The Nanny (1965)

Directed by Seth Holt. Starring Bette Davis, William Dix, Pamela Franklin, Jill Bennett, Wendy Craig, Jack Watling, James Villiers, Angharad Aubrey, Harry Fowler, Maurice Denham, Alfred Burke.

This change of pace for Hammer Films is a psychological suspenser starring Davis as a dowdy, evasive nanny and Dix as the sort of outrageously rude little brat that would have Mr. Rogers reaching for the belt. Did Dix drown his younger sister in the bath a couple years earlier, or should we believe his accusations that it was actually the nanny? This deviant anti-Mary Poppins gets a little long-winded with the setup and the sub-plots, such as an unconvincing “friendship” struck between Dix and teenage neighbor Franklin, but it’s well-crafted for its type, and provides a chilling surprise or two. Austere black & white photography by Harry Waxman. The subject matter initially earned the film an X-rating in the UK.

72/100