Customer Reviews

That Certain Woman [VHS]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"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.

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.

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.

Bette Davis plays a fresh faced and appealing gangster's widow, who is trying to start life anew, working as a secretary for a prominent attorney (Ian Hunter) in this 1937 soaper. She falls in love with Jack (Henry Fonda), a rich man's son, and they marry. When the groom's father (Donald Crisp) finds out, Jack loses the battle with his socially prominent father, who is outraged over what he perceives to be his son's unsuitable marriage and has it annulled. It turns out, however, that Bette eventually gives birth to Jack's son, unbeknownst to Jack. Times passes, and Jack remarries a woman (Anita Louise) from his social circle.

Meanwhile, Mary's married boss has fallen in love with her, but Mary refuses his overtures, remaining true to Jack, under the romantic notion that he will one day return and pick up where he left off. The years go by, before Jack discovers he has a son with Mary and is faced with making a choice he would rather not have to make. To find out how life has treated the respective parties in the intervening years and to find out what Jack decides to do, the interested viewer will simply have to watch the film.

This romantic melodrama is a remake of Gloria Swanson's 1929 film "The Tresspasser", which was also directed by Edmund Goulding. The film is almost ridiculous, at times, but still entertaining, nonetheless. Fine performances are given by the entire cast, though the script is often laughable. Fans of Bette Davis will enjoy it, however, as will all those who love classic films.

I found this to be a hard one to sit through. Bette Davis stars as the widow of a gangster trying to make a new and better life for herself. She's in love with the rich but aimless Henry Fonda, and is loved by her lawyer-boss Ian Hunter. Fonda's father is dead-set against their relationship and she keeps the birth of their child a secret from both father and son. But of course, it can't stay a secret forever. Davis is fine, although her character isn't defined particularly well by the script. She could best be described as "suffering", and it gets heavy-handed after a while. Fonda is livelier than I've seen him in most of his films. The supporting cast play cardboard cut-outs that help the plot to move along. Everybody in the film was far too self-sacrificing and noble for me, with the last half of the film seemingly endless. Director Edmund Goulding does a poor job of pacing the film. It just limps along to a completely convenient conclusion. This is soap opera without style or polish and not my kind of film.

La Davis plays a gangster's widow who's got a crush on rich playboy Fonda.During the decade of the 1930's, very likely the most esteemed and versatile actress in America was a pop-eyed little dynamo by the name of Bette Davis. This 1937 offering (which is all but forgotten) is a re-make of a 1929 Gloria Swanson film THE TRESPASSER which was also directed by the Englishman Edmund Goulding. Soapy as all-get-out, it's nevertheless watchable for Davis's uncanny ability to keep the viewer mesmorized; Fonda does well in his role (the next year he would play Pres to Bette's Julie in her AA winning role in JEZEBEL).The final scene was a turning point in Davis's career; for the first time she was REALLY given "star-treatment" as far as being photographed. Two prime Davis movies not yet on video include a rare comedy role: again from 1937-IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER (with Leslie Howard and Olivia deHavilland)-it's supposedly TERRIFIC. The other (which remains a puzzle) is her unusually literate 1943 soap opera OLD ACQUAINTANCE with her favourite female co-star (just kidding!) Miriam Hopkins. Hope these B.D. classics soon make their way to video!

Why this movie isn't out on dvd is beyond my comprehention in my opinion one more of the many GREAT PERFORMANCES OF ARGUABLY THE GREATEST ACTRESS OF OUR TIMES and another one of her flawless performances that doesn't get the credit and attention it deserves, to watch this terrific actress convey so much emotion while saying so little is mind boglin in my oinion ONE OF HER VERY BEST PICTURES and that is saying a lot considering the fact that she has so many, if you are a fan and even if you are not treat yourself and experience what real acting is all about.

Who but Bette Davis could handle a role requiring such a versatility of emotions as this so well? She begins the movie the young widow of a Chicago gangster. Hoping to better her life she becomes a secretary to Ian Hunter. When Henry Fonda enters the picture she elopes with him, only his father has the marriage annulled immediately. Davis goes along with it (Fonda has no backbone), only, of course, she's pregnant now and has a son. Hunter has always had a crush on her and she begs him not to tell Fonda about the boy. Fonda marries another, Hunter dies after leaving Davis a bundle of money (and his declaration of love), and she goes off to Europe and seclusion. After Fonda's wife dies, he visits Davis and their love is rekindled. The soap-opera effects are really poured on - some, such as Fonda's wife (Anita Louise) being crippled in a car accident on their honeymoon and Davis asking them to adopt her boy, are almost over-the-top in emotional force and seem to be there for no other reason. But Davis is a trooper and shoulders her tragedies valiantly. The pleasure here all comes from watching Davis go through her paces. Well done!

Bette Davis portrays Mary, a gangster's widow who tries to put her past behind her and start anew. When she falls in love with Jack (Henry Fonda), they marry and everything seems perfect...until his wealthy, socially prominent father finds out and annuls the marriage. Their one night together results in the birth of a son, but, not knowing of this, Jack remarries and builds a new life. Mary's boss, in the meantime, has fallen in love with her, but she rejects his offer to take care of her, believing Jack will one day return. When Jack's new wife is found to be unable to bear children and he returns years later and meets his son, he must chose between his devotion to his new wife and his desire for Mary and their son.

Ian Hunter, Anita Louise and Donald Crisp round out the exceptional cast in thsi romantic melodrama.

I recently saw this movie on TCM. Let me tell you, If you are a fan of the great Bette Davis as I am this is one worth owning or at least seeing. So,you may be asking why I only gave it three stars? Here is why,as far as the story line and acting go, the movie is not one of Bette's greatest. The real jem of this movie is the character that Bette plays. I could not get over this "kinder and more gentle" Bette. Get a load of this: After losing the man that she loves,(a very young and handsome) Henry Fonda to another woman she not only does not fight to get him back in classic Bette Davis style, she hands over her young son(a child from her short lived marriage to Fonda) so that he and his new wife can raise him!!! Now, if that does not have you stunded this will. In a sceen in the movie, Bette is asked if she would like a cigarette and I KID YOU NOT, she turns it DOWN!!!
You just have to see this movie to believe it!
It really is a Hoot!