The Nanny (1965)

90% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
76% of users liked it
(811 ratings)

In this thriller (which represented something of a departure for Hammer Films, noted for their gothic period pieces), Joey Fane (William Dix) has returned home after two years in an institution for mentally ill children. His sister drowned, and his family believes that Joey was to blame, despite his… More In this thriller (which represented something of a departure for Hammer Films, noted for their gothic period pieces), Joey Fane (William Dix) has returned home after two years in an institution for mentally ill children. His sister drowned, and his family believes that Joey was to blame, despite his claims of innocence. Joey is convinced that the family's Nanny (Bette Davis) was responsible and refuses to have anything to do with her, but only neighbor girl Bobby (Pamela Franklin) agrees that there's something sinister about the woman minding the house. When Joey's neurotic mother Virginia (Wendy Craig) nearly dies after eating tainted food prepared by the Nanny, Virginia's sister Penelope (Jill Bennett) comes by to help. Penelope soon witnesses the bad blood between Joey and the Nanny, though before long she begins to think that the boy might be right about her after all. Jimmy Sangster adapted the screenplay from a novel by Evelyn Piper. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.
Directed By: Seth Holt
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Oct 27, 1965 Wide
On DVD: Dec 21, 2006

Critic Reviews

Jeremy Heilman, MovieMartyr.com
The Nanny is not especially ambitious, so one must settle for the small pleasures and chills that it offers.
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
... considering the film's relative obscurity I'm actually surprised Fox included as [many special features] as they did.
Felix Gonzalez Jr., DVD Review
... The Nanny holds up considerably well today as a slight, but unsettling, thriller.
Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
Ultimately disappointing, but Davis gives Mary Poppins a run for her money.
Dan Callahan, Slant Magazine
A rather quiet, cautious thriller that gives Davis more room for characterization than most of her later films.
John Wirt, Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
Bette Davis as the baddest of nannies. Scary in its modest way.
Christopher Smith, Bangor Daily News (Maine)
Fantastic. Davis is perfectly creepy.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Bette Davis is electrifying as the prim and proper nanny
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Dreary, bizarrely overrated thriller distinguished only by Bette Davis.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Michael G

I thought for sure that The Nanny was going to turn out to be some campy and gaudy forgettable film in the twilight of the career of Bette Davis. What it actually turns out to be is a sadly overlooked powerhouse performance by Davis that's every bit as horrific as it is… More
I thought for sure that The Nanny was going to turn out to be some campy and gaudy forgettable film in the twilight of the career of Bette Davis. What it actually turns out to be is a sadly overlooked powerhouse performance by Davis that's every bit as horrific as it is beautifully sad. Unfortunately you're probably going to spend most of The Nanny's 90-minute running time hating William Dix's (Joey's) guts when you're not mildly entertained by Pamela Franklin's upstairs neighbor performance. The flashbacks are well done and pretty frightening even if The Nanny isn't the standard Hammer film. It's easy to bunch this one in with What Ever Happened to Baby Jane and Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte even thought its completely different, but at the same time it reminded me more of Bunny Lake is Missing. For as short of a movie as The Nanny is it's kind of a long watch but worth it in the end.
jay n

Bette is masterful as always, the movie is chilling.
Candy R

Creepy movie about a nanny.
Ed Fucking H

A really good and criminally overlooked gem from classic British Horror studio Hammer, starring the always wonderful Bette Davis. Story revolves around a young boy named Joey who was recently released from a mental institution for troubled youth. He was locked up for the accidental… More
A really good and criminally overlooked gem from classic British Horror studio Hammer, starring the always wonderful Bette Davis. Story revolves around a young boy named Joey who was recently released from a mental institution for troubled youth. He was locked up for the accidental death of his sister who drowned in the bath tub a few years earlier. Joey maintains that he was innocent and that the family Nanny was to blame. Naturally no one believes him and upon returning home nothing has changed between him and the Nanny, who remains at their home to care for Joey's mother who is something of a grown up child herself in the wake of her daughters death. I went into this movie knowing nothing of it and was really pleased with the results. The story is really well told and your never really sure who to believe, especially since Joey's character does seem to be a rotten little hellian. Bette Davis and the kid who played Joey both delivered excellent performances, and I would strongly recommend this under seen Horror classic.
Henrik S

From Hammer Horror comes a creepy, psychological thriller starring Bette Davis in one of the roles which cemented her late calling as nutjob and expert in playing lunatics. The film evolves around a typical family and the aftermath of a little girls death. With accusations of murder… More
From Hammer Horror comes a creepy, psychological thriller starring Bette Davis in one of the roles which cemented her late calling as nutjob and expert in playing lunatics. The film evolves around a typical family and the aftermath of a little girls death. With accusations of murder and neglect being thrown around, the movie soon foucsses on a cat-and-mouse play between The Nanny, the son and other family members. Despite being fairly minimal in its scope and direction (which works fine by the way), the movie is unusally hard to crack and you will not know what has been going on in the oast and is going on in the present until the very end of the movie. The Nanny is not as camp and trashy as other Hammer Horror movies and reminds me of Rosemary's Baby for that matter. Bette Davis flagships the cast, but the rest is quite good as well. The movie is ot as creepy as it could have been, but when a creepy moments finally rears its head, it becomes quite edgy and disturbing, detouring from you usual horror shock toolbox and delivering deep and irritating pictures and suggestions, which is refreshing for every horror fan out there. Still, the movie revolves around one big showdown and the uncertainty of what happened in the past. Evevrything else that is going on between the family does not carry much weight and thus, the movie has the tendency to drag on, whenever Bette Davis is not on screen and takes even longer to get going. I would recommend this movie to every fan of Bette Davis and Hammer Horror. HX