward and onto the floor. The movie was filmed at Houmas House and released 60 years ago this year.

STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER

Certainly, the story does a lot of twists and turns through Houmas House before it comes to a conclusion. But the true drama of the film never made it to the screen.

Playing Charlotte's conniving cousin Miriam was de Havilland, who seems an odd bad guy choice, with her best-known role as the sweet-spirited Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With the Wind."

"They tried to get Vivien Leigh to play the part of Miriam," said Jimmy Blanchard, curator for Houmas House, its grounds and the Great River Road Museum next door.

Blanchard wasn't working there when director Robert Aldrich brought his film crew to Ascension Parish. That was in 1963, when George Crozat owned the house.

"The film was released the following year, and Dr. Crozat died in 1967," said Kevin Kelly, the house's current owner. "His nieces and nephews opened it to the public later."

The original stars of 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte' were Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Crawford left before the filming at Houmas House was complete and was replaced by Olivia de Havilland. 

PROVIDED PHOTO BY HOUMAS HOUSE A rivalry

But it was Crozat who opened Houmas House to Hollywood, which brought in its lead stars, Davis and Joan Crawford â€" not de Havilland â€" on the first day of filming. Crawford and Davis were legendary rivals during Hollywood's golden era. Their story was told in the 2017 FX series, "Feud: Bette and Joan."

In 1963, the real feuders were filming at Houmas House while staying at Baton Rouge's Bellemont Motor Hotel.

Today, the hotel is marked only by a large, grassy lot on Airline Highway. It was grand in its heyday, playing host to such Hollywood greats as Clark Gable, John Wayne and Orson Welles.

According to Shaun Considine's 2008 book, "Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud," the stars stayed in two of the Bellemont's bungalows. Considine also mentions that Davis, who had a stake in the film's production, placed Crawford in a bungalow next to a dumpster.

An original movie poster for 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte,' released in 1964, is part of Houmas House's collection. 

STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER

Truth or legend? Either way, it makes a good story.

Plus, Kelly points out, Crawford was well entrenched in the Pepsi-Cola Co. through her marriage to its CEO Alfred Steele.

"So, Bette Davis had a Coca-Cola machine installed back here," said Kelly, pointing to the portico behind exit doors backing the spiral staircase at Houmas House.

Davis’ stunt was wicked. Later, John Mayhew's head wasn't the only thing tumbling down the winding stairs.

As the story goes, Kelly said, Davis placed a Coke bottle on the stairway's bottom step. Crawford tripped on it and tumbled to the floor.

Jimmy Blanchard, curator for Houmas House, holds up a photo of Bette Davis standing among headstones in the same location of where the fictional cemetery was created for the filming of 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte' on the historical property. 

STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER

"That story was told to us by (film critic and actor) Rex Reed, who was a student at LSU and covering the filming for the school's Daily Reveille newspaper at the time," Blanchard said. "He visited with us here a few years ago and told us about the filming."

Crawford leaves

Crawford eventually left the set and checked into the hospital. Legend is the tumble sent her there. Other stories give different reasons.

Still, she landed in the hospital and stayed.

"The studio didn't believe she was sick and hired a private investigator to follow her," Blanchard said. "Bette was making more money, and Joan wanted to be paid more, too. Finally, the studio said it couldn't wait anymore, so they brought in Olivia de Havilland."

Houmas House's Bette Davis room is furnished with the same tester bed that the star slept in as the character Charlotte in 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte,' filmed at the historic home. The movie was released 60 years ago this year. 

STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER

So, how would "Hush... Hush Sweet Charlotte" have played out if Crawford had finished the film?

The toxic chemistry between Davis and Crawford perfectly translated to their characters in the highly successful 1962 thriller, "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane," also directed by Aldrich. He believed they'd be a perfect fit for "Hush... Hush."

"A lot of people don't know that the books, 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane' and 'Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte,' which is what 'Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte' was based on, were written by the same author," Blanchard said.

The author was Henry Farrell, who also adapted his "Charlotte" book into a screenplay, which opens with a flashback of a 1927 party in Houmas House's parlor.

Olivia de Havilland, left, and Bette Davis take a break on Houmas House's side porch during the filming of 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte.' A Coca-Cola bottle rests at the base of a column. It's said Davis installed a Coca-Cola machine on the property to taunt her former costar, Joan Crawford.

PROVIDED PHOTO BY HOUMAS HOUSE

It's here where you'll see exterior shots of the grounds filled with live oaks that still stand, and the garçonnière, where Bruce Dern's character is murdered after breaking up with Charlotte.

Fast forward 34 years. The state is threatening to tear down Charlotte's home to make way for a new Mississippi River bridge. Charlotte refuses to budge and calls in her cousin Miriam for reinforcement.

That's when strange things begin happening. Voices call out to Charlotte, and each night, someone takes to the parlor's harpsichord to play the song John wrote for her, "Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte. Charlotte, don't you cry..."

The family cemetery

In one scene, Davis kneels in the family cemetery. Today, there are no headstones, and the wooden fence, painted to appear as iron on film, has been installed in the Great River Road Museum next door.

Houmas House in Darrow was the site location for the filming of 'Hush .. Hush Sweet Charlotte,' which was released 60 years ago this year.

STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER

"The headstones weren’t real â€" they were cast in plaster," Blanchard said.

Still, this spot plays a key role in the making of the film. Life Magazine sent a photographer for a publicity shoot upon learning of a second pairing of Davis and Crawford. The best-known photo from this session was taken in the fake cemetery with the stars perched on headstones, both dressed in character.

Blanchard has a framed copy of this photo in Houmas House's Bette Davis room, furnished with the same bed in which Charlotte slept in the movie. A candelabra donated by Davis sits on the nightstand.

But the cemetery spot is empty, save for a couple of sniping alligator sculptures that Kelly has appropriately named Joan and Bette.

Houmas House curator Jimmy Blanchard holds a publicity photo of Bette Davis from 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte.' Davis stands on Houmas House's second floor balcony in this scene, where she eventually pushes off the plant urn as a threat to highway workers. This scene foreshadows another key scene in the movie.

STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER

Blanchard has a photo of Davis and de Havilland sitting on the edge of Houmas House's side porch, laughing with an empty Coke bottle beside them. This was taken when de Havilland showed up to reshoot Crawford’s scenes.

Davis is out of character in that photo, looking nothing like the crazed Charlotte who eventually solves all of her problems by pushing a large planter off Houmas House’s second-floor balcony.

Today, all of the stars are gone from Houmas House, but a ghostly memory still lingers within the melody "Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte. Charlotte don't you cry…"

Sculptures of two alligators have been placed in the spot once occupied by the fictional cemetery created for the filming of 'Hush ... Hush Sweet Charlotte' at Houmas House. The house's owner, Kevin Kelly, humorously refers to them as Bette and Joan.

STAFF PHOTO BY ROBIN MILLER

Houmas House, 40136 La. 942, Darrow, is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. For more information, call (225) 473-9380 or visit houmashouse.com.