"The Little Foxes" takes place in the deep South circa 1900. Regina (Bette Davis), her oily brother Ben (Charles Dingle), and her greedy brother Oscar (Carl Benton Reid) are partners in a plan to build a factory that will 'exploit' the area's poor menial workers. Ben and Oscar already have their share of the investment, but Regina must convince her ailing husband Horace (Herbert Marshall) to put up her portion. But Horace disapproves of both the project and his wife.
There is a subplot involving Davis' daughter Alexandra (Theresa Wright, making her film debut). Oscar wants her to marry his good-for-nothing son Leo (Dan Duryea), while she prefers clever newspaper writer David Hewitt (Richard Carlson).
There are some good things to say about this film. The cinematography, the sets, the costumes, and the cast are all excellent.
But, there are problems. The most obvious is the film's racism. Blacks are shown performing all the menial labor. They are portrayed as docile and obliging, with the minds of children.
Most of the film's protagonists are very unsympathetic. Davis' character is even more rude and selfish than usual, while Ben is grasping and Oscar is brutal. Poor Dan Duryea is again cast as a creep. All lack any sign of having a conscience. Wright's character is sugar-sweet despite having been raised by her insulting mother. Meanwhile, her boyfriend has no Southern accent, and seems to be a more energetic clone of her moralistic father. The film's 'good versus evil' theme seems overplayed as well.
In the most ridiculous scene, Leo makes an insulting remark to David, who slaps him several times. Leo finally lunges half-heartedly at David, who punches Leo, knocking him to the ground. The audience is supposed to cheer for David, the defender of virtue, but instead wonders why Leo is such a poor fighter.
Another silly scene has sickly Horace trying to make it up the stairs to his medicine bottle. He stumbles, rises, grabs the banister, etc. He does everything but knock the bookcase over and tear down some curtains.
"The Little Foxes" was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Screenplay (Lillian Hellman), Best Editing, and Best Actress (Bette Davis).
Wright was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She would receive Oscar nominations for her roles in each of her first three films, which also included "Mrs. Miniver" and "Pride of the Yankees" (both from 1942). Those turned out to be the only nominations of her career, perhaps because it became more apparent that she was usually playing the same character. (57/100)
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