Review of The Little Foxes (1941) by Lisa C — 12 Jan 2008

Quite incredible to believe that only three years beofre this film Davis (who is playiing a mother of a aupposedly 19 year old girl) was the vibrant and saucy Jezebel in the samely named movie. It is a testament to her range as an actress when seeing Jezebel and then "Foxes", which is a more closely knit character driven drama based on the play, which centers around one family's greed for money and the lengths they will go for it.

Herbert Marshall as the deathly ill (but wealthy) father shows the weary struggles that the family has endured during the many years of unhappy but durable marriage. He shows affection to his daughter till his last dying moments, and their relationship in the film is sadly fleeting but touching.

Davis's stallwart performance, her character's disturbingly emotionless behavior at the end when her husband is dying, is clearly the standout performance of the film, and was really something to watch.

The beginning was perhaps too talky, just for talk sake and the "plan" between Davis and her two conniving brothers for her husbands bonds seemed muddy. Still, it is worth a watch for Davis fans, and just the third act alone is the most powerful.