In This Our Life
Encyclopedia
In This Our Life is a 1942
American
drama film
, the second to be directed by John Huston
. The screenplay by Howard Koch
is based on the 1941 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title
by Ellen Glasgow
. The cast included the established stars Bette Davis
and Olivia de Havilland
as sisters and the romantic and life rivals. Raoul Walsh
also worked as director, taking over when Huston was called away for a war assignment after the United States entered World War II
, but he was uncredited.
Completed in 1942 after the US had joined the war, the film was disapproved in 1943 for foreign release by the wartime Office of Censorship
, because it dealt truthfully with racial discrimination as part of its plot.
, Asa (Frank Craven
) and Lavinia (Billie Burke
) (Fitzroy) Timberlake gave their two daughters male names: Roy (Olivia de Havilland
) and Stanley (Bette Davis
). The movie opens with the young women as adults. Asa Timberlake has recently lost his piece of a tobacco
company to his former partner William Fitzroy (Charles Coburn
), his wife's brother. Roy, a successful interior decorator, is married to Dr. Peter Kingsmill (Dennis Morgan
). Stanley Timberlake is engaged to attorney Craig Fleming (George Brent
). The night before her wedding, Stanley runs off with her sister's husband Peter. After Roy divorces him, Peter and Stanley marry and move to Baltimore
.
Roy encounters Fleming again after some time and they begin dating. He hires Parry Clay (Ernest Anderson) to work in his law office while the young man attends law school. Clay is the son of the Timberlake parents' family maid, Minerva Clay (Hattie McDaniel
). William Fitzroy, Lavinia's brother and Asa's former partner in a tobacco
business, dotes on his niece Stanley and gives her expensive presents. He says he will retain Fleming as his attorney if he agrees to stop representing poor clients. When Fleming refuses, Roy Timberlake is impressed and decides to accept him in marriage.
In Baltimore, Stanley and Peter's marriage suffers from his heavy drinking and her excessive spending. Peter commits suicide
. Shaken, Stanley returns to her home town with Roy. After she recovers, Stanley decides to win back Fleming. While discussing her late husband's life insurance with Fleming at his office, Stanley invites him to join her later for dinner. When he fails to come to the restaurant, she becomes drunk. While driving home, she hits and kills a child.
Witnesses recognize Stanley's car and the police go to question her. Stanley insists she had loaned her car to Parry Clay the night of the accident. Minerva Clay tells Roy that her son was home with her all evening. Stanley refuses to admit her responsibility although Roy arranges for her to see Clay at the jail (he is being held as a suspect). Later Fleming tells her he has already questioned the bartender at the restaurant and knows Stanley left drunk. Fleming plans to take Stanley to the district attorney
, but she escapes to her uncle's house and pleads for his help. Having just discovered he has only six months to live, Fitzroy is too distraught to do anything. The police arrive at Fitzroy's house and Stanley leaves; in trying to escape, she crashes her car and is killed.
paid $40,000 for the screen rights, portrayed William Fitzroy's incest
uous desire for his niece Stanley, as well as racist attitudes
in the society. Recommended by the director John Huston, the screenwriter Howard Koch believed he had to tone down these elements to satisfy the current Motion Picture Production Code. In his review of the completed film, the critic Bosley Crowther
said it was "moderately faithful" to the novel and praised its portrayal of racial discrimination.
Bette Davis
, eventually cast as Stanley Timberlake despite her desire to play the "good sister" Roy, was unhappy with the script. "The book by Miss Glasgow was brilliant," she later recalled. "I never felt the script lived up to the book." Nor did Glasgow. "She minced no words about the film," Davis said. "She was disgusted with the outcome. I couldn't have agreed with her more. A real story had been turned into a phony film."
Davis was also unhappy about events during production. While in the midst of costume and wig fittings, Davis was told her husband Arthur Farnsworth had been admitted to a Minneapolis hospital with severe pneumonia
. Her friend Howard Hughes
arranged a private plane, but her flight took two days because of being grounded by fog and storms. Almost immediately, studio head Jack L. Warner cabled her to demand her return to the film. Due to his pressure and her concern for her husband, Davis' own health declined. Her doctor ordered her to return to Los Angeles
by train to get some rest before returning to work.
Distressed to play Stanley rather than Roy - "I was not young enough for the part," Davis insisted - the actress argued with producers about every aspect of her character. She directed her hair style and makeup. She insisted that Orry-Kelly
redesign costumes for her, resulting in what others saw as an unflattering wardrobe. Davis aided the project by finding the right person to play Parry Clay. Huston had reviewed some African American
actors but was not satisfied with any. One day when Davis was in the studio commissary, she noticed Ernest Anderson working there as a waiter. She believed he had the right look and presence for the role and encouraged Huston to screen test Anderson. The director did, and cast the young man. Anderson won the 1942 National Board of Review Award
for his performance.
Three days following the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor
, which pulled the US into World War II
, Huston had to leave the production for an assignment with the War Department
. The studio used Raoul Walsh
to complete the film, although he received no screen credit. Walsh and Davis immediately clashed, and she refused to follow his direction or reshoot completed scenes. She developed laryngitis
and stayed off the set for several days. After she returned, the producer Hal B. Wallis
frequently acted as mediator between Davis and Walsh, who threatened to quit.
Because of the delays, the film was not done until mid-January 1942, well over schedule. The first preview was highly negative, with audience comments especially critical of Davis' hair, makeup, and wardrobe, the elements which she had controlled. Preparing for Now, Voyager
, Davis disregarded the comments. She thought the film was "mediocre," although she was glad that the role of Parry Clay was "performed as an educated person. This caused a great deal of joy among Negroes. They were tired of the Stepin Fetchit
vision of their people." When the US wartime Office of Censorship
reviewed the film in 1943 prior to foreign release, it disapproved the work because, "It is made abundantly clear that a Negro's testimony in court is almost certain to be disregarded if in conflict with the testimony of a white person."
of the New York Times called it "neither a pleasant nor edifying film." He felt "the one exceptional component of the film" is the "brief but frank allusion to racial discrimination" which "is presented in a realistic manner, uncommon to Hollywood, by the definition of the Negro as an educated and comprehending character. Otherwise the story is pretty much of a downhill run." He added, "Director John Huston, unfortunately, has not given this story sufficient distinction . . . The telling of it is commonplace, the movement uncomfortably stiff. Olivia de Havilland gives a warm and easy performance as the good sister who wins out in the end . . . But Miss Davis, by whom the whole thing pretty much stands or falls, is much too obviously mannered for this spectator's taste . . . It is likewise very hard to see her as the sort of sultry dame that good men can't resist. In short, her evil is so theatrical and so completely inexplicable that her eventual demise in an auto accident is the happiest moment in the film."
Variety
noted, "John Huston, in his second directorial assignment, provides deft delineations in the varied characters in the script. Davis is dramatically impressive in the lead but gets major assistance from Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Dennis Morgan, Billie Burke and Hattie McDaniel. Script succeeds in presenting the inner thoughts of the scheming girl, and carries along with slick dialog and situations. Strength is added in several dramatic spots by Huston's direction."
released the film as part of the box set The Bette Davis Collection, Volume 3, which also includes The Old Maid, All This, and Heaven Too, Watch on the Rhine
, and Deception.
1942 in film
The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, the second to be directed by John Huston
John Huston
John Marcellus Huston was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics: The Maltese Falcon , The Treasure of the Sierra Madre , Key Largo , The Asphalt Jungle , The African Queen , Moulin Rouge...
. The screenplay by Howard Koch
Howard Koch
Howard Koch is the name of:* Howard Koch , American screenwriter* Howard W. Koch , American film and TV director, producer* Hawk Koch , American film producer...
is based on the 1941 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same title
In This Our Life (novel)
thumb|1st edition cover In This Our Life is a 1941 novel by the American writer Ellen Glasgow. The title is a quote from the sonnet sequence Modern Love by George Meredith: "Ah, what a dusty answer gets the soul/ When hot for certainties in this our life!" It won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel...
by Ellen Glasgow
Ellen Glasgow
Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist who portrayed the changing world of the contemporary south.-Biography:...
. The cast included the established stars Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
and Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
as sisters and the romantic and life rivals. Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
also worked as director, taking over when Huston was called away for a war assignment after the United States entered World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but he was uncredited.
Completed in 1942 after the US had joined the war, the film was disapproved in 1943 for foreign release by the wartime Office of Censorship
Office of Censorship
The Office of Censorship was an emergency wartime agency set up on December 19, 1941 to aid in the censorship of all communications coming into and going out of the United States.-Overview:...
, because it dealt truthfully with racial discrimination as part of its plot.
Plot
In Richmond, VirginiaRichmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Asa (Frank Craven
Frank Craven
Frank Craven was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town....
) and Lavinia (Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
) (Fitzroy) Timberlake gave their two daughters male names: Roy (Olivia de Havilland
Olivia de Havilland
Olivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
) and Stanley (Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
). The movie opens with the young women as adults. Asa Timberlake has recently lost his piece of a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
company to his former partner William Fitzroy (Charles Coburn
Charles Coburn
Charles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
), his wife's brother. Roy, a successful interior decorator, is married to Dr. Peter Kingsmill (Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan
Dennis Morgan was an American actor-singer. Born as Earl Stanley Morner, he used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting his professional name....
). Stanley Timberlake is engaged to attorney Craig Fleming (George Brent
George Brent
George Brent was an Irish film and television actor in American cinema.-Early life:He was born George Brendan Nolan in Raharabeg, County Roscommon on the opposite bank of the River Shannon from the town of Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland, the son of a British Army officer.During the Irish...
). The night before her wedding, Stanley runs off with her sister's husband Peter. After Roy divorces him, Peter and Stanley marry and move to Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
Roy encounters Fleming again after some time and they begin dating. He hires Parry Clay (Ernest Anderson) to work in his law office while the young man attends law school. Clay is the son of the Timberlake parents' family maid, Minerva Clay (Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
). William Fitzroy, Lavinia's brother and Asa's former partner in a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
business, dotes on his niece Stanley and gives her expensive presents. He says he will retain Fleming as his attorney if he agrees to stop representing poor clients. When Fleming refuses, Roy Timberlake is impressed and decides to accept him in marriage.
In Baltimore, Stanley and Peter's marriage suffers from his heavy drinking and her excessive spending. Peter commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Shaken, Stanley returns to her home town with Roy. After she recovers, Stanley decides to win back Fleming. While discussing her late husband's life insurance with Fleming at his office, Stanley invites him to join her later for dinner. When he fails to come to the restaurant, she becomes drunk. While driving home, she hits and kills a child.
Witnesses recognize Stanley's car and the police go to question her. Stanley insists she had loaned her car to Parry Clay the night of the accident. Minerva Clay tells Roy that her son was home with her all evening. Stanley refuses to admit her responsibility although Roy arranges for her to see Clay at the jail (he is being held as a suspect). Later Fleming tells her he has already questioned the bartender at the restaurant and knows Stanley left drunk. Fleming plans to take Stanley to the district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, but she escapes to her uncle's house and pleads for his help. Having just discovered he has only six months to live, Fitzroy is too distraught to do anything. The police arrive at Fitzroy's house and Stanley leaves; in trying to escape, she crashes her car and is killed.
Production
The Ellen Glasgow novel, for which Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
paid $40,000 for the screen rights, portrayed William Fitzroy's incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous desire for his niece Stanley, as well as racist attitudes
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in the society. Recommended by the director John Huston, the screenwriter Howard Koch believed he had to tone down these elements to satisfy the current Motion Picture Production Code. In his review of the completed film, the critic Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
said it was "moderately faithful" to the novel and praised its portrayal of racial discrimination.
Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, eventually cast as Stanley Timberlake despite her desire to play the "good sister" Roy, was unhappy with the script. "The book by Miss Glasgow was brilliant," she later recalled. "I never felt the script lived up to the book." Nor did Glasgow. "She minced no words about the film," Davis said. "She was disgusted with the outcome. I couldn't have agreed with her more. A real story had been turned into a phony film."
Davis was also unhappy about events during production. While in the midst of costume and wig fittings, Davis was told her husband Arthur Farnsworth had been admitted to a Minneapolis hospital with severe pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. Her friend Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
arranged a private plane, but her flight took two days because of being grounded by fog and storms. Almost immediately, studio head Jack L. Warner cabled her to demand her return to the film. Due to his pressure and her concern for her husband, Davis' own health declined. Her doctor ordered her to return to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
by train to get some rest before returning to work.
Distressed to play Stanley rather than Roy - "I was not young enough for the part," Davis insisted - the actress argued with producers about every aspect of her character. She directed her hair style and makeup. She insisted that Orry-Kelly
Orry-Kelly
Orry-Kelly was the professional name of Orry George Kelly , a prolific Hollywood costume designer....
redesign costumes for her, resulting in what others saw as an unflattering wardrobe. Davis aided the project by finding the right person to play Parry Clay. Huston had reviewed some African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
actors but was not satisfied with any. One day when Davis was in the studio commissary, she noticed Ernest Anderson working there as a waiter. She believed he had the right look and presence for the role and encouraged Huston to screen test Anderson. The director did, and cast the young man. Anderson won the 1942 National Board of Review Award
National Board of Review Awards 1942
-Best English Language Films:#In Which We Serve#One of Our Aircraft Is Missing#Mrs. Miniver#Journey for Margaret#Wake Island#The Male Animal#The Major and the Minor#Sullivan's Travels#The Moon and Sixpence#The Pied Piper-Winners:...
for his performance.
Three days following the Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, which pulled the US into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Huston had to leave the production for an assignment with the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
. The studio used Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
to complete the film, although he received no screen credit. Walsh and Davis immediately clashed, and she refused to follow his direction or reshoot completed scenes. She developed laryngitis
Laryngitis
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....
and stayed off the set for several days. After she returned, the producer Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis
Hal B. Wallis was an American film producer.-Career:Harold Brent Wallis was born in Chicago in 1898. His family moved in 1922 to Los Angeles, California, where he found work as part of the publicity department at Warner Bros...
frequently acted as mediator between Davis and Walsh, who threatened to quit.
Because of the delays, the film was not done until mid-January 1942, well over schedule. The first preview was highly negative, with audience comments especially critical of Davis' hair, makeup, and wardrobe, the elements which she had controlled. Preparing for Now, Voyager
Now, Voyager
Now, Voyager is a 1942 American drama film starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains, and directed by Irving Rapper. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1941 novel of the same name by Olive Higgins Prouty....
, Davis disregarded the comments. She thought the film was "mediocre," although she was glad that the role of Parry Clay was "performed as an educated person. This caused a great deal of joy among Negroes. They were tired of the Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit
Stepin Fetchit was the stage name of American comedian and film actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry....
vision of their people." When the US wartime Office of Censorship
Office of Censorship
The Office of Censorship was an emergency wartime agency set up on December 19, 1941 to aid in the censorship of all communications coming into and going out of the United States.-Overview:...
reviewed the film in 1943 prior to foreign release, it disapproved the work because, "It is made abundantly clear that a Negro's testimony in court is almost certain to be disregarded if in conflict with the testimony of a white person."
Cast
- Bette DavisBette DavisRuth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
..... Stanley Timberlake Kingsmill - Olivia de HavillandOlivia de HavillandOlivia Mary de Havilland is a British American film and stage actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1946 and 1949. She is the elder sister of actress Joan Fontaine. The sisters are among the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s.-Early life:Olivia de Havilland...
..... Roy Timberlake Kingsmill - George BrentGeorge BrentGeorge Brent was an Irish film and television actor in American cinema.-Early life:He was born George Brendan Nolan in Raharabeg, County Roscommon on the opposite bank of the River Shannon from the town of Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland, the son of a British Army officer.During the Irish...
..... Craig Fleming - Dennis MorganDennis MorganDennis Morgan was an American actor-singer. Born as Earl Stanley Morner, he used the acting pseudonym Richard Stanley before adopting his professional name....
..... Peter Kingsmill - Frank CravenFrank CravenFrank Craven was an American stage and film actor, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for originating the role of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder's Our Town....
..... Asa Timberlake - Billie BurkeBillie BurkeMary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
..... Lavinia Timberlake - Charles CoburnCharles CoburnCharles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
..... William Fitzroy - Ernest Anderson ..... Parry Clay
- Hattie McDanielHattie McDanielHattie McDaniel was the first African-American actress to win an Academy Award. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Mammy in Gone with the Wind ....
..... Minerva Clay - Lee PatrickLee Patrick (actress)Lee Patrick was an American theater and film actress.-Early life and education:Born in New York City, Patrick began acting on Broadway in 1924. For more than a decade, she was constantly employed and established herself as a popular actress. She appeared in the original 1929 production of June...
..... Betty Wilmoth - Mary Servoss ... Charlotte Fitzroy
- William B. DavidsonWilliam B. DavidsonWilliam B. Davidson was an American film actor. He attended Columbia University where he played football. He became a popular football star. This fame eventually led to his foray into motion pictures after he had spent some time as a lawyer...
..... Jim Purdy - Edward Fielding ... Dr. Buchanan
- John HamiltonJohn Hamilton (actor)John Hamilton was an American actor, who appeared in many movies and television programs. He is probably best remembered for his role as the blustery newspaper editor Perry White on the 1950s television program Adventures of Superman.-Biography:Burly, stentorian-voiced John Hamilton was born John...
..... Inspector - William ForrestWilliam ForrestWilliam Forrest was an American film actor. He appeared in over 250 films between 1932 and 1976.He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and died in Santa Monica, California from heart failure....
..... Forest Ranger
Critical reception
Bosley CrowtherBosley Crowther
Bosley Crowther was a journalist and author who was film critic for The New York Times for 27 years. His reviews and articles helped shape the careers of actors, directors and screenwriters, though his reviews, at times, were unnecessarily mean...
of the New York Times called it "neither a pleasant nor edifying film." He felt "the one exceptional component of the film" is the "brief but frank allusion to racial discrimination" which "is presented in a realistic manner, uncommon to Hollywood, by the definition of the Negro as an educated and comprehending character. Otherwise the story is pretty much of a downhill run." He added, "Director John Huston, unfortunately, has not given this story sufficient distinction . . . The telling of it is commonplace, the movement uncomfortably stiff. Olivia de Havilland gives a warm and easy performance as the good sister who wins out in the end . . . But Miss Davis, by whom the whole thing pretty much stands or falls, is much too obviously mannered for this spectator's taste . . . It is likewise very hard to see her as the sort of sultry dame that good men can't resist. In short, her evil is so theatrical and so completely inexplicable that her eventual demise in an auto accident is the happiest moment in the film."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
noted, "John Huston, in his second directorial assignment, provides deft delineations in the varied characters in the script. Davis is dramatically impressive in the lead but gets major assistance from Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Dennis Morgan, Billie Burke and Hattie McDaniel. Script succeeds in presenting the inner thoughts of the scheming girl, and carries along with slick dialog and situations. Strength is added in several dramatic spots by Huston's direction."
DVD release
On April 1, 2008, Warner Home VideoWarner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
released the film as part of the box set The Bette Davis Collection, Volume 3, which also includes The Old Maid, All This, and Heaven Too, Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
, and Deception.