Product Details

• Actors: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302548446
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,555 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Emotional workout for a young Davis, January 11, 2011

By 

Douglas M - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: That Certain Woman (Remaster) (DVD)

"That Certain Woman" is the 4th "transitional" film which Bette Davis made in 1937 before she hit superstardom with her Oscar winning "Jezebel". Davis plays Mary Donnell, a gangster's widow who falls for Henry Fonda, a rich and frivolous playboy, while she works for lawyer Ian Hunter. Everyone loves Mary except Fonda's father and the melodrama is full of absurdities as one burden is loaded on Davis's long-suffering shoulders after another. This load of emotional tripe was in fact a remake of the earlier "The Trespasser", a big hit for Gloria Swanson when she made the transition to talkies. Written by the director, Edmund Goulding, the film is nonsense but Davis continually rises above the material, generally underacting at times with great warmth and possibly for the first time, displaying the range and depth of her acting ability. It is a fine showcase for her burgeoning talent if you can stomach the suds. The ending is particularly ludicrous.

The DVD has been issued in the Warner's Archive collection which means it is very expensive, there are no extras and no scene selection. In this case, the theatrical trailer is included and while the DVD has been "re-mastered", it is clean but this is not the same as restored.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Davis at the top of her form, August 14, 2004

By 

David Reese (Boston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: That Certain Woman [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I don't wish to write a review for this film, but I can't let the poor ratings this film has received remain unchallenged. For whatever else one might think about this film, the fact is that Bette Davis is at the top of her form in this film, and that's saying a lot. The year after "That Certain Woman" Davis appeared in "Jezebel," and the year after that in "Dark Victory," two of her best-known performances. She played in a raft of films in the late 30s and early 40s, and many of these films are overshadowed today by her "greatest" films. But make no mistake about it: each of her performances in these years is among the finest in the history of cinematography. Very few actresses can express the full spectrum of human emotion, from the ecstatic heights of being in love to the bathos of lost love (and everything inbetween), that Davis brings to this film. And, as often as not, she does it without uttering a single word. Watch her face register emotion, watch those emotions take flight and swirl and soar before your very eyes. You are watching one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century (indeed, of any century), in a performance that is unforgettable. Whether one loves this film or not (I, for one, do love it!), Davis' performance is exhilarating, masterful, and unrivalled. Be thankful that through modern technology we can experience the wonder and the magic, and yes the genius, of this bravura performance, an extraordinary portrayal filmed on the cinematic stage before most of us were even born.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Absolute Melodrama, September 27, 2006

By 

Samantha Glasser "Maliejandra" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: That Certain Woman [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Bette Davis stars in another melodrama dripping with mixed up love affairs, scandal, and death. She plays a gangster's moll who tries to live a normal life as a secretary after her husband's death. During this time, she meets a wealthy man who wants to marry her (Henry Fonda). They do wed against his father's wishes, a powerful man who anulls the marriage and leaves Davis with a child. Her boss (Ian Hunter) is sympathetic and does all he can to take care of her, all the time falling in love with her despite being married himself. Their association becomes another scandal in Davis' already complicated life. On top of that, her ex-husband Fonda comes back into the equation, married to another woman.

This is certainly a chick flick by any standards and reads like a high class soap opera. However, despite how silly it might seem, it is a guilty pleasure to watch. All of the performances are wonderful. Of course Davis has a wide acting range and does not overdo her performance. Fonda is handsome and boyish but appropriately emotional.