In the New Orleans Antebellum South, an engaged young couple, Julie Mardsen (Bette Davis) & Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda) are having extreme difficulties with power struggles. Davis portrays Julie as a vindictive debutant; Fonda plays Dillard in his infamously gentle & perservering style. Their striking contrast of characters & subsequent actions makes this film a classic (were it in color, Davis' turquoise & Fonda's ice blue eyes might have made it even more so). Preston actually won't give Mardsen much of his time of day, as was typical of Southern men of their era. This inflames the wrath of Julie in such a way that I think only director Wm. Wyler could bring out of Bette Davis & onto the silver screen. So when she wants Preston to go with her to pick out a white dress for the Olympus Ball & he refuses, she gets revenge & wears a red dress that will prove to be the rebellion that tears their engagement to shreds, as well as scandalizes the ball. Preston doesn't play nice about Julie's red dress, insisting that she dance with him while her red dress clears the jammed dance floor. Her power struggles are viewed as improper rebellions for "ladies" to commit. While his power struggles are viewed as virtuous for any man with an iron hand ruling his little Southern wife-to-be. In this sense, the story is about how gender is played out in the US South when it was Antebellum, among the wealthier plantation owning class. As any man with face then might have done with such a 'vixen' (or rather, self-determined woman who aims to live how she wants), Preston breaks off their engagement immediately after the ball & leaves town. For Julie this is a tragedy. She remains in love with him & doesn't leave the house for a year, or even entertain, which was her routine. When Preston returns from the US North to New Orleans, a year later during the Yellow Fever flare, much to everyone's surprise he brings his wife Amy (Margaret Lindsay). But Julie Mardsen is waiting for Preston in a white ball dress, apologies & has extra high hopes of rekindling their engagement. After that ultimate clash of consequences, all hell breaks loose, including one of them catching the Yellow Fever. I'll leave the brilliant ending for your surprise. I can't decide whether "Now, Voyager," "Little Foxes," or "Jezebel" is my Bette Davis favorite because all are exquisitely performed. Davis takes home her 2nd Oscar for being a real "Jezebel." On July 19th, 2001, director Steven Spielberg bought her Oscar & gave it to the AFI. The second highest amount of money paid for an Oscar was donated to the Bette Davis Foundation. Davis' son Michael, one of her close assistants & her friend actor Robert Wagner run this foundation. It awards scholarships to budding actors & also awards actors for their achievements. Meryl Streep was the first recipient. Bette Davis, herself, actually spotted Streep's talent & wrote to Streep that she hoped they'd work together one day. Bette Davis left her 1937 "Jezebel" Oscar to her later life close assistant & devoted companion.Read full review
Someone write that "the role" had somehow given Bette Davis her 2nd Oscar in 3 years (11 nominations in 28 years, including a record 5 in a row, all for Best Actress). Folks have theorized in countless ways about why Davis didn't take the lead of "Gone with the Wind"? Well duh! She'd already done it the year before "Gone with the Wind" (1939) came out: "Jezebel" (1938). In my mind, "Jezebel," directed by William Wyler, is far superior to "GWTW." There are at least half a dozen major reasons. The first three are: the superb performances of Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, directed expertly by the actors' director William Wyler. The fourth reason is the most controversial to write here: "GWTW" is so racist and classist, WITHOUT acknowledging it, that when I viewed it through the eyes and ears of a person of color, it made me feel ill. Black women, most especially, had been seriously stereotyped and the actresses were typecast. Wyler and company carefully prevent that from happening in "Jezebel" the year before "GWTW" over looks those glaring pitfalls. Even Vivien Leigh is type cast using slang like "fiddle-d-dee" too many times to count. Davis' Julie Marsden, on the other hand, is a repentant character. Although strong willed at first, she becomes tamed over time, and by herself. No one else tames her like a cave mannish Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Compare Henry Fonda's Preston Dillard to Gable's Butler and it's ever so easy to feel how extremely the two films contrast. If I were approached to be in my pick of either one, I'd go with this one, "Jezebel." because there is no character in the film that I wouldn't play.Read full review
It's impossible not to compare JEZEBEL to GONE WITH THE WIND. JEZEBEL is like an alternate-universe version...it's 1852, set in Louisiana, before the Civil War. But Julie Marsden (Bette Davis) is virtually the same character as Scarlett O'Hara, hopelessly in love with Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda, playing a mild-mannered Ashley Wilkes type), even though Preston is married to Amy (the sweet, proper Melanie character). Julie doesn't intend to let Preston's marriage stand in the way of what she perceives as their mutual love. Just as in GWTW, there are not one, but two scenes in which the heroine defies convention and scandalizes society. When Julie wears a riding habit instead of a ballgown to her own party, she's having a good time and doesn't care what others think (picture Scarlett, in widow's weeds, dancing with Rhett at the charity ball.) Later, Julie wears a scandalous red gown to a ball, thinking to embarrass Preston, but she's the one who's humiliated (Scarlett wearing the red dress to Ashley's birthday party). At the end, at the height of a yellow fever epidemic, Julie tells Amy that Preston loves Amy, not Julie. What follows next is so ambiguous that I still haven't figured it out. Did Julie come to her senses, realize Preston does in fact love Amy, and make a noble sacrifice? Or are her actions one last rash scheme to get Preston all to herself? Because the action in GONE WITH THE WIND spans about ten years, we see many facets of Scarlett O'Hara and come to pity her and admire her even as we disapprove of some of her actions. Because JEZEBEL takes place over the course of only one year, the audience sees Julie's scheming side, but isn't sure if she is capable of sincere change. If only JEZEBEL had been longer, instead of breaking off at the height of the action, we would have known who lives and who dies, and how we really feel about Julie. And---if only it were in color! Remake, anyone? Yet could other actors ably fill Davis's and Fonda's gorgeous period costumes? Definitely worth seeing; then see it again with the added commentary.Read full review
This movie is one of my all time favorites, because Bette Davis' character swings between love, jealousy, manipulation, and compassion, with these moods intertwining at times. Bette Davis' beauty is striking, and she is at her best as an actress. The plot is VERY strong for a movie from the 30's and 40's. Henry Fonda is a key part of this film, and he is just as spectacular! There are tender roles played, as there and, in keeping with the era portrayed, people kept as slaves. These roles are, however, are treated with great care, love, and friendship. This is a movie that can truly be appreciated by viewers of all ages. That is why I purchased this dvd. It is a perfect addition to any collection.
I don't know where the title of this movie came from, because Bette Davis plays Julie Marsden, a Southern belle before the Civil War. Most people think that this was Bette's reward for not being selected as Scarlett O'Hara; however, this movie was made before Gone With the Wind but released after GWTW. Bette is in love with Henry Fonda in the movie and he with her, but he is an up and coming banker. When she bursts into a business meeting to get him to go shopping for a dress for her, he gets upsets and she retaliates by picking a shocking red dress for the ball when all the other debutantes are wearing white. He gets even with her by embarrassing her at the ball by making her dance over and over in that dress. All the people are appalled! Can you imagine such a thing in the 2000s? Because of all this, Henry Fonda moves away, but a year later he returns for a bank meeting. Bette regrets the breakup and plans on seducing him with a fabulous white dress this time. She greets him like a true Southern belle, and he introduces her to his wife. What happens after this, I will leave for you to visualize as you watch the movie. It is surprising because Bette turns out to be the heroine of the movie. As a tidbit of information, before either of them were famous Bette's first kiss in real life came from Henry Fonda. He met her on a blind date arranged by a Princeton friend of his. Bette had fond memories of that kiss, and she thought that Henry had forgotten all about it. But he hadn't. Also, most people think that Jezebel is in color and can remember Bette dancing in the shocking red dress at the ball in color. However, the movie is in black and white. Isn't it strange how our minds can visualize something that really isn't there?Read full review
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