Jezebel (film)

Jezebel
File:Jesebel movieposter.jpg Theatrical poster
Directed by	William Wyler
Produced by	William Wyler
Written by	Clements Ripley Abem Finkel John Huston
Based on	Jezebel 1933 play by Owen Davis
Starring	Bette Davis Henry Fonda George Brent Margaret Lindsay Donald Crisp Fay Bainter Richard Cromwell Henry O'Neill Spring Byington John Litel
Music by	Max Steiner
Cinematography	Ernest Haller
Edited by	Warren Low
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	March 10, 1938 (1938-03-10) (New York) March 26, 1938 (1938-03-26)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.25 million

Jezebel is a 1938 American romantic drama film released and directed by William Wyler. It stars Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, supported by George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Crisp, Richard Cromwell, and Fay Bainter. The film was adapted by Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston and Robert Buckner, from the play by Owen Davis, Sr.

The film tells the story of a headstrong young Southern woman during the Antebellum period whose actions cost her the man she loves.

The film is based on a 1933 stageplay starring Miriam Hopkins. Tallulah Bankhead was originally slated for the role but fell severely ill during rehearsals.

Plot

Bette Davis and George Brent in Jezebel

Fonda and Davis

In 1852 New Orleans, spoiled, strong-willed belle Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) is engaged to banker Preston "Pres" Dillard (Henry Fonda). In retaliation for Pres refusing to drop his work and accompany her while she shops for a dress, she orders a brazen red one for the most important ball of the year, one where white dresses for unmarried women are expected. All of Julie's friends are shocked, but no one can convince her to give up her whim.

At the Olympus ball, every woman on the floor is dressed in white. Pres and Julie's entrance is met with shock and disdain by all present, including the black slaves present at the event. For a white person to be held in contempt by his slaves was the worst insult of all. She finally realizes the magnitude of her social blunder and begs Pres to take her away, but by this time, he is implacable. He forces her to dance with him. All the other dancers leave the floor, finally leaving them alone. When the orchestra stops playing at the instruction of one of the ball's sponsors, Pres orders the conductor to continue. Pres and Julie finish the dance alone, with the assemblage looking on.

Afterwards, Pres takes his leave of Julie, implicitly breaking their engagement. In a final bit of spite, Julie slaps him in the face by way of farewell. Aunt Belle Massey (Fay Bainter) urges her to go after Pres and beg his forgiveness, but she refuses, arrogantly confident that he will return to her. Instead, he goes north on business. Julie shuts herself up in her house and refuses to see visitors.

A year later, Pres finally returns, to help Dr. Livingstone (Donald Crisp) try to convince the city authorities to take measures against an outbreak of yellow fever. Before Pres can stop her, Julie humbles herself and begs for his forgiveness and a return of his love. Then Pres introduces her to his wife, Amy (Margaret Lindsay), whom he had married while in the North.

Dismayed, Julie eggs on her admirer, skilled duellist Buck Cantrell (George Brent), to quarrel with Pres, but the scheme goes awry. Pres's inexperienced brother Ted (Richard Cromwell) is the one who is goaded into challenging Buck. In an unexpected twist, Ted emerges victorious; Buck is fatally shot.

Then something happens that overshadows everything else. As Dr. Livingstone had warned repeatedly, a deadly epidemic of yellow fever sweeps the city, as it had done numerous times before. Pres comes down with it and, like all other victims, is to be quarantined on an island. Amy prepares to go along to care for him, risking her own life, but Julie stops her. She tells the Northerner that she does not know how to deal with the slaves and Southerners on the island. She begs to go in her place, as an act of redemption. Amy first has to know whether Pres loves her or whether he loves Julie. Julie assures Amy that Pres loves Amy, because if he had any love for Julie, Julie would have taken Pres from Amy. Amy then agrees to permit Julie to go with Pres.

Background

The Turner Classic Movies Database states that the film was offered as compensation for Bette Davis after she failed to win the part of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Despite a radio poll showing Bette Davis the audience favorite for the role, Selznick never seriously considered her for it. Though her portrait of the malicious Mildred in Of Human Bondage (1934) had made her a star, this film garnered the Best Actress Oscar many felt she deserved then, and established her as a leading lady from that point on..

Main cast and characters

	Bette Davis as Julie Marsden		Henry Fonda as Preston Dillard
	George Brent as Buck Cantrell		Donald Crisp as Dr. Livingstone
	Fay Bainter as Aunt Belle Massey

• Margaret Lindsay as Amy Bradford Dillard
• Richard Cromwell as Ted Dillard
• Henry O'Neill as General Theopholus Bogardus
• Spring Byington as Mrs. Kendrick
• John Litel as Jean La Cour
• Gordon Oliver as Dick Allen
• Janet Shaw as Molly Allen
• Theresa Harris as Zette
• Margaret Early as Stephanie Kendrick
• Irving Pichel as Huger
• Eddie Anderson as Gros Bat

Reception

Contemporary reviews were generally positive and praised Davis' performance in particular, although some found her character's redemption at the end of the film to be unconvincing. Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times wrote that the film "would have been considerably more effective ... if its heroine had remained unregenerate to the end. Miss Davis can be malignant when she chooses, and it is a shame to temper that gift for feminine spite ... It is still an interesting film, though, in spite of our sniffs at its climax." Variety reported that the film was "not without its charm" and "even completely captivating" at times, but found it detracting that the main character "suddenly metamorphoses into a figure of noble sacrifice and complete contriteness," and described the ending as "rather suspended and confusing." Film Daily called it "a really outstanding screen triumph for Bette Davis. She plays an emotional role that calls for running the gamut of emotions, and she handles the part with consummate artistry." Harrison's Reports called it "Powerful dramatic entertainment ... It is not what one would call cheerful entertainment, and may not appeal to the rank and file, but it should please those who like good acting." John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote, "Something went wrong with 'Jezebel,' possibly nothing more than the plot, and all its rich dressing-up can't make it alive ... no scene quite comes off, and at the end, when the she-devil suddenly turns into a saint and a martyr, one isn't even interested. This Jezebel just seems daffy."

Awards

In 2009, it was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant and will be preserved for all time.

Wins

• Academy Award for Best Actress — Bette Davis
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress — Fay Bainter
• Venice Film Festival: Special Recommendation for its overall artistic contribution — William Wyler

Nominations

• Academy Award for Best Picture — Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography — Ernest Haller
• Academy Award for Original Music Score — Max Steiner
• Venice Film Festival: Mussolini Cup for Best Film — William Wyler

DVD commentary

In 2006, film historian Jeanine Basinger recorded a comprehensive scene-by-scene commentary as part of the re-issued DVD of the film. In her commentary about Davis, Basinger relates that this film is distinctive in the realm of women's pictures because of Orry-Kelly's brilliant costume designs for the actress. Basinger states that the viewer is compelled to watch Davis in four stylings in particular: the riding crop/outfit in the beginning of the film, the scandalous scarlet red dress at the Olympus Ball, the virginal white dress she wears when she attempts to woo back Henry Fonda, and finally the cape at the end of the film she dons when she must go to help care for Fonda. In Basinger's opinion, this was the performance at the height of Davis's career and Jezebel is the quintessential American woman's film.

See also

• List of American films of 1938

References

Notes

Bibliography

• .

External links

• Jezebel at the TCM Movie Database
• Jezebel at AllMovie
• Jezebel at IMDb
• Jezebel at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Jezebel review and information in cosmopolis.ch