Jezebel is fascinating from a cinematic history perspective, but it's also a strong melodrama beyond the societal backdrops
Jezebel (1938)
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Reviews Counted:13
Fresh:13
Rotten:0
Average Rating:7.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Set in the antebellum South, William Wyler's JEZEBEL centers on high society beauty Julie Marsden. Julie first arrives on horseback, then enters her home flamboyantly hooking the long flowing train... Set in the antebellum South, William Wyler's JEZEBEL centers on high society beauty Julie Marsden. Julie first arrives on horseback, then enters her home flamboyantly hooking the long flowing train of her dress with her riding crop and hoisting it to her shoulders. Julie is not just high-spirited--she is self-centered and high-handed, and she gets away with outrageous behavior because she is rich and beautiful. However, she gets her comeuppance--losing Pres and becoming reclusive and spiteful--before a chance for redemption occurs. JEZEBEL is built around Bette Davis's bold, powerful, and, at times, subtle performance; when Julie discovers Pres and Amy are married, with the smallest of movements Davis conveys disbelief, then anguish as she realizes the truth--she looks down, her eyelids flicker, she glances from Pres to Amy and back, and utters single words while struggling to maintain her composure. And Fay Bainter, as Aunt Belle, matches Davis when she too discovers Pres is married and continues to greet her guests while worrying about her niece and how she can warn her. Both actresses won well-deserved Oscars. JEZEBEL is also distinguished by Wyler's and cinematographer Ernest Haller's graceful, flowing long takes and deep-frame compositions. [More]
Starring: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Margaret Lindsay
Starring: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Margaret Lindsay, Donald Crisp, Fay Bainter, Richard Cromwell, Henry O'Neill, John Litel, Gordon Oliver, Janet Shaw, Spring Byington, Georgia Caine, Irving Pichel, Jack Norton
Director: William Wyler
Director: William Wyler
Story: Clements Ripley
Screenwriter: Abem Finkel, John Huston, Robert Buckner
Composer: Max Steiner
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Reviews for Jezebel
Directed with taste and discretion by Wyler, the film has several poignant scenes, such as the one in which Henry Fonda ferociously forces Bette Davis to dance in her red dress, while staring down at anyone who appears critical of her code violation.
It would have tasted more like lemonade than a mint julep without Bette Davis' fiery performance.
The film is much more interesting for its traces of Davis' own future roles and images than for its decoy status as a GWTW consolation prize.
The overall slant of the entire movie is a sort of half-hearted indictment of the Old South's code of ethics that was rooted in slavery.
Jezebel (1938), a romantic melodrama with views of 1850s New Orleans ante-bellum society, was offered as compensation to film star Bette Davis
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