Sign In / Sign Up

The Nanny

The Nanny
Release date: 1965-10-07
Rating: 6.9
Votes: 105
Genres: Drama, Thriller, Horror
Nanny, a London family's live-in maid, brings morbid 10-year-old Joey back from the psychiatric ward he's been in for two years, since the death of his younger sister. Joey refuses to eat any food Nanny's prepared or take a bath with her in the room. He also demands to sleep in a room with a lock. Joey's parents -- workaholic Bill and neurotic Virgie -- are sure Joey is disturbed, but he may have good reason to be terrified of Nanny.

Reviews

John Chard

John Chard

The Nanny of the Fane household holds sway. The Nanny is directed by Seth Holt and adapted to screenplay by Jimmy Sangster from the novel of the same name written by Evelyn Piper (AKA: Merriam Modell). It stars Bette Davis, Wendy Craig, William Dix, Jill Bennett, James Villiers and Pamela Franklin. Music is by Richard Rodney Bennett and cinematography by Harry Waxman. The Fane family, their Nanny, a tragedy and young Master Joey Fane just released from a school for disturbed children. Secrets will out... A psychological thriller of some substance from Hammer Film Productions, The Nanny thrives on deft story telling and acting of quality from Bette Davis. There's a slight annoyance that the mystery element of the story struggles to command interest, because the title of the film kind of tells us what is wrong in the Fane household equation, but the constant battle between young Joey (Dix excellent as a kid being stubborn and aggressive, but alienated) and Nanny Bette is riveting. Holt builds the core of the story patiently, the Fane house is a fraught place, Craig's mom is perched on the edge of a break down, Villiers' papa a stiff backed type not nearly at home enough and emotionally cut off from the worries of his wife and child. Hovering over them all is Nanny, smoothly weaving about them, holding sway with an unnerving calmness, it's a calm before the storm scenario and once the truths come tumbling out the best impact has been garnered due to the unfussy and unhurried work of the production team. Filmed suitably in black and white and primarily shot in the confines of one home, picture has atmosphere and oppressive feeling in abundance. The lack of that mystery intrigue, and a less than barn storming finale, stop it from being in the top tier of the Hammer-Psycho-Chiller list, but it's an easy film to recommend to fans of the genre and especially to fans of the irrepressible Madame Davis. 7.5/10

Movie Recommendation

  • Dracula: Prince of Darkness
    Dracula: Prince of Darkness
    1966-01-09
    Whilst vacationing in the Carpathian Mountain, two couples stumble across the remains of Count Dracula's castle. The Count's trusted servant kills one of the men, suspending the body over the Count's ashes so that the blood drips from the corpse and saturates the blackened remains. The ritual is completed, the Count revived and his attentions focus on the dead man's wife who is to become his partner; devoted to an existence of depravity and evil.
    More...
  • The Entity
    The Entity
    1982-09-30
    A single mom is raped by an invisible force. Her psychiatrist believes the experience stems from childhood trauma, while she knows something supernatural is at play.
    More...
  • Castle of Blood
    Castle of Blood
    1964-02-27
    When a cynical journalist accepts a wager that he won't survive the night in a haunted castle, it unlocks an odyssey of sexual torment, undead vengeance, and a dark seductress who surrenders the gravest of pleasures.
    More...
  • How to Marry a Millionaire
    How to Marry a Millionaire
    1953-10-29
    Three women set out to find eligible millionaires to marry, but find true love in the process.
    More...
  • The Anniversary
    The Anniversary
    1968-02-07
    Mrs Taggart always celebrates her anniversary with her grown sons. It’s a tradition practised since the death of her husband and she is determined for it to continue. None of her three sons have dared to cross their ruthless domineering mother but this anniversary they intend to try. With cruel and brutal twists, the family get-together becomes a social nightmare beyond endurance.
    More...
  • Hercules and the Amazon Women
    Hercules and the Amazon Women
    1994-04-24
    Hercules and Iolaus take time out from Iolaus' wedding preparations, to help a distant village under attack from "monsters". When they reach their destination, they find the monsters are in fact Amazonian women who are controlled by Hera. "Hercules and the Amazon Women" is the first movie-length pilot episode of the television series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys".
    More...
  • The Star
    The Star
    1952-12-11
    Actress Margaret Elliot is well past her prime but refuses to retire from the acting business. Despite entreaties from both her daughter, Gretchen, and one-time professional colleague Jim Johannsen, Margaret remains convinced that she can regain her former glory. As she sets her sights on a coveted Hollywood role, Johannsen tries doggedly to get his unrequited love to see the folly of her ways.
    More...
  • Lupo mannaro
    Lupo mannaro
    2000-12-07
    Police chief Romeo becomes convinced that affluent professional Velasco is a serial killer known for mauling his victims with his teeth, but nobody believes him. The investigation slowly turns into a personal challenge between obsessive Romeo and stone-faced Velasco, an individual above suspicion — he murders people not because he has to, but simply because he can.
    More...
  • One Battle After Another
    One Battle After Another
    2025-09-23
    Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
    More...
  • Shutter Island
    Shutter Island
    2010-02-14
    World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane, but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.
    More...
  • Battle Royale II: Requiem
    Battle Royale II: Requiem
    2003-07-05
    It's three years after the events of the original Battle Royale, and Shuya Nanahara is now an internationally-known terrorist determined to bring down the government. His terrorist group, Wild Seven, stages an attack that levels several buildings in Tokyo on Christmas Day, killing 8000 people. In order for the government to study the benefits of "teamwork", the new students work in pairs, with their collars electronically linked so that if one of them is killed, the other dies as well. They must kill Nanahara in three days - or die.
    More...
  • Funny Farm
    Funny Farm
    1988-06-03
    Sportswriter Andy Farmer moves with his schoolteacher wife Elizabeth to the country in order to write a novel in relative seclusion. Of course, seclusion is the last thing the Farmers find in the small, eccentric town, where disaster awaits them at every turn.
    More...
  • Titanic
    Titanic
    1997-11-18
    101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
    More...
  • The Isle
    The Isle
    2000-04-22
    Mute Hee-Jin is working as a clerk in a fishing resort in the Korean wilderness; selling baits, food and occasionally her body to the fishing tourists. One day she falls in love with Hyun-Shik, who is on the run from the police, and rescues him with a fish hook when he tries to commit suicide.
    More...
  • Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
    Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
    1998-08-05
    Two decades after surviving a massacre on October 31, 1978, former baby sitter Laurie Strode finds herself hunted by persistent knife-wielder Michael Myers. Laurie now lives in Northern California under an assumed name, where she works as the headmistress of a private school. But it's not far enough to escape Myers, who soon discovers her whereabouts. As Halloween descends upon Laurie's peaceful community, a feeling of dread weighs upon her -- with good reason.
    More...
  • Matchmaker Santa
    Matchmaker Santa
    2012-11-21
    As a little girl, Melanie Hogan wished to find her own prince charming just like her parents found true love. Now an adult, Melanie is running her own bakery and dating a handsome CEO, Justin. Although things seem perfect when Justin asks Melanie to spend the holidays together at his beautiful lake house upstate—and meet his mother. Melanie finds herself spending more time with Justin’s best friend and loyal assistant, Dean, who just might be harboring a secret crush on her. When complications arise that throw Melanie and Dean together over the holiday, will the two realize they're meant to be?
    More...
  • Ninotchka
    Ninotchka
    1939-11-23
    A stern Russian woman sent to Paris on official business finds herself attracted to a man who represents everything she is supposed to detest.
    More...
  • The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
    The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
    1958-12-05
    When a princess is shrunken by an evil wizard, Sinbad must undertake a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.
    More...
  • The Butterfly Effect
    The Butterfly Effect
    2004-01-17
    A young man struggles to access sublimated childhood memories. He finds a technique that allows him to travel back into the past, to occupy his childhood body and change history. However, he soon finds that every change he makes has unexpected consequences.
    More...
  • Back to the Future
    Back to the Future
    1985-07-03
    Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.
    More...

Similar Movies