JEZEBEL

Bette Davis in Jezebel

JEZEBEL (1938). Director: William Wyler. Colorized version. 

In pre-Civil War Louisiana, Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) is a spoiled, headstrong gal  who lives on a rambling estate with her Aunt Belle (Fay Bainter of State Fair). Her engagement to banker Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda of Lillian Russell) has already been called off more than once, but Julie is convinced that Pres will always come back to her. This notion is tested when she blatantly wears a red dress to a ball when unmarried ladies are supposed to wear white. Heading north, Preston eventually comes back South -- with a new wife, Amy (Margaret Lindsay of Emergency Hospital). Getting Pres away from Amy presents a challenge to Julie, but the fact that yellow fever (aka Yellowjack) has broken out and is ravaging the area might be even more than she can deal with ... 

Davis, Bainter, Fonda, Lindsay

Warner Brothers wouldn't let Davis play Scarlet O'Hara so they gave her another fiery Southern belle to play in Jezebel. (Jezebel was released first due to the long shooting schedule for Gone With the Wind). Whether Julie is a strong-willed woman who knows her own mind and to hell with the consequences or a pathetic creature who is hopelessly tied to one man is debatable. The soap opera of the story is bolstered by the horrific events of the plague. Whether helming romantic scenes, emotional conflagrations, or sequences detailing the horrors of Yellowjack, William Wyler is at the top of his game, and his star isn't far behind. Fay Bainter is also excellent, and Fonda is better than usual. George Brent does the best he can to keep up and is adequate, as is Margaret Lindsay, deliberately cast to seem a pale weak wren next to the fiery Davis. (Davis and Bainter both won Oscars.)

Fonda with Davis

A problematic aspect of the picture, as it is with GWTW, is the patronizing attitude towards the black characters. They are not merely servants, but slaves, but they sing and dance and smile and make merry as if this were perfectly okay with them. Each one gives an notable performance, including Theresa Harris as Zette and Eddie Anderson as Gros Bat. There's a moving scene, be it intended or not, when Fonda asks butler Uncle Cato (Lew Payton) to have a drink with him, but Cato fears it is "hardly proper" and takes his drink with him to the pantry. (We must remember that Fonda swears he is not an abolitionist.) During the plague sequences, when carts are shown taking sick and dying people to an island leper colony, the camera catches both black and white victims, as if to say, the world may discriminate, but yellow fever doesn't. There is a terrific scene in a bar when Fonda falls ill and everyone in the place pulls back in fear and horror in a sudden backwards sweep.

Davis

Whatever its flaws or dated aspects -- although they are "nice" to their slaves, the white characters are essentially racists -- Jezebel is still a memorable picture that takes place in a very different time period. In addition to the fine direction and some splendid performances, there is a notable score by the great Max Steiner and topnotch cinematography by Ernest Haller. The color adds a new dimension to the film although the infamous red dress is more black than red. 

Verdict: A resplendent Davis in a rich romantic drama. ***1/4. 

THE TOY WIFE

Luise Rainer

THE TOY WIFE (1938). Director: Richard Thorpe. Screenplay by Zoe Akins.

"A woman is like a postage stamp. Once there's a black mark on her, she's no good to nobody." -- Pick.

In pre-Civil war Louisiana, two sisters live on a plantation with their slaves and their father. Gilberte, or "Frou Frou" (Luise Rainer) is the pretty and somewhat muddle-headed younger daughter, and Louise (Barbara O'Neil) is the more practical and less attractive older daughter. The young mountebank, Andre Vallaire (Robert Young), wants to propose to Frou Frou, but he is too late, as she has already decided to accept a proposal from the lawyer, George Sartoris (Melvyn Douglas). The trouble is that Frou Frou doesn't love George, but Louise does ... and Andre will not forget Frou Frou. Things come to a boil when George asks Louise to come and run the household, as Frou Frou --  a "toy wife," in his estimation -- seems incapable of doing so.

Luise Rainer and Alan Perl 

Had The Toy Wife starred, say, Bette Davis, it would probably not be a nearly forgotten film today. Luise Rainer, who is outstanding in the film, had already won back to back Best Actress Oscars (for The Great Ziegfeld and The Good Earth) before appearing in this film, but for various reasons her career faded out soon after and long-lasting major stardom never materialized. Douglas, Young and especially O'Neil are also very good in the film, along with Theresa Harris [The Flame of New Orleans] as Frou Frou's maid and companion, "Pick," Libby Taylor as the housekeeper Suzanne, and Alma Kruger [Saboteur] as Andre's disapproving mother. Little Alan Perl is a charmer as George and Frou Frou's son, Georgie.

The Toy Wife's patronizing treatment of black characters is typical of the period, unfortunately, but the film is still absorbing and has a very touching conclusion. There is first-rate cinematography from Oliver T. Marsh and a nice score by Edward Ward.

Verdict: Memorable, well-acted, and unpredictable drama. ***.

THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS

Marlene Dietrich and Theresa Harris

THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS (1941). Director: Rene Clair.

In old New Orleans lady of leisure Countess Claire (Marlene Dietrich) has set her cap for the wealthy older banker Charles Giraud (Roland Young). But Claire has left behind quite a reputation in St. Petersburg, and to deflect Giraud's suspicion she also pretends to be another notorious woman from Russia, Claire's lookalike and [kind of] cousin, Lily. Complicating matters is a lusty sailor named Robert Latour (Bruce Cabot), who has an eye for Claire (and Lili)  and vice versa. One could say that Flame of New Orleans is Dietrich's Two-Faced Woman [in which Greta Garbo pretended to be two different women] not just because of the plot but because Flame is similarly mediocre. However, the actors, especially a surprising Cabot, all do a good job, and they are backed by such stalwarts as Franklin Pangborn, Mischa Auer, Anne Revere, Laura Hope Crews, Andy Devine, and a host of talented black actors, including Theresa Harris [Baby Face] as Clarie's saucy, sexy maid Clementine. However, the film is predictable and not as much fun as it sounds. Clair also directed It Happened Tomorrow.

Verdict: Pleasant in many ways but minor. **1/2.  

BABY FACE

BABY FACE (1933). Director: Alfred E. Green.

"Where would I go -- Paris? I got four bucks!"

"Are you really thinking or just pretending to?"

Lily Powers (Barbara Stanwyck) works in her unpleasant father's speakeasy, but an old customer named Adolph (Alphonse Ethier), suggests she take a cue from Nietzsche, of all people, and use men the way they all want to use her. So Lily takes off with her maid Chico (Theresa Harris), goes to the big city, and makes her way onward and upward through a bank by basically sleeping with one man after another [ not exactly what feminists today would consider female empowerment]. After casting aside both Ned Stevens (Donald Cook), who is engaged to Ann (Margaret Lindsay), as well as Ann's father (Henry Kolker), the now-notorious Lily has to deal with new president Courtland Trenholm (George Brent) -- and deal with him she does. Stanwyck is fine in a role that seems more tailored for Joan Crawford, Brent is satisfactory, and even John Wayne has a small role as another of Lily's early conquests. The main problem with the movie is that the characters are one-dimensional, and despite this being a "pre-code" movie, it's all rather dated; the ending may be unconvincing for many viewers as well. Still, it holds the attention.

Verdict: Stanwyck in man-eating mode. **1/2.