Little Foxes, The (DVD)

There was never an actress like her and there is still no one in sight to take her place. Bette Davis lost the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1941 to Joanne Fontaine in "Suspicion." Though Fontaine was wonderful in the role of the innocent and frightened wife, the test of time shows Davis's performance to have been the great one. "Little Foxes" was nominated for 9 Oscars but won none. It was a tough year to be in Academy competition when the competition included "Citizen Kane"," The Maltese Falcon, and "How Green Was My Valley." Sometimes success is a matter of the luck of timing. This movie is based upon Lillian Hellman's stage play of the same name. As with most stage plays it was undoubtedly difficult to stage as a movie. Nevertheless, William Wyler, the director, did it as well as it can be done. Do not look for nuance in character. A stage play makes its points crystal clear through forceful, dramatic and in this case stunning dialogue. Davis, as Regina (notice the regal name) Giddens is the dominating head of the foxes, which also include her two brothers, Ben and Oscar. Dan Duryea as Oscar's son, Leo, is an unconscious but hopeful initiate to the pack, not yet part of it. The plot revolves around Regina's scheme to use her innocent daughter, Alexandra (Theresa Wright), to lure her alienated and ill husband (Herbert Marshall) back from Chicago to their small southern town. The foxes need his wealth to help them finance an investment scheme. To watch them connive among themselves and against each other is to watch great acting among a wonderful and accomplished ensemble cast. As mentioned, the movie is based upon a stage play and so there are good and bad people with no in-between. Herbert Marshall gives a stellar performance as Regina's dignified husband Horace Giddens. His disdain for the foxes from the perspective of an honest man and on the verge of death from his illness is spot-on. Patricia Hollinge, as Alexandra's sweet Aunt Birdie gives an Oscar-nominated performance. Her scene of regret, with Alexandra, Marshall and the loyal servant Addie (the good ones) deserved the nomination. Birdie is as her name conveys; flighty, innocent, honest and still naive as an older women. Those qualities naturally make her an object of disdain among the foxes. A young Dan Duryea is excellent as Oscar Hubbard's son, Leo. He is happily dissolute and willingly corruptible with a good dose of cowardice as an aspiring fox. But then there is Miss Bette/Regina. Her regal bearing lends all the more force to her calculating detached and cynical nature. Her sneering cruelty juxtaposed with her calculated charm is mesmerizing. In a scene in which she moves from verbal persuasion to verbal force with Marshall she projects a screen presence and magnetism that made her a superstar before the term was invented. Watch especially for the scene where she wishes death upon Marshall to his face. Those three lines are some of the cruelest, most savagely written and magnificently delivered that you will ever see. Marshall's subsequent death scene and Davis's reaction as he struggles up the stairs for medicine non-verbally reinforces Davis's that malevolently stunning death wish. Good does not win out in this movie except for, Alexandra, thankfully. She escapes Regina's dominating clutches by running off with a true love, rather than marrying the slimy Leo as Regina had planned for her. That is the Hollywood part of the ending. However, the finale after Alexandra flees and Regina has the upper hand on her brothers delivers Hellman's dark view of greed ingrained within human nature. Regina's brother Oscar is furious to have lost out to his sister. But the wizened and almost-as-foxy brother Ben laughingly and loudly celebrates that dark side of human nature. Taking the long view, Ben in a low-key and menacing manner concedes Regina's financial victory as merely one battle in a continuing war among the pack. Davis's tacit agreement is clearly conveyed by facial expression only, with no need for further words in the clutches of such a great actress. Hellman teaches us that there will always be people like the foxes, but rarely is a point-of-view conveyed so vividly. Released in a different year, this movie and its performances would have won many of the awards it missed in 1941. Regardless, it is a great movie as Bette Davis was one of our greatest actresses.

On its surface Lillian Hellman's play THE LITTLE FOXES (1941) seems to be about a wealthy family destroyed by greed in the Deep South of 1900. Matriarch Regina Giddens (Bette Davis at her icy best) presides over a family with a crippled husband (Herbert Marshall) and assorted morally weak and greedy relatives. Repeating their stage roles are Patricia Collinge, Dan Duryea, Charles Dingle, Carl Benton Reid, and John Marriott, according to Leonard Maltin. Making their film debuts are Collinge, Duryea, Reid, and Teresa Wright. Fans of movie trivia should remember that Collinge and Wright played mother and daughter in Hitchcock's SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1942). Collinge plays the weak Birdie here, while Wright is the hope for the future as Regina's daughter. It has a bitter and bitchy family at odds with one another. There is a cotton mill the family owns in town. Since it is prosperous, there are fights over ownership of it. And when a lot of bonds are taken from a safety deposit box in the town bank by family members, Regina wants them returned--or else the equivalent amount of money given to her in cash. As for husband Marshall, Regina stays with him for his money. This is gripping and superbly played drama. It is a complicated family drama, and I hope any errors on my part in terms of relationships are not serious and can be ignored. Actually, THE LITTLE FOXES seems to me to not be about plot at all, but rather is an exercise in Hollywood Golden Age style. It is fabulously crafted by some of the greatest talents the movies have ever seen---producer Samuel Goldwyn, director William Wyler, writer Hellman, and star Davis in one of her greatest roles. Gregg Toland did the elegant deep-focus B&W photography (such beautiful antique lamps!) the same year he shot CITIZEN KANE. Art director Stephen Goosson won an Oscar for Capra's LOST HORIZON (1937). Costume designer Orry-Kelly won an Oscar for Wilder's SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959), with considerable credits in between. Editor Daniel Mandell won an Oscar for THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946). The background score is by THE MUSIC MAN's Meredith Willson. And the cast is world-class, if not household names. This is such an exquisite movie to look at visually, to study the period re-creation carriages and wallpaper, to marvel at the old-fashioned vested suits, to listen to Hellman's dialogue. And moments of silence. Watch the chilling scene where Regina's foreground face is frozen in a chair while crippled husband Marshall tries to climb a blurry background staircase to get some medicine. So THE LITTLE FOXES is a feast of a drama for discriminating audiences, and Bette Davis admirers in particular. Samuel Goldwyn also deserves a lot of credit. He didn't produce a lot of movies during the 1930's and 1940's, but each one seems hand-crafted and outstanding now, including THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942) and THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946). William Wyler had previously worked with Davis on JEZEBEL (1938) and THE LETTER (1940); Davis won an Oscar for the former and a nomination for the latter. And Wyler directed Teresa Wright to an Oscar the following year, 1942, with Best Picture Oscar winner MRS. MINIVER. And Hellman's dialogue is cutting sharp and her characters treacherous. THE LITTLE FOXES is an extraordinary movie made by truly extraordinary talents on both sides of the camera. It is really a must-see and may even be a masterpiece, if it catches you in the right mood.

The movie takes place the turn of the century and Bette Davis is at her best. I had heard of this film but never saw it, so I thought I'd check it out. It's a good film.

Simply put, THE LITTLE FOXES (1941) is a Hollywood classic. But more than that, it is also a master class in screen writing (Lillian Hellman, adapting her own stage play,) directing (Willian Wyler,) and performance - which is more than just "acting" - by a brilliant ensemble cast (headed by the incomparable Bette Davis and Herbert Marshall.). Set in the deep South of 1900, the story is a period piece, but its theme of destructive greed and corruption make it relevant anywhere at any time. THE LITTLE FOXES is film-making of a quality seldom seen - alas! - at the local cinema anymore.

N'ayant pu avoir une version lisible en zone 2 , je ne peux que regretter qu'après tant d'années (1941) des considérations mercantiles ait empêché la diffusion de cet excellent film en Europe, film que j'ai vu et apprécié dans ma jeunesse d'ou mon évaluation du film et non du DVD.

Ein wunderbar düsterer, so gar nicht Hollywood-mäßiger Film. Einer der Top 100 des amerikanischen Kinos! Bis in die Nebenrollen großartig besetzt und fotografiert (Citizen Kane"-Kameramann Gregg Toland, der auch hier wieder mit Tiefenschärfe exquisite Bilder zuwege gebracht hat). Bette Davis ist unvergesslich und ihr Charakter - die habgierige und gefühlskalte Regina - im Grunde noch gruseliger als "Baby Jane Hudson". Ein Ensemblefilm, wie er heute nicht mehr gedreht werden könnte. Manchmal merkt man die Herkunft vom Bühnenstück (Vorlage Lilian Hellman) an, aber Regisseur William Wyler und die Kamera brechen das geschickt auf. Auch die Settings und Kostüme wirken absolut authentisch. Schade, dass dieser absolute Klassiker (er lief früher mal im deutschen Fernsehen) nur als Import erhältlich ist. Die spanische Version ist dank des guten Bild- und Tontransfers und der US-O-Fassung (wahlweise mit OmU's) als Ersatz zu empfehlen.

This is one of Bette Davis’s best roles Stands test of time. Movie about the consumption of greed Watch $ see a true star Lizard

Me encantó la película y sobre todo la actriz Teresa Wright. Una pena que muchos de estos títulos estén descatalogados.

They say that Bette Davis had been in Hollywood for ten years waitng to say the above line, my review title. The character of Regina is one of the most evil, calculating and totally without scruples on screen, topped off with a little Southern charm. Just a little, not as much as director William Wyler would have liked, but Bette was a fighter, and often got her way. I don't know how this one got past the censor. For as bad as she is, she gets no punnishment, save for the loss of her daughter's love and respect. She ends the movie triumphant in her ruthless scheming. Call me a cynic, but it makes it true to life. Based on a Lillian Hellman play, it shows its roots in theatre, more than most of Bette's Warner Bros films. Bette was loaned out to Samuel Goldwyn for this one. The box office was spotty to begin with, but it was soon regarded as a classic. It brought Bette her fourth of five consecutive Oscar nomiations. Herbert Marshall is perfectly cast as the terminally ill husband. He is neither overwhelmed by Bette, nor does he attempt to compete with her. He just plays his part with considerable talent. Teresa Wright is memorable as the daughter, who comes of age and loses naivety. It is a timeless tale of greed and moneterism, and I think it would stand re-making. The story is as relevant today as ever. Bearing in mind when the film was made, and its turn of the 20th century Mississippi setting, there are some offensive racial stereotypes on display. The two main female house servants are not in that mould, so it is a bit better than some in that respect. The disc really is region 1, so heed the advice! This is a classic Bette Davis film.