The Nanny is a 1965suspense film directed by Seth Holt and starring Bette Davis as a devoted nanny caring for a ten-year-old boy recently discharged from a home for disturbed children. It is based on the novel of the same name by Evelyn Piper (a pseudonym for Merriam Modell), and the film was scored by Richard Rodney Bennett.
Synopsis
Ten year old Joey Fane returns home from the special school he has attended since the death of his toddler sister. But at home he creates a terrible fuss, moving from the bedroom Nanny has prepared for him to one with a strong lock and access to the fire escape, refusing to eat anything Nanny cooks and adamant that Nanny shall not come near him. He even accuses Nanny of trying to kill him. Nanny runs the Fane household, but in practice infantilizes the women of the Fane family. Everyone assumes Joey is deeply disturbed and dangerous, but it emerges he is quite right to be afraid of Nanny.
Rowlands made her film debut in The High Cost of Loving in 1958. She and Cassavetes made ten films together: A Child is Waiting (1963), Faces (1968), Machine Gun McCain (1969), Minnie and Moskowitz (1971), A Woman Under the Influence (1974; nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress), Two-Minute Warning (1976), Opening Night (1977), Gloria (1980; nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress), Tempest (1982), and Love Streams (1984).
According to Boston University film scholar Ray Carney, Rowlands sought to suppress an early version of Cassavetes' first film, Shadows, that Carney says he rediscovered after decades of searching. Rowlands also became involved in the screenings of Husbands and Love Streams, according to Carney. The UCLA Film and Television Archive mounted a restoration of Husbands, as it was pruned down (without Cassavetes' consent, and in violation of his contract) by Columbia Pictures several months after its release, in an attempt to restore as much of the removed content as possible. At Rowlands' request, UCLA created an alternate print with almost ten minutes of content edited out, as Rowlands felt that these scenes were in poor taste. The alternate print is the only one that has been made available for rental.
Rowlands was married to John Cassavetes from April 9, 1954, until his death on February 3, 1989. They had three children, all actor-directors: Nick, Alexandra, and Zoe.
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1958 The High Cost of Loving Jenny Fry
1959 Shadows Woman in Nightclub Audience Uncredited
1962 Lonely Are the Brave Jerry Bondi
1962 The Spiral Road Els
1963 A Child Is Waiting Sophie Widdicombe Benham
1967 Tony Rome Rita Kosterman
1968 Faces Jeannie Rapp
1969 Machine Gun McCain Rosemary Scott Aso known as Gli intoccabili
1971 Minnie and Moskowitz Minnie Moore
1974 A Woman Under the Influence Mabel Longhetti Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
San Sebastián International Film Festival Prize for Best Actress
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
1975 Columbo: Playback Elizabeth Van Wick
1976 Two-Minute Warning Janet
1977 Opening Night Myrtle Gordon Silver Bear for Best Actress[10]
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1978 The Brink's Job Mary Pino
1978 A Question of Love Linda Ray Guettner
1979 Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter Abigail Mason
1980 Gloria Gloria Swenson Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1982 Tempest Antonia Dimitrius
1982 Shelly Duvall's Faerie Tale Theater: Season 2 - Rapunzel The Witch
1983 Thursday's Child Victoria Alden Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1984 Love Streams Sarah Lawson Nastro d'Argento Best Actress
1985 An Early Frost Katherine Pierson Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1987 Light of Day Jeanette Rasnick
1987 The Betty Ford Story Betty Ford Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1988 Another Woman Marion Post
1990 Hollywood Mavericks Herself
1991 Once Around Marilyn Bella
1991 Night on Earth Victoria Snelling
1991 Ted & Venus Mrs. Turner
1991 Face of a Stranger Pat Foster Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1992 Crazy in Love Honora Swift Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
1993 Silent Cries Peggy Sutherland
1993 Anything for John Herself
1994 Parallel Lives Francie Pomerantz
1995 Something to Talk About Georgia King
1995 The Neon Bible Mae Morgan
1996 Unhook the Stars Mildred 'Millie' Hawks Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1997 She's So Lovely Miss Jane Green
1998 Paulie Ivy
1998 Hope Floats Ramona Calvert Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best Supporting Actress
1998 The Mighty Gram
1998 Playing by Heart Hannah
1999 The Weekend Laura Ponti Nominated — Seattle International Film Festival Citation of Excellence for Ensemble Cast Performance
2000 Light Keeps Me Company Herself - interviewee
2000 The Color of Love: Jacey's Story Georgia Porter Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film
2001 Wild Iris Minnie Brinn Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
2003 Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There Herself
2003 Hysterical Blindness Virginia Miller Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2004 The Incredible Mrs. Ritchie Evelyn Ritchie Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children/Youth/Family Special
2004 Taking Lives Mrs. Asher
2004 The Notebook Allie Calhoun Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2005 The Skeleton Key Violet Devereaux Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2006 Paris, je t'aime Gena (segment "Quartier Latin")
2007 Broken English Vivien Wilder-Mann
2007 Persepolis Marjane's grandmother
2007 What If God Were the Sun? Melissa Eisenbloom Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2009 Monk Marge Johnson Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
2010 NCIS Joann Fielding
2011 Olive First feature-length film made on a cell phone by first-time director Hooman Khalili