The Anniversary (1968)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Widowed construction czar keeps her three grown sons (one a husband and father, another recently engaged, and the third a cross-dresser) squirming under her thumb--but on the anniversary of her marriage to their father, the daughter-in-law and the fiancée attempt to trump the queen bee. Well-produced and directed adaptation of Bill MacIlwraith's play is predictably stagy but also quite lively, with claws out. Bette Davis (in an eyepatch!) was poised to tear down the scenery in the leading role, yet she's more than just a camp monstrosity here. One would be hard-pressed to say that Davis brings dimension and shading to her domineering tyrant, however she does give us a maniacally clever, tightly-wound woman, and it's a memorable portrait. The supporting cast is equally good, and some of the dialogue has bite, however these selfish, repulsive people eventually wear out their welcome. ** from ****

This is probably one of the all-time BEST performances by Bette Davis you will ever see. As I understand it, this is not easy to find and if you are a true Bette Davis fan, you simply MUST have this! The simple plot revolves around Ms Taggert's (Bette Davis) yearly tradition of celebrating her wedding anniversary even though her husband has been dead quite some time. Not only does she insist on commemorating the occasion but DEMANDS that her sons, ALL of whom have their own issues with Mother Dear, attend along with their respective families. Then Bette proceeds to tear into them unmercifully because she knows they will put up with it all for the sake of good ol' moola! Knowing this, Bette pulls no punches and delivers one of the funniest, most brutal, scathing, lowdown, and over-the-top CLASSIC performances in film history.This is vintage Bette. Trust me. No Bull. You simply MUST see this! It is just a stitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Owch. This film manages to portray a family even LESS likable than the Bickersons or Mama's Family. Heck, even the Mansons seem downright cuddly compared to these freaks in THE ANNIVERSARY. So, if you see this film, be prepared to see some truly dreadful people--with Bette Davis playing one of the most awful women in film history! The only one worse that I can think of, off the top of my head, is Divine in PINK FLAMINGOS! THE ANNIVERSARY is about an evening where three grown sons come to a party for their mother. It seems that their parents anniversary has arrived, but the father is the lucky one--he died years earlier! Each of the three sons has a secret. The oldest loves to steal women's undergarments and is most likely gay. The second is planning on emigrating to Canada with his family to get away from his mother's domineering ways. The third is planning on marrying his pregnant girlfriend--who up until this point has never met his screwy family. As for Bette Davis, as the matriarch she seems (based on her real-life daughter's book) to be playing herself! Manipulative, blunt, cruel and vicious--this old lady has all the maternal instincts of a rabid hamster! Now some of this is so horrible behavior is so bad that the film is a great black comedy. Others might just find it all a bit tedious. And others might just leave the room screaming--as it reminds them of their own dysfunctional families!! As for me, it was a lot like watching MOMMY DEAREST without the physical abuse. At times I did laugh, as some of the cutting comments were pretty clever. However, I must say that after a while, Bette's evil ways did get a little tough to take simply because I was longing for one of the sons to strangle her or at least show some guts--though I guess if they had, then they wouldn't have made such an "interesting" family.By the way, although Davis played a truly awful and manipulative person, it was also amazing that for all the horrible things she said to the fiancée in particular, that no one stood up for her--not even the boyfriend. And, when each gets in some sort of trouble, the others simply stand back and do nothing to help. These show that the entire family was a mess--not just the matriarch. This makes for a very fascinating portrait and giving the film more depth than if she'd just been a horrible person herself. This is especially true because, in some ways, the two younger sons seemed to be attracted to women who were domineering--and had SOME similarity to Mum.By the way....if you dare and do watch this film, get a load of the kiss that occurs 78 minutes into the film. You certainly WON'T miss it. And also, shortly after this, get a load of Davis' comment about "Christian values"--it's simply unbelievable.This has "cult film" and "guilty pleasure" written all over it. What a kooky film!

Based on a deliberately nasty little West End play, this film became a late-career tour-de-force for Ms. Davis who was enjoying a career resurgence playing ghoulish or crazy roles in horror and suspense films. Though this is not a horror film (despite the Hammer name on it), it is slightly creepy thanks to the overwhelming emotional hold that one-eyed Davis has on her brood. She plays the incredibly controlling and demanding mother of three sons who collects them together each year on the day of her wedding anniversary to their late father in order to play a four-sided game of mental chess with them, taunting and testing them to see if they can possibly get out from under her iron-clad control. Youngest son Roberts brings a fairly headstrong fiancé (Taylor) with him, wondering if she'll be the one who is able to help him break free. His brother Hedley has a wife (Hancock) and five children and likewise has a plan to slip out of Davis's grasp. Cossins, as the other son, isn't as eager to get away as his mother is strangely tolerant of his secret fetish and tends to pick on him less than the others. The sextet spends the course of the movie sniping at one another or trying to outdo one another, though there is rarely any doubt about who is in charge (in the film or on the set! Davis had the original director canned after one week's filming.) Davis, looking rather chic despite some very high-clipped bangs and a set of badly nicotine-stained teeth, is in full command of everything around her. From the moment she appears, she grabs the reins and never lets go. A more firm director might have encouraged her to allow some more shading to her character and not play all her cards within the first several minutes, but she's fascinating to behold nonetheless. The one good eye she is allowed to reveal works overtime, darting to and fro like a pinball as she relishes the snarky dialogue she's been given. Hancock gives her a real run for her money (the two clashed somewhat during the shoot) and provides some of the best acting in the film. Actually, all of the principle performers do well, as well as they can after having been brought on to support Davis. Hedley is believably frustrated, Cossins is effective and memorable and Roberts is convincingly stymied and petulant. Taylor (who would marry Christopher Plummer soon after this) is attractive and mostly appealing, providing a character for audiences to identify with as they enter this pit of vipers. Though unavoidably stage bound for much of its running time, the vivid color and vivid performances keep it aloft. The production design is arresting as well. Unique as this may seem, it actually serves as a descendant from the much earlier play and film, "The Silver Cord" which featured an overbearing, clingy mother (an amazing Laura Hope Crews in the movie) who went to great lengths to keep her boys near her. The chief difference is that in that story, the mother played the victim while here there is no such artifice. The mother is blatantly villainous. Also, there's purposeful dark comedy in the later work. Fans of Davis will likely relish seeing her run roughshod over her chicks, though some may feel a tad oppressed by the time the end rolls around.