Mr. Skeffington [1944]

I liked a lot this 1944 drama, which I never even heard of until recently. It is a long film, but I enjoyed every single minute of it. Below, more of my impressions, with some LIMITED SPOILERS.It begins in 1914. Fanny Trellis (Bette Davis) is a popular girl, considered a beauty, with many suitors. She and her brother Trippy (Richard Waring) went through most of their inheritance and albeit not poor, are not exactly rich any more. Things are made worse by Trippy's immaturity, lack of responsibility and sense of entitlement. Quite early in the film Fanny decides to seduce a rich Jewish stockbroker, Job Skeffington (Claude Rains), to be able to sustain her lifestyle - and also pay off various (and numerous) Trippy's debts. This film is the story of this long and troubled relationship.This is a serious drama, with quite a lot of heartbreak and tragedy, but it also contains considerable humour and a lot of witty dialogs. Human beings are studied in detail and they are shown with frank honesty, but also with understanding. Tough businessman Skeffington is also largely helpless in the hands of a vixeny, unscrupulous and even a little sadistic woman. Trippy is mostly a waste of oxygene - but in most charming, seductive way... There are also other, secondary characters, quite well shown, but I will not say much about them - you deserve to discover them by youself.The most important character in the film is, against what we could expect from the title, Fanny herself. She is a mixture of brilliant intelligence and mind-numbing stupidity, she is superficial, selfish, spoiled, immature and as vain as Satan himself. Still, because of her personality and (according to the scenario) also her looks she is irresistible - and she will remain such for a long, long time. This is not a pleasant character - but definitely a fascinating one.As I said, I liked this film a lot and I am very glad that I discovered it. One thing however bothered me - according to the story, Fanny is a great beauty, in fact a fascinating, irresistible one. Well, in my personal, purely objective perception, Bette Davis was not beautiful. She was a great actress, she was a very intelligent woman, she had megatons of personality, there was not even one ounce of common or plain in her, she was not ugly (far from it) and there was something rather fascinating about her (the French would say "elle avait du chien") - but beautiful she was NOT. She was not the first choice for the role of Fanny - but Merle Oberon and Hedy Lamarr, both amazingly beautiful women, turned it down, scared probably by the villainous undertones of the character. Only then Bette Davis was selected, as it was known since "Jezebel" that she was not afraid of any role. Still, she was probably not the best choice and that for me is the one and only one false note in an otherwise amazingly good film.This one thing notwithstanding, this is a very, very good, profound and tense drama. I liked it a lot, I am very happy that I bought the DVD and it is definitely a keeper. ENJOY!

One of her very best films

I'd not seen this Betty Davis film before and decided to buy it as miss Davis is always worth watching, I wasn't disappointed. Its a long film and the subject matter wasn't something to my taste but its a dam good film and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Perhaps a little dated, the Black and White recording didn't help but because of when it was made (1944) colour (or color) was probably out of the question at that time. The DVD copy or transfer is as far as I can tell faultless, sound is good too.If you want to see madam at her very best, get the film and enjoy, oh and don't read the case notes before watching the movie.

Love this film,

Marvellous Performance By Betty Davis And Claude Rains.The Background To The Story Is Pure Romance Which Never Fades.These Two Stars Were A Regular Combination And Love Never Blinds One .

I just love this film and always have since I first watched it on TV with my mother. It's wonderful. I felt though that there were bits missing on this version?? Not sure if this has been edited to make it shorter, I still loved watching it though? I've seen this film so many times now throughout the years, and I just know that I'll watch it again and again now that I have my own copy.Great film to curl up on the sofa with when all's peaceful, with a nice glass of something.......... then drift away into Mrs Skeffington's life. Wonderful ending too, they just don't make films like this anymore, more's the pity. I won't go into any details of the film in case I spoil it, but you can be guaranteed, with Bette Davies and Claude Rains it's going to be a wonderful story and a brilliant film! Don't hesitate...buy it and Enjoy!Oh and .....would you call Janie Clarkson... ...and tell her I can't possibly see her for lunch today?

I had originally purchased this film as part of a box set, but borrowed it an ex partner and never got it back. lol I had to buy it again because it is a truly brilliant film, Bette as always is amazing, the film is a combination of funny and also serious, I have and will watch this film over and over again as it never gets boring, in my opinion this is a must see film.

If you like the old films where there is a story and no special effects or car chases this is for you. Bette Davis at her finest

Un amour pour toute la vie.

"A woman is beautiful only when she is loved."

Figurez vous que j'ai acheté ce Dvd pour le regarder. Étonnant, non? Ce film est un des meilleurs de la série des mélodrames Warner. Bette Davis, sans doute, à nos yeux de modernes, en fait beaucoup, mais il n'est pas certain que nos yeux voient très justes. Rien à voir en tout cas avec le jeu grotesque que lui imposa le " gros Bob" Aldrich, Charlotte et compagnie, et qu'en fait elle dû accepter non sans un malin plaisir.

Meine Tochter (18) und ich sind begeistert von der Geschichte und dem Schauspieler Claude Rains. Die Geschichte einer unglückseligen Ehe, ohne rührselig zu sein. Ein sehr gescheiter und fairer Geschäftsmann (C. Rains), der eine oberflächliche und egoistische Frau, Bette Davis, heiratet. Sie, die ihren Ehemann erst zu spät schätzen weiß.

In this film Bette Davis has a constant odd affectation that I found myself wondering about more than I watched the film. Claude Raines was way better in this and it is he who made watching it enjoyable.