”What are you thinking?” Julie
“I'm thinkin' of a woman called Jezebel who did evil in the sight of God.” Aunt Belle

Before Gone With the Wind Universal Studios came out with their version of the old South - Jezebel. The film shows a pretty convincing view of that thin veneer of “chivalry” and manners that covered the rancor that festered beneath the surface.

Bette Davis who actively lobbied for the Scarlett O’Hara role in MGM’s upcoming (1939) GWTW was rightly turned down for the part by David O. Selznick. Universal offered contract player Davis the Jezebel role as a consolation prize and they beat MGM to the theaters by a year. In no shape or form can Jezebel be compared to the excellence of Gone With the Wind, which I consider a legitimate masterpiece, but Jezebel nonetheless captures the flavor of the old Antebellum South and the antics of a spoiled woman to a “T.”

Bette Davis was not pretty in the way that most leading actresses of the day were. In addition, Davis was noted as one difficult to work with. She is not on my short list of all-time favorite actresses but I recognize a quality performance and here is one of her best.

The story concerns a Southern belle Julie (Bette Davis) who embarrasses her beau one time too many. Her fiancé, played by a young Henry Fonda, breaks their engagement and goes off to New York to establish a banking connection. When he returns to New Orleans a year latter, Julie throws herself at his feet begging forgiveness only to recoil when introduced to Fonda’s Yankee wife.

Despite her attempts to win him back, she is unsuccessful. She therefore begins to manipulate another eligible bachelor, played by George Brent, however with tragic results. An outbreak of the extremely contagious Yellow Fever decimates New Orleans. The final test of her love comes when the young Fonda is struck down with the dread disease. Will she prove equal to the test?

Jezebel is presented in black and white. Wearing a red dress to the ball rather than the accepted virginal white causes Davis’s big scandal. The “red” dress, according to the production notes, was black because it reproduced better in the noirish lighting prescribed by Director William Wyler. The beautiful period sets and costuming capture the pre war South beautifully. Davis’s performance was good enough that it won for her her second Oscar, while Fay Bainter got a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Aunt Belle. The supporting cast was also super, with George Brent, Fay Bainter, Donald Crisp, and Richard Cromwell (Lives of a Bengal Lancer). Henry Fonda shows traces of the constipated uber-morality he would make a trademark in his later work.

The Warner Bros. DVD is presented in 1.33:1 theatrical ratio in crisp black and white. Subtitles and the theatrical trailer are the only extras to this 1938 film. While most action adventure fans will want to skip this melodrama, fans of good cinema and Bette Davis will want to see it for sure. Four stars.

Fans of Jezebel will want to see Gone With the Wind.

Thanks for reading. See a good film tonight!


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening