Review of Jezebel (1938) by Jesse L — 18 Feb 2004

(DVD) (First Viewing, 10th Wyler film).

Bette Davis failed to get the snag the role as Scarlett O'Hara, so Warner Brothers made their own version of [b]Gone with the Wind[/b] for the fiery actress. For her troubles she won an Oscar.

Though it's no [b]Gone with the Wind[/b], [b]Jezebel[/b] is actually a great film. Much like the famous epic, the film features a headstrong Southern belle who fails to catch the man she has her heart set on. But unlike Scarlett, Davis' Julie looses her man by her own doing: by showing up to the Olympia Ball dressed in red. The scandal it causes creates one of the most breathtaking scenes in all of classic Hollywood- as Max Steiner's elegant waltz starts up the dance floor, Davis and her fiancée Henry Fonda enters the dance floor, and the previously brimming room full of young ladies in hoop skirts of proper white and their escorts promptly scurry away, leaving Davis and Fonda to dance by themselves on the empty floor. It's a beautiful scene.

The rest of the film involves Davis trying to get Fonda back, a new wife, and a yellow fever outbreak that allows Julie to redeem herself. Wyler's expert and exceedingly elegant direction leads the camera to careen through the film, and the art direction, costume design and other production elements are top notch. The cast includes Donald Crisp, Margaret Lindsay and Fay Bainter, the latter who also won an Oscar as Julie's disapproving but steadfast aunt.

An excellent film, and surely one of Davis' best performances. That in itself makes the film worth watching.