Of Triumph and Tragedy and Bette Davis Eyes

 Great Stars Will Always Be Stars

Dark Victory (1939) –  A frivolous, beautiful heiress is diagnosed with a fatal illness.  She faces a series of decisions about how she will face the end.

Directed by Edmund Goulding

Starring Bette Davis, Ronald Reagan, Humphrey Bogart

Why I Liked It – Davis dominates the screen with a brilliant performance.

This is Bette Davis moving into the peak of her career.  This role would garner her the third Oscar nomination in five years, and the first of a run of five consecutive nominations.  Here she is frenetic, haughty, and directionless as Judy Treherne.  Born to great wealth, Judy has everything except a grounding center to her life.  She fills that void with partying, drinking, and horses.  A brain tumor sets that world on its ear.  This is the kind of role Bette Davis was created to perform.  Intense and volatile, but always with a believable human center to the character.  She presents the slow crumble of Judy’s life with delicacy too often missing in the movies.  The final scene is a heartbreaker.  When asked in interviews, Davis usually cited this role as her favorite.

Surrounding her is a wonderful supporting cast.  Boart’s role is a minor as the impertinent Irish horse trainer.  The future president’s is even smaller, as one of Judy’s dissolute friends and admirers.  Many people may not recognize the name of Henry Travers, but the face and voice will be familiar.  Best known as the angel Clarence Oddbody in “It’s a Wonderful Life”, he plays the doctor who has cared for Judy since birth.  Geraldine Fitzgerald is perfect as Judy’s best friend Ann.  Not to be overlooked is George Brent, who plays the brain surgeon/love interest.  Virtually forgotten today, he was Davis’ favorite leading man, working with her no fewer than eleven times.  He is solid and sincere in a perfect, understated performance.

I admit that I’m not a huge Davis fan.  The characters she plays often get on my nerves.  The frenetic, edgy qualities that strike me as her trademark rub me the wrong way.  At the same time, her performances show why she was one of the brightest of Hollywood stars.  Bette Davis was and remains a STAR, and that is based on the talent that she brought to the screen.

A triumphant performance of a tragic role.

Rating – **** Recommended