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Old Acquaintance

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"Old Acquaintance", a masterful Warner Brothers production from 1943, tells the story of a friendship between 2 woman over 25 years of their lives. Both are authors, one of trashy romance novels and the other of serious ones. This reflects their natures. Miriam Hopkins plays the flighty superficial Millie and Bette Davis plays the level headed intellectual Kit.

Both actresses are well cast and the film raises many issues for women - career versus marriage, youth versus age in relationships etc. In 1943 Hollywood, these were unusual subjects and hence the enormous popularity of the film for the female audience. The film, moving between arch comedy and heavy drama, has a slick, glib quality and will not appeal to men.

"Old Acquaintance" is beautifully made by director, Vincent Sherman. While Hopkins penchant for theatrical mannerisms and overacting sits perfectly on her character here, Davis still outshines her with her superb mastery of the medium. Watch her use of props in this film and her movement around the sets. Hopkins has dated, Davis has not. The climax of the film is probably the scene when an exasperated Davis shakes Hopkins, reportedly reflecting the attitude of the director and the film crew, not just the audience. The film also has a fine Franz Waxman score, never used better than in an intimate scene in an hotel lobby between Davis and John Loder.

The print of the film is excellent and the DVD benefits from a very good commentary by Boz Hadleigh accompanied by the elderly Sherman. It is a treat to hear Sherman speak highly of Davis and her co-operation and intelligence while making the film. There is also a mediocre cartoon and a short film called "Stars on Horseback" which compiles clips, some of which are interpolated misleadingly from Warner's films, showing some of the studio's stars on horses - fairly dumb. The original trailer shows some shots cut from the film and lastly, there is a very good discussion of the film by the a number of historians/ biographers. These Warner's DVDs provide a lot of enjoyable extras and are good value.

This film has never been available before but can now be obtained alone or as part of the Davis Collection Volume 2. It is a worthwhile addition to the usual Davis classics.

When The Bette Davis Collection was rerleased last year on DVD, the most surprising omission was her famous catty comedy/melodrama with Miriam Hopkins OLD ACQUAINTANCE--not only because it is such a seminal film but also because Vincent Sgherman, the director, is one of the few directors from the Golden Age of Hollywood still alive and available to provide commentary (as he did for his other film with Davis MR. SKEFFINGTON). OLD ACQUAINTANCE does not show Davis in one of her very best roles--unfortunately she's required to be somewhat self-sacrificing, but noit in an exciting and over-the-top way (as in NOW, VOYAGER), and Hopkins gets almost all of the best comedy bits. And both the perfoirmances and the direction of the film seem to work against exploring the ambiguities in the script that suggest Davis's character Kit Marlowe may in some ways be as much to blame for the problems in her friendship with Hopkins's character Millie as is Millie herself. (Why is Kit spending so much time in the first place with Millie's husband and daughter? Even if Millie is a poor mother and wife, shouldn't Kit stay out of their lives?) But the film is famous in that it is one of the most important Golden Age films to stress at all the importance of friendship between women, and the ending where the two women, left only with one another at the end and forgiving one another, toast each other with flat champagne is beautifully done. Another plus is the sad sensitive suite for strings Franz Waxman composed for the film, which is one of his finest scores, and really brings out the pathos of the scene in Millie's husband's hotel lobby.

Having just read that famed director Vincent Sherman died, it seems a fitting tribute to take a look Old Acquaintance, one of the films he made with the legendary Bette Davis. Part of the recently released Bette Davis Collection volume 2, Old Acquaintance is a classy and stylish movie about the topsy-turvy relationship between two women who end up bearing it all for friendship, loyalty and for love. As the saying goes, friendship has no bounds.

In Old Acquaintance, Bette Davis plays Kit Marlowe, a serious literary writer who has returned to her childhood home to stay with her best friend Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins). Kit is a down-to-earth and unpretentious sort of girl, modest, cheerful, and ladylike - she sails through life with an unassuming confidence. Millie's husband Preston (John Loder) obviously has a soft spot for her, and likewise Kit is attracted to him, although she doesn't want to admit it to herself or to Preston.

Millie, however, is a surefire pain the neck. Neurotic and insecure, she aches for a life of her own, outside of the trimmings of her husband and her quiet domestic existance, and is inspired by her friend's visit to try and get her trashy romance novel published. Although Kit has had minimal success herself - her own novels have "artistic merit" - she agrees to help Millie out.

Fast forward eight years 1932 and Millie has become a huge success from romance potboilers - most of the critics agree that they're trash. She's now incredibly wealthy and can afford to live in salubrious apartment in Manhattan, deck herself out in gorgeous outfits and give her young daughter Deirdre absolutely anything.

The problem is that she maybe rich but she's still self-absorbed. Preston still suffers by her side choosing to endure indignities to be a good dad to Deirdre. Kit stays the ever-loyal friend, taking Deirdre shopping and putting up with her best friend's temper tantrums. The deep love between Kit and Preston is still unfulfilled, and as the story progresses, he again professes his love for Kit. Kit returns his love but cannot "do that" to a friend.

A woman of integrity, Kit plays the martyr as she turns down Preston's advances yet again. Time moves on and all three characters cross paths, and there's more romantic shenanigans involving Deirdre, (Delores Moran) now all grown up and Kit's younger suitor Rudd Kendall (Gig Young).

Much of the drama in Old Acquaintance centers on the ever changing needs between Millie and Kit. The poor Kit is constantly having to put her own needs on the back burner, while she spends much of her live feverishly trying to placate the insufferably selfish Millie, who has never listened to reason and who automatically assumes Kit's friendship with her husband is more than platonic. Meanwhile, Kit is getting on in years and feels the pressure to marry and have children - this is a real issue for her as she's ten years older than Rudd.

Sherman directs the film with a great style and visual flair and he really manages to nail the characters, emphasizing how diametrically apposed Kit and Millie actually are. Kit is the selfless, dependable sufferer for a cause, while Millie is all to ready to sacrifice a lifelong friendship for petty jealousies.

Old Acquaintance is also notable for the fact that Bette Davis decided to take on the nice, mannered and subtle character, rather than play, showier, over-the-top role, which Hopkins made her own. This is a smart, erudite - if not a little talky - movie that really presents a friendship that truly does weather the stormy waters of time. Mike Leonard June 06.

Well, it's about time. This delicious story of two women who remain friends through tons of drama may seem dated now, but it's a rare pleasure to finally have it available on DVD. Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins are perfectly matched as the two friends even though they did not get along in real life. Davis is Kit Marlowe, a writer who's more critically successful than financially and Hopkins is her lifelong friend who follows in her footsteps as a writer and becomes wildly successful financially. Through divorce, career highs and sharing the love of Hopkin's daughter, they remain bonded until later in life when old rivalry and jealousies finally erupt. The DVD print is remarkably good and a fine addition to the Bette Davis Vol.2 collection. Hopkins is truly funny as the histrionic Millie, a perfect foil for the more down-to-earth Kit. Enjoy this unique collector's item---maybe with a "nice glass of flat champagne".

Bette Davis stars as Kit Marlowe, a writer whose first novel was just published to great acclaim. As the movie opens, Kit returns to her small hometown to visit her best friend, Millie Drake (Miriam Hopkins). Millie is a housewife and expectant mother who seems happy, but the visit from the successful Kit sets off a competitive spark in Millie. She decides to write a book herself - a sentimental romance novel of questionable quality - that becomes a best-seller. Soon, Millie is a famous and wealthy author, while Kit toils in semi-obscurity writing novels that sell few copies but that critics love. However, what Kit lacks in success, she makes up for in warmth and kindness. In fact, Millie's husband (Gig Young) and young daughter seem to prefer Kit. Oops! This situation sets into motion a rivalry that spans decades.

"Old Acquaintance" is a smoothly directed and well-acted "women's film" - the kind of movie that flourished in the 1940s. Davis and Hopkins had collaborated previously, on the superior 1939 "Old Maid." The two stars apparently had a bit of an off-screen rivalry as well, and Davis took delight in the fact that her grounded performance aged better that Hopkin's flightier acting in this film. I have to agree that Davis is far better here than Hopkins. Adapted from the successful Broadway play by John Van Druten, the movie is so easily digested that it's easy to overlook some of its flaws. Specifically, the actresses were too old to pull off some of the opening scenes depicting them in their 20s. The plot is also rather disjointed, jumping through the decades without much connective tissue. Also, for a movie about rivalry, the two leads don't really get to argue much close to the denouement, which includes a really silly, almost insulting fight. However, it's a fun romp that fans of Davis in particular are likely to enjoy.

The DVD includes a commentary track with the director, Vincent Sherman, and journalist Boze Hadleigh. It's not clear when this track was recorded, but it's pretty apparent that it was taken from an interview with Sherman (with sporadic questions from Hadleigh inserted later) as opposed to being a true commentary track, as most of the comments are about the picture more generally as opposed to the specific scenes playing. Nevertheless, it's an interesting behind-the-scenes peek that's not available for most 1940s pictures. Sherman tells a fascinating story about going out for a hamburger with Davis after the picture was completed and having the married Davis come on to him. He contemplates having an affair with Davis until a visit from her husband (Arthur Farnsworth) convinces him otherwise. Just weeks later, Farnsworth ended up dead under somewhat mysterious circumstances (an inquest ruled his death an accident). Sherman and Davis went on to work together on "Mr Skeffington" (which is a better movie than "Old Acquaintance"), but Sherman holds back the rest of the story.

Film: **1/2 _____ DVD Transfer: ****1/2 _____ DVD Extras: ****

Through no fault of her own, "Old Acquaintance" is definitely one of Bette Davis's lesser vehicles from the late 30's through the early 1940's, certainly not up to the standards set by "Jezebel", "Dark Victory", "The Letter", "The Little Foxes", "The Man Who Came to Dinner", "Now, Voyager", "The Watch on the Rhine", and "Mr. Skeffington". In those superior films, Davis had the advantage of top flight scripts, formidable supporting casts, and superb production values in terms of directors, cinematographers, costume designers, and composers. In "Old Acquaintance", she is saddled with a sappy screenplay, a lackluster leading man (the bland John Loder), an unmanageable co-star (Miriam Hopkins who overplays her every scene to the point of embarrassment), an anachronistic wardrobe and hairstyles (in the 1924 and 1932 sequences), and unflattering camerawork by Sol Polito. Although Miss Davis tries hard, the resulting film is a tepid soap opera that drags on for what seems longer than its running time of 110 minutes.

The dreary plot follows two women (Davis and Hopkins) through 20 years of a friendship that began years earlier, in their school days. Davis has chosen a career and become a critically successful author, while Hopkins has elected to focus on her family. Naturally, both are at least a little jealous of the other, and years later, Hopkins has become a financially successful (if critically drubbed) novelist, while Davis has captured the love of Hopkins' husband and child. The two women fuss and feud, but at the end the film have predictably discovered that their friendship has triumphed over all obstacles. Pity Davis' character, winding up with an obnoxious (w)itch like Hopkins as the screen fades to black!

The DVD transfer of this minor melodrama is pretty good, with a generally sharp picture and a crisp soundtrack. The original theatrical trailer is included and looks great. There's also a featurette on the film in which a number of fine film historians try (unconvincingly) to lend the film an importance which it simply doesn't deserve. The 1943 short film, "Stars on Horseback" is pretty awful, implying that old feature film footage of Davis jumping hurdles in 1939's "Dark Victory" was just shot recently at the actress's home, but the vintage cartoon on the disc, "Fin 'n Catty", is a whimsical treat.

"Old Acquaintance" is the weakest entry in Warner Brothers' "Bette Davis Collection, Volume 2" ... acceptable as part of the set, but hardly worth purchasing separately.

Kit Marlowe is an acclaimed but not financially successful author who lives her life through her best friend Millie. Much to everyone's surprise, Millie becomes the darling of the trashy romance novel set by churning out novel after novel. No literary acclaim comes to Millie but the dollars pour in. Kit has the heart and soul while Millie loves the drama. Kit yearns for the happy life that Millie appears to have with a loving and handsome husband and an adorable daughter. Unfortunately, Millie does not appreciate the good things in her life and her husband falls for Kit. Years of yearning and missteps on her part makes Kit a lonely middle-aged woman who totally defers to Millie. Millie's husband falls for the intelligent, good-natured and caring Kit, but Kit's high moral standing would never allow her to express her true feelings.
OLD ACQUAINTANCE has a fairly slow start. Millie is a silly and unappealing character and she doesn't seem worthy of a character in a move, but as the story progresses and we see how Millie and Kit's lives are so tangled, we have an interesting story develop.
Kit and Millie's world's collide and relationships are formed and destroyed. Will their frienship survive?

I was disappointed when I opened the package to find that the box was broken all on the bottom. I did a decent job taping it back together, for the disc looked like it was fine. So I wouldn't say I was impressed, at all.

This is one of the very best of the old-fashioned Hollywood melodramas. Yes, it is melodramatic; yes, some of the plot devices are a little too neat. But there are currents of genuine emotion and good humour running through it, and two or three emotional highlights that will bring tears to your eyes or a sudden lump to your throat. The final scene is perfect. Bette Davis is superb throughout - what a great actress she was! The movie is brilliantly directed with sets, camera angles and lighting just right. Franz Waxman's music intensifies the drama without drawing attention to itself. The gleaming black and white photography is a joy. Altogether, this is one of the most enjoyable movies you could wish to see; a perfect example of the best of Hollywood's golden age.

English speaking viewers with hearing difficulties should be reassured: despite the labelling on the slipcase, this movie does have English subtitles.

Jezebel is one of Bette's best movies. She was quite young & @ her most beautiful. George Brent acting with her certainly helped, I'm sure". It's all about a spoiled little rich girl in the Antebellum period @ the inception of the Civil War. Bette loved more deeply than she thought & realizes it once it's too late. Well there's bad boy George Brent, her play mate, Faye Bainter who tries to stabilize (Julie) & Henry Fonda to provide the love intrest for Bette in their second movie in two years. If you like "Gone With the Wind" you'll like Jezebel. The movie is an exciting drama. It will surely keep you entertained.