Product Details

• Actors: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Anita Louise, Ian Hunter, Donald Crisp
• Directors: Edmund Goulding
• Writers: Edmund Goulding
• Producers: Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner, Robert Lord
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Warner)
• VHS Release Date: September 1, 1998
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302548446
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #929 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 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)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	Samantha Kelley "Maliejandra" (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A TALE OF STAR CROSSED LOVERS..., December 31, 2001

By	Lawyeraau (Balmoral Castle) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

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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.