Dead Ringer (1964)

Dead Ringer, also known as Who is Buried in my Grave? (1964). Thriller directed by Paul Henreid from a screenplay by Oscar Millard and Albert Beich from the story La Otra by Rian James. The music score was by Andre Previn and the cinematography by Ernest Haller. Cast: Bette Davis, Karl Malden and Peter Lawford with Philip Carey, Jean Hagen, George Macready, Estelle Winwood, George Chandler and Cyril Delevanti. The jazz combo in Edie's Bar was composed of electronic organist Perry Lee Blackwell and drummer Kenny Dennis, both noted musicians, but uncredited in the film.

The film is the second time Davis played twin sisters, the first, A Stolen Life(1946). For this reason, Dead Ringer is sometimes mistakenly listed as a remake of A Stolen Life.

Lana Turner turned the film down because she didn't want to play twins.

After a separation of 18 years, Edith Philips meets her twin, Margaret de Lorca, at the funeral of  her husband. When Edith learns that Margaret had tricked the man she loved into marriage, she lures Margaret to her apartment, signs her own name to a suicide note and then shoots her sister.

After changing clothes with her dead sister, she moves into the de Lorca mansion and begins living her sister's life. Things are going well until she meets Margaret's secret lover, Tony Collins.

He quickly learns the truth and threatens to blackmail her, Edith realizes that he and Margaret murderd de Lorca.

They begin to struggle and Tony is killed by the family's Great Dane. The police become suspicious and exhume the body of the dead husband. Arsenic is found and Edith is arrested for murder.

She tries to convince her former boyfriend, Sgt. Jim Hobbson, that she is really Edith, but... will he ever believe her story?



If you enjoy thrillers with lots of twist and turns, this movie is for you. Even though Bette's character is a murderess, you may hope for a minute that she gets away with it. The poker scene will keep you sitting at the edge of your seat. The supporting cast is also good, especially Karl Malden.

Jean Hagen (August 3, 1923 – August 29, 1977). She studied drama at Northwestern University and worked as a theater usherette before making her Broadway theatre debut in Another Part of the Forest in 1946.

On Broadway, she was understudy for Judy Holliday in Born Yesterday.

 Her film debut was as a femme fatale in Adam's Rib in 1949. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) provided Hagen with her first starring role.

She appeared in the film noir Side Street (1950) playing a gangster's sincere, but none-too-bright, gun moll.

She is best remembered for her comic performance in Singin' in the Rain as the vain and talentless silent movie star Lina Lamont; Hagen received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

By 1953, she was in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy. As the first wife of Danny Thomas, Hagen received three Emmy Award nominations, but after three seasons she left the series. Thomas, who also produced the show, reportedly didn't appreciate Jean leaving the series and her character was killed off. This was the first TV character to be killed off in a family sitcom. Marjorie Lord was cast a year later as Danny's second wife.

Hagen starred in the 1957 Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 3, Episode 7, entitled "Enough Rope for Two".

She performed as Frida Daniels in The Shaggy Dog with Fred MacMurray.

In 1960, she appeared as "Elizabeth" in the episode "Once Upon a Knight" of CBS's series The DuPont Show with June Allyson. Although she made frequent guest appearances in various television series, she was unable to successfully resume her film career and for the remainder of her career she played supporting roles: Marguerite LeHand, personal secretary to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello (1960), as the title character in season 2, episode 3 of The Andy Griffith Show titled "Andy and the Woman Speeder" (1961).

She performed as the friend of Bette Davis in, Dead Ringer (1964).

In the 1960's, Hagen's health began to decline and she spent many years hospitalized or under medical care.

In 1976, she made a comeback playing character roles in episodes of the television series: Starsky and Hutch and The Streets of San Francisco and made her final film appearance in the 1977 television movie Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn.

Jean Hagen married Tom Seidel on June 12, 1947. They had 2 children, Aric Phillip (born August 1950) and Christine (born May 16, 1952). She divorced Seidel on November 1, 1965.

Hagen died of esophageal cancer on August 29, 1977.

Housewife (1934).

Housewife (1934). Drama. Directed by Alfred E. Green. Ann Dvorak, George Brent and Bette Davis.

Nan Reynolds, tries to run a household on her lazy, self centered husband Bill's small salary as an office manager. She wants him to find a better paying job, but he does not seem to want to better himself.

Pat Berkeley, who attended high school with Nan and used to be in love with Bill, is now working in advertising, has lunch with Nan and begins talking about her career:

Pat Berkeley says: Well, I've done alright. I suddenly found out I had some brains and decided to use them.

She now works for Bill's firm as an advertising copywriter and her success makes want Nan to talk her husband into asserting himself.

When he is turned away with his ideas, Bill is angry enough to start his own agency using the money Nan has managed to save over the years.

He begins to do well, not only from hard work, but with the help of Nan, he steals a major client from his former firm and hires Pat to come work for him.

Things take a turn for the worse when the feelings the two had for each other years before in high school are reignited and they begin an affair.

After landing the important account Duprey Cosmetics, they decide to advertise it on the radio show "The Duprey Hour", put together by Bill's office manager. Bill has been too busy with Pat that he has no idea that the campaign is in bad taste and topped off with a song "...if the circles under your eyes look like apple pies...".

Nan becomes aware of their relationship, but.. does not want to break up her family. Bill announces he wants a divorce, Nan refuses to grant him one, he angrily leaves the house and accidentally hits their son Buddy with the car, seriously injuring him. Will the family ever recover?

This is a good example of an early Bette Davis film.

Ann Dvorak (August 2, 1911 – December 10, 1979), her name is pronounced vor'shack. The D remains silent.

The only child of two vaudevillians, she was raised in the business that would later make her a star. Her father, Samuel Edwin McKim worked as a director at Lubin Studios, and her mother, actress Anna Lehr, found success as the star of many silent features.

The couple split when their daughter was four years old, and she moved with her mother to Hollywood. Ann would not see her father again until a national appeal to the press reunited the two in 1934.

As a child, she appeared in several films. She began working for MGM in the late 1920s as a dance instructor and gradually began to appear on film as a chorus girl.

Her friend Joan Crawford introduced her to Howard Hughes, who groomed her as a dramatic actress. She was a success in such pre-Code films as Scarface (1932), as Paul Muni's character's sister; as the doomed unstable Vivian in Three on a Match (1932), with Joan Blondell and Bette Davis; in Love Is a Racket (1932); and opposite Spencer Tracy in Sky Devils (1932).

Known for her style and elegance, she was a popular leading lady for Warner Brothers during the 1930's, and performed in romances and melodramas.

A dispute over her pay (she discovered she was making the same amount of money as the little boy who played her son in Three on a Match) led to her finishing out her contract on permanent suspension, and then working as a freelancer, but although she worked regularly, the quality of her scripts declined sharply.

She performed as secretary Della Street to Donald Woods' Perry Mason in The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937).

She also acted on Broadway. With her then-husband, British actor Leslie Fenton, Dvorak travelled to England where she supported the war effort by working as an ambulance driver, and appeared in several British films.

She gives a unforgettable performance as a saloon singer in, Abilene Town(1946).

She retired from the screen in 1951, when she married her third and last husband, Nicholas Wade, to whom she remained married until his death in 1975. It was her longest and most successful marriage. She had no children.

Spend The Day With: Bette Davis.

The Rich Are Always With Us (1932). Directed by Alfred E. Green. Cast: Bette Davis and Ruth Chatterton and George Brent.

Ruth Chatterton, has had a string of bad marriages, is now being romanced by novelist George Brent. He is pursued by Bette Davis. Chatterton, loses her husband to gold digging Adrienne Dore.

Chatterton runs off to Paris for a divorce while Davis goes after Brent. Brent goes to Paris after the divorce but Chatterton can't make up her mind.

Back in New York, Chatterton learns that the new wife is pregnant and that Brent and Davis are together. Things come to a head when Chatterton learns Brent is planning to travel to China to write.

The next morning, the gold-digging wife breaks the news of their romance, but.. Davis, throws her out of her house. The husband and gold-digging wife crash into a tree on their way back to town. Will they survive the crash?

So Big! (1932). Drama directed by William A. Wellman. Cast:Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent and Bette Davis. The film is the second screen adaptation of the Ferber novel, following a 1924 silent version directed by Charles Brabin. A 1953 remake was directed by Robert Wise.

After her mother passes away Selina Peake and her father move to Chicago, where she enrolls in finishing school. Her father is killed and Selina's friend Julie Hemple helps her find a job as a schoolteacher.

Selina moves in with the Poole family and tutors their son Roelf. Selina marries immigrant farmer Pervus De Jong and gives birth to Dirk, nicknamed "So Big".

When Pervus dies, Selina does everything she can to keep the farm going so she can keep her son in school, hoping he will become a sucessful architect. Dirk falls in love with a married woman, who helps him to get a job as a bond salesman in her husband's firm.

Eventually he falls in love with artist Dallas O'Mara, but she refuses to marry him because of his lack of ambition.

Roelf, now a famous sculptor, meets Dirk and, learning Selina is his mother, reunites with his former tutor. She is pleased to know her influence helped Roelf become the successful man he has become, as she accepts her son's short comings.

 

Housewife (1934). Drama. Directed by Alfred E. Green. (Ann Dvorak)(George Brent) (Bette Davis)

Nan Reynolds, struggles to run the household on her husband Bill's meager salary as an office manager. She urges him to find a better paying job, but he his lack of ambition is placing a strain on their marriage.

Pat Berkeley, who attended high school with Nan and Bill, is hired by his firm as an advertising copywriter and her success prompts Nan to force her husband into asserting himself with his boss. When he fails to spark any interest with his ideas, Bill succumbs to his wife's wishes that he start his own agency using the money she has managed to save.

Spurred by Nan, he steals a major client from his former firm and hires Pat to help him handle it. Complications, begin when the feelings the two had for each other years before are reignited and they begin an affair.

Nan becomes aware of their relationship but chooses to ignore it. Bill announces he wants a divorce. When Nan refuses to grant him one, he angrily leaves the house and accidentally hits their son Buddy  with the car, seriously injuring him.

Will the family ever recover?

Front Page Woman (1935). A comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Roy Chanslor, Laird Doyle, and Lillie Hayward is based on the novel Women Are Bum Newspapermen by Richard Macauley.

Ellen Garfield refuses to marry fellow reporter Curt Devlin until he admits she is as good at her craft as any man. The two work for rival newspapers, and their ongoing efforts to better each other eventually leads to Ellen getting fired when Curt tricks her into misreporting the verdict of a murder trial.

The tables are turned when she scoops him by getting the real perpetrator, Inez Cordoza, to confess to the crime. Forced to admit Ellen is a good reporter, he finally wins her hand.

 

Jezebel (1938). A stubborn, headstrong Southern Belle, loses her fiance because of her behavior and will do anything to get him back.

Please click here for past movie review.

Dark Victory (1939). A young socialite is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and must decide how to life out the rest of her life. .

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The Old Maid (1939). When an ex-lover arrives on a young woman's wedding day, it changes her and her cousin's lives forever.

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In This Our Life (1942). A drama directed by John Huston. Cast: 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.

Stanley, thinks absolutely of no one except herself and causes problems with everyone around her. Including her sister Roy, who is engaged to Peter.

Just because she can, Stanley takes Peter away from her sister Roy and they elope. Peter, can't keep up with her partying and realizing what he has done kills himself.

Stanley, causes a hit and run accident that kills a little girl and badly injures her mother. She casts the blame on a  black boy, who is working for Flemings office and the son of the Timberlake's maid.

A bartender turns out to be the key to getting at the truth....

 

Love Hollywood Style: Bette Davis.

Bette Davis's personal life was as dramatic as her acting. She was married four times:

Harmon Oscar Nelson, August 18, 1932 (divorced). Two-time Oscar winner, Bette Davis believed that she created the term Oscar to describe the golden trophy. “I am convinced that I was the first to give the statuette its name when I received one for my performance in Dangerous(1935).”

She went on to say..“I was married at that time to bandleader Harmon O. Nelson, Jr. For a long time I did not know what his middle name was. I found out one day that it was Oscar, and it seemed a very suitable nickname for the Academy statuette.”

Davis, knowing there were other petitioners to the name, hinted that she would be willing to resort to fisticuffs to support her theory.. “Of course, that’s all so very long ago – who knows? But I’d suggest that if the other claimants become very insistent we settle the whole thing with a duel.”

Arthur Farnsworth, December, 1940 (died, August, 1943). A Hollywood police report stated that Farnsworth, 35, a former commercial airline pilot, was found unconscious along the 6200 block of the boulevard.

Davis told authorities that her husband had "fallen down the stairs two months earlier at their New Hampshire home while running to answer the phone," the newspaper said. "An autopsy disclosed that Farnsworth had a blood clot on the right side of his skull, which apparently caused a pressure that made him dizzy and precipitated" the fatal fall, The Times reported. "It is believed the injury was suffered in the stair fall."

Farnsworth and Davis, who were friends in high school, eloped in December 1940.

William Grant Sherry, November 30, 1945 (divorced in 1950). Studied at the Academie Julian in Paris and at Heatherley's School of Art in London. The couple had one child, a daughter, Barbara Davis.

Gary Merrill, After Merrill's first marriage, to Barbara Leeds, ended in divorce in 1950. He immediately married Bette Davis, his co-star from All About Eve, and adopted her daughter Barbara from a previous marriage.

He and Davis adopted two more children, but divorced in 1960.

Shortly before his death, he authored the autobiography Bette, Rita and the Rest of My Life (1989). Merrill survived his second wife, Bette Davis, by only five months, dying of lung cancer in Falmouth, Maine on March 5, 1990. He is buried there in the Pine Grove Cemetery.

Please click here to view Bette Davis Official website.

Michael Merrill, Bette's son, and Kathryn Sermak, Bette's personal assistant and friend, are now the executors of her estate. In her memory, they have created The Bette Davis Foundation, which provides financial assistance to promising young actors and actresses. Meryl Streep received the first Bette Davis Lifetime Achievement Award at Boston University in 1998.

Video: Bette Davis children getting war bonds for Christmas.

Video: Bette Davis and Spencer Tracy win Oscar for "Jezebel" and "Boys Town".

 

Old Acquaintance(1943).

Old Acquaintance(1943). Drama directed by Vincent Sherman. Cast: Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins with Gig Young, John Loder, Dolores Moran, Roscoe Karns and Anne Revere.

Bette Davis personally requested the casting of Norma Shearer in the role of Mildred Drake. Shearer refused the role and the part went to Miriam Hopkins. This film was the second collaboration of legendary arch-enemies Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins, (Their previous collaboration had been The Old Maid.)

When, Prize-winning novelist Kit Marlowe, returns to her home town to give a lecture, she is greeted by her old friend, Millie Drake. Millie, is now married and pregnant with her first child. Millie, wonders why Kit does not seem happy to see her, but after Kit apologizes, Millie confesses that she too has written a book.



Eight years later, now as a successful writer, Millie, Preston and their eight-year-old daughter Deirdre are in New York City to attend the opening of Kit's play.

On the afternoon before opening night, Preston, who has been drinking, tells Kit that he is in love with her. Kit tries to fix her friend's marriage, but.. Preston, who has had enough wants out of his marriage to Millie.

Ten years later, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Kit joins the Red Cross and while asking for donations over the radio. Preston, who is now in the army, hears Kit and telephones her to ask her to join him for a drink. There Preston surprises Kit, with his announcement of his engagement.

The next morning, Rudd, asks Kit to marry him. Because of their age difference, Kit turns him down and Rudd, decides to take a walk with the now-grown Deirdre. The two spend the day together and fall in love.

Kit, changes her mind about Rudd and the shares her plans to marry him to Millie. After, Preston tells Millie he is remarrying and wants to see Deirdre more often, he also confesses that he once loved Kit.

Out of jealousy, Millie tells Deirdre about Kit's marriage plans and then accuses Kit of stealing her husband. Kit, can not believe what she is hearing and gives Millie a good shaking.

That night Rudd breaks the news to Kit that he is going to marry Deirdre. Kit pretends to be happy for the young couple and wishes them the best.

Later, Millie stops by Kit's apartment to apologize and Kit forgives her. Millie then tells her about the new book, Old Acquaintance, a story about two old friends and the two women hold up their glasses and drink to it.

Davis and Miriam, are truly two of the finest actresses on the silver screen and both deliver Oscar-caliber performances in this film.

Dolores Moran (January 27, 1926 – February 5, 1982). Moran's brief career as a film actress began in 1942 with some uncredited roles in such films as, Yankee Doodle Dandy.

By 1943 she had become a popular pin-up girl and appeared on the cover of such magazines as Yank.

She was given supporting roles in films such as, Old Acquaintance (1943) with Bette Davis.

Warner promoting her along with Lauren Bacall as a new screen personality when they co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in, To Have and Have Not (1944).

The film made a star of Bacall, but Moran did not do as well and her later films did little to further her career, this probably had something to do with Howard Hawk's decision to boost Bacall's career.

The Horn Blows at Midnight, gave her a leading role, but her film appearances after this were sporadic, and she suffered ill health that reduced her ability to work. Her film career ended in 1954 with a featured role in the western film, Silver Lode.

She was married to the film producer Benedict E. Bogeaus in Salome, Arizona, in 1946. Their son, Brett Benedict, born August 30, 1948, in Hollywood, later became a successful businessman. They divorced in 1962, he died of a heart attack in 1968. Moran had an affair with director Howard Hawks while filming To Have and Have Not, which Hawks undertook mainly as revenge for his rejection by Bacall in favor of Bogart.

Now, Voyager (1942).

Now, Voyager (1942). A drama 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. Prouty borrowed her title from the Walt Whitman poem "The Untold Want," which reads in its entirety, "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted, Now, voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find."

The very plain Charlotte Vale, lives in Boston with her domineering, wealthy mother. Believing, Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa brings psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith to examine her. Jaquith, is convinced that she is, very ill, and he recommends that she be admitted to his sanitarium, Cascade.

Away from her domineering mother, Charlotte recovers quickly, but not really wanting to return home, accepts Lisa's invitation to go on a long cruise. On board the ship, the now very stylish Charlotte is introduced to Jerry Durrance.

The two spend the day sight-seeing and the married Jerry asks Charlotte, to help him choose gifts for his two daughters. Touched when Jerry thanks her with a small bottle of perfume, she tells him about her family and her breakdown. She later learns from his friends, Deb and Frank McIntyre, that Jerry is unhappily married but will never leave his family.

After the ship docks in Rio de Janeiro, Jerry and Charlotte miss getting back on the boat and Charlotte stays with Jerry in Rio for five days before flying to Buenos Aires to rejoin her cruise.

Even though they have fallen in love, they promise not to see each other again. Back in Boston, Charlotte's family is shocked by her transformation. Her mother, is determined to regain control over her daughter.



Charlotte, receives a bouquet of camellias with no card... she knows the flowers are from Jerry because he had called her "Camille," and, reminded of his love, she is able to stand up to her mother.

Charlotte becomes engaged to the widower Elliot Livingston. One night, at a party, Charlotte runs into Jerry, who is now working as an architect. His youngest daughter Tina is now seeing Dr. Jaquith, for her emotional problems. Charlotte tells Jerry, not to feel guilty over their affair, because she gained strength from knowing that he loved her.

Charlotte, now realizes that she could never love Elliot and they break off their engagement, angering Mrs. Vale that during an argument with Charlotte, she has a heart attack and dies.

Feeling Guilty, Charlotte returns to Cascade, where she meets Tina. Seeing herself in the girl, Charlotte takes charge of her. When Tina's spirits improve, Charlotte takes her home to Boston.

Later, Jerry and Jaquith visit them and Jerry is very happy in the wonderful change in Tina. Charlotte tells him that she is only able to keep Tina with her on condition that she and Jerry end their affair. Jerry then asks if Charlotte is happy and she says.. "Well, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon; we have the stars."

Fun Facts:

Edmund Goulding was first attached to the project as director. He wanted Irene Dunne to play Charlotte Vale. When Goulding fell ill, however, the project passed to Michael Curtiz, who had either Norma Shearer or Ginger Rogers in mind for the lead. In the meantime, Bette Davis was lobbying hard for the part. She was able to convince producer Hal B. Wallis that she would make a perfect Charlotte Vale, but she refused to work with Curtiz. Consequently Irving Rapper landed the director's job.

The biggest box office hit of Bette Davis's career.

Paul Henreid's act of lighting two cigarettes at once caught the public's imagination and he couldn't go anywhere without being accosted by women begging him to light cigarettes for them.

"Now Voyager" was actually the third book in a four-part saga of the Vales, a high-class Boston family, written by Olive Higgins Prouty over a 12-year period from 1936 to 1947. When Warner Brothers bought the film rights to the novel, Prouty wrote a lengthy letter to her literary agent, setting out how she felt the production should be mounted. She felt strongly that the best way to dramatize the flashbacks would be to feature short silent segments woven into the main sound narrative. Her letter made its way to producer Hal B. Wallis at Warners, who subsequently ignored her suggestions.

Claude Rains initially turned down the Jaquith role, finding it too insubstantial. The part was built up for him and he was paid $5000 a week for six weeks' work.

Filming went a few weeks over schedule, which in turn caused some conflicts with Casablanca, which also starred Claude Rains and Paul Henreid. Rains finished work on this movie June 3rd in 1942 and did his first scene on Casablanca at 10:30 the next morning.

All Bette Davis fans will love this film. She truly was an actress that knew how to pull on your heart strings. She had the power to transform herself into the many strong women she played. The transformation of the plain Charlotte to the stylish woman, is something that a lot of girls can relate to. The rest of the cast was excellent: Claude Rains, Gladys Cooper, Bonita Granville and Ilka Chase.

Ilka Chase (April 8, 1900 - February 15, 1978) was an actress and novelist, born in New York City and educated at convent and boarding schools in the United States, England, and France, she was the only child of Edna Woolman Chase, the editor in chief of Vogue magazine, and her first husband, Francis Dane Chase.

Chase made her society debut in 1923 and her Broadway debut a year later in, The Red Falcon. Her stage performances include: Days Without End, Forsaking All Others, While Parents Sleep, On to Fortune, Tampico, Co-Respondent Unknown, Revenge With Music, Keep Off the Grass and In Bed We Cry, which was an adaptation of her novel of the same name.

She was in the first Broadway cast in the play, The Women (1938) and later performed in the play, Barefoot in the Park.

Her films: Fast and Loose, Once a Sinner, The Animal Kingdom, The Big Knife, and Now, Voyager.

For several years, she was host of a radio program, Luncheon at the Waldorf. In 1957, she performed the role of the Stepmother in the television production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, which starred Julie Andrews.

Her last movie performance was in, Ocean's 11 (1960) as the mother of the Peter Lawford character. Chase made a rare television sitcom appearance as "Aunt Pauline" on The Patty Duke Show.

Jezebel (1938).

Jezebel (1938). Drama film directed by William Wyler. Cast: Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, 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 story is about a headstrong, spirited young woman named Julie Marsden, who is engaged to a successful banker, Preston Dillard. Wanting to get even with Preston, for putting his work ahead of her to shop for a dress, she orders a beautiful red dress to wear to ball. It was the custom for all the proper unmarried women to wear white dresses. Although, no one could say or do anything to change her mind.

Once at the ball Preston and Julie's, entrance is met with shock and then disapproval by everyone. She is embarrassed and begs Preston to take her home, angry he forces her to dance with him. All the other dancers leave the floor, leaving them alone. When, the orchestra stops playing, Preston orders them to continue and they finish the dance.

Preston breaks off their engagement, not before Julie slaps him in the face. Aunt Belle Massey, tells her to go after Preston and beg his forgiveness, but.. she refuses, believing that he will come back to her. He leaves town and heartbroken Julie, closes herself off from the world.

A year later, Preston returns, to help Dr. Livingstone, prevent an outbreak of yellow fever. Julie goes to him and begs for his forgiveness. That is when Preston, introduces her to his wife Amy. Heartbroken, Julie has a skilled duelist Buck Cantrell, challenge Preston, but the plan backfires. Preston's brother Ted, is the one who accepts the challenge. In a twist of fate, Ted wins.

 

A epidemic of yellow fever hits the city and Preston becomes ill and is quarantined on an island. While Amy, is making plans to go to care for him, Julie stops her and begs to go in her place. Will her plan work?

This maybe one of Bette Davis' best and most memorable performances. Fay Bainter, also gives a wonderful performance as Aunt Belle. Henry Fonda, gives a strong early performance of his career.

 Fun Facts:

Has been called a black-and-white version of Gone with the Wind (1939), which was in its pre-production stages at the time.

Some scenes were filmed around Henry Fonda, to allow him to be with his wife as she gave birth to their daughter Jane Fonda, including scenes with the sometimes-prickly star, Bette Davis. As the star of the film Davis was within her rights to insist that Fonda remain until their scenes were finished, but she allowed him to complete his shots and leave.

Margaret Lindsay (September 19, 1910 - May 9, 1981). She was best known for her supporting work in films of the 1930s and 1940s such as: Jezebel (1938) and Scarlet Street (1945) and her leading roles in "B movies" such as the, Ellery Queen series in the early 1940s. She is best known for her performance in the film, The House of the Seven Gables(1940).

Fog Over Frisco(1934)

Fog Over Frisco(1934). Drama film directed by William Dieterle. The screenplay by Robert N. Lee and Eugene Solow was based on the short story, The Five Fragments by George Dyer. Bette Davis, wanting to play the slatternly waitress Mildred, in the film, Of Human Bondage, accepted the small role of Arlene in hope to convince Jack Warner, to lend her out to the rival studio for the film. Her plan worked and when Warner heard about her wonderful performance in the film, Bondage, he gave her to top billing in, Frisco. Part of this was filmed on location in San Francisco. It was remade as Spy Ship in 1942.

A carrier, rushes to Jake Bello's nightclub to deliver some stolen bonds, demanding Bello to get rid of them quick, because.. he thinks that he is being followed by the law.

After, Socialite Arlene Bradford, arrives at the club with her fiance Spencer Carlton and her stepsister, Val. Reporter Tony Sterling sits down at her table,  to chat with her while Bello, transfers the stolen bonds to Arlene's car.

At home, Arlene hides the bonds in her safe. Arlene's stepfather, Everett, takes this opportunity to accuse her of having "bad blood" just like her mother, but Val, comes to her defense.

Arlene, then goes to Spencer's work to hand him the bonds, he begs her to return them, but she talks him into selling them.

Later, detectives arrive at the Bradford house to look for the bonds. Thorne, the butler, overhears Arlene talking on the phone making arangements to meet a man. She then returns Spencer's engagement ring to him by letter and packs her bags.

Bradford, calls Spencer to the house, telling him that they know that he is some how involved with the stolen bonds. At Bello's, Arlene says that she is finished with the bond scam and he threatens her. Not worried, she leaves to see Mayard, the Honolulu manager of Bradford's company and head of the bond scam. He tells Arlene to return his love letters, saying that he does not love her anymore. She still insists that she is going to the Hawaiian Islands with him.

Val, hears the house elevator and expecting Arlene, runs out to met her. After not seeing anyone, she returns to her room. After she hears the elevator a second time, she and Thorne go to see what is going on. They finds Arlene's car in the garage and watch as a taxi leaves.

The next morning, Val finds a note from Arlene saying that she has left home. Val, wanting to find her stepsister, calls Tony at the paper, to ask him not to print the story. The news has already hit the papers and she blames Tony.

He and  photographer Izzy, meet Val in the garage, but she refuses to talk to them. Soon after, Izzy finds Arlene's body in the trunk of her car, Tony calls Val, who again refuses to talk to him, he phones the story in to the paper. Val then receives a telegram, signed by Arlene, asking her to bring the car and the envelope with her letters, which she had given to Val for safekeeping.

Val, still does not know that Arlene is dead, drives to the meeting place and is captured by Bello and his men.

The police lose Bello's boat in the fog. Will the police get to Val in time, before she finds the same fate as her sister?

 

I enjoyed watching this fast pace crime film, with plenty of witty dialog and twists and turns. You will also see some great acting by Bette Davis, who gives a convincing performance as the spoiled rich girl Arlene. Margaret Lindsay, plays her step-sister Val, perfectly.

Margaret Lindsay (September 19, 1910 - May 9, 1981) After attending National Park Seminary in Washington, D.C., Lindsay convinced her parents to enroll her at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York.

She then went abroad to England to make her stage debut. She performed in plays: Escape, Death Takes a Holiday and The Romantic Age.

 Lindsay was often mistaken as being British due to her convincing English accent, which impressed Universal Studios enough to sign her for their 1932 version of, The Old Dark House.

 After some minor roles in Pre-Code films such as Christopher Strong and Baby Face, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, Lindsay was cast in the award-winning, Cavalcade.

Later, Lindsay performed in a small but memorable role as Edith Harris, a doomed English bride whose honeymoon voyage takes place on the Titanic.

Her work in Cavalcade earned her a contract at Warner Bros. where she became a supporting player, working with Paul Muni, Errol Flynn, Henry Fonda, Warren William, Leslie Howard, George Arliss, Humphrey Bogart, Boris Karloff and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.

Lindsay was cast four times as the love interest of James Cagney, from 1933-1935. She performed with Cagney in four films: Frisco Kid, Devil Dogs of the Air, G-Men and Lady Killer. Lindsay co-starred with Bette Davis in four films: 1934's Fog Over Frisco; in 1935's Dangerous (for which Davis won her first Best Actress Academy Award); in Bordertown, co-starring Paul Muni, and as Davis's rival for Henry Fonda's affections in Jezebel (1938), which earned Davis her second Best Actress Academy Award.

The Law in Her Hands (1936), she performed a leading role as a mob lawyer. It was rare among gangster films of the 30's to have a female in such a male-dominated role. Made after the Motion Picture Production Code came into effect, The Law in Her Hands was forced into a reactionary stance towards the gender switch and concluded with a plot twist that was the complete opposite of the Pre-Code period (1929–1934), when "female characters on the screen could say, do and be whatever they wanted".

 Lindsay's best known film role was, The House of the Seven Gables in 1940, with George Sanders and Vincent Price. Her 1940s film series work in Hollywood included: Ellery Queen series from 1940-1942.

 Lindsay, performed in a supporting role in the 1942 film, The Spoilers, starring John Wayne and in Fritz Lang's Scarlet Street in 1945. While her work in the late 1940s would occasionally involve a supporting role in MGM films like Cass Timberlane with Spencer Tracy, her film career faded, soon after.

She returned to the stage and co-starred with Franchot Tone, in The Second Man. 1950s and 1960s She made her television debut in 1950 in, The Importance of Being Earnest. More television work soon followed.

Lindsay performed in only four films during the 1950s and two in the 1960s. Her final feature film was, Tammy and the Doctor (1963). Lindsay lived with her sister Helen in Hollywood.

Later in life, she lived with her youngest sister Mickie. Despite being romantically linked to actors such as William Gargan and Edward Norris, she never married.

Margaret Lindsay's sister, Jane Kies (1909–1985), was also an actress under the name of Jane Gilbert. In 1940, Jane married the son of Hedda Hopper, actor William Hopper, best known for his role as Paul Drake in the Perry Mason television series. Their daughter Joan was born in 1942, and the couple divorced in the early 1960s. Lindsay's niece Peggy Kenline and great-nephew Brad Yates were also actors.

The Old Maid (1939).

The Old Maid (1939). Director: Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by Casey Robinson is based on the 1935 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same title by Zoë Akins, which was adapted from the 1924 Edith Wharton novella The Old Maid: the fifties.

On the day of Delia Lovell's wedding to socially prominent Jim Ralston, Clem Spender, to who Delia had once been engaged, reappears after being gone for two-years. Delia's cousin Charlotte, who was also in love with Clem, slips away to console him, coming home very late that night.

The next day Clem enlists in the Union army and dies on the battlefield.

Four years later, Charlotte has made a home for war orphans. Tina, Charlotte and Clem's own daughter comes to live with her. Charlotte lives with her secret until the day she is to marry Jim's brother Joe. Delia, who still loves Clem, decides to destroy Charlotte's chance to marry Joe and Charlotte goes into seclusion.

She reappears several months after Jim has died in a riding accident, and accepts Delia's invitation to move into the Ralston mansion with Tina.

Over the years Tina, considers Delia to be her mother, while Charlotte has become a miserable woman. Delia adopts Tina legally to provide her with a name.

On the eve of her wedding, Charlotte insists on telling Tina her true identity. Will Charlotte be able to keep her secret forever hidden?

I thought both Davis and Hopkins were amazing in this passionate film with many pull on your heart string scenes. Davis is wonderful in her transformation from beautiful debutante to embittered old maid. This movie reminded me of what a good actress Miriam Hopkins really was.

Miriam Hopkins (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972). At the age of 20, she became a chorus girl in New York City. In 1930, she signed with Paramount Pictures, and made her official film debut in, Fast and Loose.

Her first great success was in, Trouble in Paradise (1932). During the remainder of the decade, she appeared in such films as: The Smiling Lieutenant and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (both 1931), Design for Living (1933), Becky Sharp (1935), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, Barbary Coast (1935), These Three (1936) (the first of four films with director William Wyler) and The Old Maid (1939).

Hopkins had well-publicized fights with Bette Davis (Davis was having an affair with Hopkins' husband at the time, Anatole Litvak), when they co-starred in their two films: The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance(1943). Davis admitted to enjoying very much a scene in Old Acquaintance in which she shakes Hopkins. After Old Acquaintance, she did not work again in films until The Heiress (1949).

In The Mating Season, she gave a comic performance as Gene Tierney's character's mother. She also acted in The Children's Hour, which is a remake of her film These Three (1936). In the remake, she played the aunt to Shirley MacLaine, while MacLaine took Hopkins' original role.

Pawsome Pet Pictures: Bette Davis

I love this pic of Bette and her two little friends

That Certain Woman(1937).

That Certain Woman(1937). Drama film written and directed by Edmund Goulding. It is a remake of Goulding's 1929 film The Tresspasser, Gloria Swanson's first sound film. Cast: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda and Anita Louise.

Young widow of gangster Al Haines, Mary Donnell.. is now working under an assumed name as a secretary for a well known wealthy attorney Lloyd Rogers. When a journalist Virgil Whitaker, threatens to expose her past. Rogers and Mary, ask Whitaker not to print the story. Although, she is still worried that the story will still be printed. Mary, thinks it would be best, to turn down wealthy Jack Merrick's marriage proposal.

He eventually, changes her mind and on their wedding night, Jack's father wants the marriage annulled. Mary leaves, hoping that Jack will come after her. She moves in with her friend Amy and hides her son Jackie, from the Merrick family.

Jack, then marries society girl Florence "Flip" Carson, but on their honeymoon, Flip is crippled in an car accident.

Needing help, Mary accepts Rogers financial support, hoping that Mrs. Rogers will not be hurt. Hunter doesn't really care because he's in a loveless marriage. One day, Rogers dies in Mary's apartment and it gets out that Jackie is Jack's child.

Jack visits Mary, to see if the rumors are true and learns that he is Jackie's father. Merrick, Sr. takes legal action to adopt Jackie, but it is Flip, who talks Mary into giving Jackie up.

Years later, Virgil, who has befriended Mary during her troubles, finds her in Monte Carlo and tells her that Flip is dead, leaving Jack free to return to Mary.

What I loved most about the film, was how the women all seemed to care about doing the right thing.

Anita Louise (January 9, 1915 – April 25, 1970), made her acting debut on Broadway at the age of six, and within a year was performing regularly in Hollywood films. By her late teens she was being cast in leading and supporting roles in important film, and was best known for her delicate features and blonde hair.

As her stature in Hollywood grew, she was described as one of cinema's most fashionable and stylish women. Her reputation was further enhanced by her role as Hollywood society hostess, with her parties attended by the elite of Hollywood, and widely and regularly reported in the news media.

Among her film successes were Madame Du Barry (1934), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Story of Louis Pasteur (1935), Anthony Adverse (1936), Marie Antoinette (1938), The Sisters (1938), and The Little Princess (1939).

By the 1940s, she was reduced to minor roles until television gave her more opportunities. In middle age she played one of her most widely seen roles as the gentle mother, Nell McLaughlin, in the CBS television series My Friend Flicka from 1956–1957, with co-stars Johnny Washbrook, Gene Evans, and Frank Ferguson.