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Bette Davis was nominated for a 6th Oscar (& lost) for her role as Charlotte Vale, a lead performance that makes her stand alone as the greatest actor of all time. Miss Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis), of Boston's upper class, is the so called 'black sheep', 'ugly duckling', 'spinster' of a stinking rich, uppity, matriarchal maniacal family. Playing her mother (Gladys Cooper) is the (s)mother & 1/2 dominator who, because of her extreme wealth & age, gets away with tyranny over & social isolation of her heir, Charlotte. She's a mother who nearly destroys Charlotte's ego & self-esteem. Miss Vale's psychiatrist's, Dr. Jaquith's (Claude Rains), treatments at a posh retreat mental home works miraculously to convince Charlotte to go on a lengthy cruise vacation. During her sea adventures abroad Charlotte comes out blossoming as the toast of the socialites. Everyone loves her for herself, not the family they don't know she comes from. She uses pseudonyms! To her surprise, men are falling at her feet. Bette Davis is putting on the ritz! She falls in love with one of her many admirers; a married man who has an 'ugly duckling' daughter much like the former withered Miss Vale used to be. That's their ultimate connection: an understanding of how Charlotte was very much like his child, Tina; his wife, too much like her controlling mother. The closeness the traveling couple develops is one that a viewer doesn't ever want to see end. Jerry's (Henreid) a father who is miserable in his marriage; as much as Charlotte is in her birth home with (s)mother dearest. Charlotte extends her trip as long as she can to be with Jerry; but, because he is married & believes his daughter needs him, just as he brought his "Camille" (Davis) out of her social shell, the lovers ever so reluctantly agree to part forever, though madly in love, admittedly. Charlotte goes home to mother misery (Cooper), but is no longer the wall flower who shys away from domination. Even when elderly & ill Mrs. Vale confides in Charlotte that she is leaving the bulk of the family's wealth to her, it doesn't seduce her. Mother Vale delivers that $ taunt as a "quid pro quo" threat--do as I say or else.... But, Charlotte isn't a bashful, bashable, frumpy victim now. Her self-esteem has come into full force. Every day a camille corsage arrives from her (mysterious to everyone else) married lover, Jerry. Charlotte wears it to carry his love with her & to remind herself of how his love empowers her. I won't spoil a magnificent ending because it is one superbly "love of a lifetime" finale. I can't even give you a slight clue it's too rich. The famous line Davis delivers with perfection to her lover is (paraphrased) "Let's not ask for the moon, when we have the stars." Whenever I hear that line, my throat chokes up in awed emotion of the great love they share. I despise gushy love stories. Read my reviews: you won't find them. The reason why is that none could ever touch this one. There were at least 3 Oscar nominations, with Max Steiner winning his for Best Original Score. Truthfully, I don't recall the music because Davis' performance is as sensuous as she ever was in a film. I don't recall Davis in a role playing a sizzling hot looking femme fatale. Is this one of the few roles Davis played "drop dead gorgeous"? I'm in love with her. But, in real life, Davis picks Dr. Jacquith (Claude Rains) for Charlotte to fall in love with in her ideal of a sequel~Read full review
This is one of the best films that I've seen - I just wish that Bette Davis had won the Oscar for Best Actress that year. This story is about a young woman who has been constantly belittled and verbally abused by her Mother (Gladys Cooper). Her Mother is the root of all of the trouble that has gone on in that house. A psychiatrist (Claude Rains) is summoned and he is responsible for Charlotte's (Bette Davis) care, to bring her into reality. She goes on a cruise looking divine and there she meets a man (Paul Heinreid) who she falls desperately in love with and he with her also. He's married and has a daughter who is mentally disturbed - Charlotte even ends up meeting her. At one point Charlotte goes back home and her Mother starts the same old story all over again about what a disgrace her daughter is, how she has embarrassed her mother, etc. This is really a good movie and I highly recommend it to everyone to watch as this type of problem is still very much alive in today's world and probably will be for the rest of time. 4 out of 4 *'s. Enjoy!Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
One of the top 5 Bette Davis movies of all time, And my personal favorite.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Corny acting, thin short, but very entertaining.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
the quality on this dvd is spectacular, some of my newer movies, don't even compare to this dvd, the picture is so clear and vivid, I was amazed that an older movie like this can be so clear, absolutly flawless!
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