Dark Victory (1939)
Directed by Edmund Goulding

Film Review

Dismissed by some as gratuitous over-sentimentalised slop, lauded by others as a prime example of 1930s Hollywood at its near-best, Dark Victory is a strange beast that evokes extreme passions in its spectators.  That the film has some apparent flaws cannot be denied, but it also has many strengths, not least of which is a supremely effective performance from Bette Davis, an actress with an innate gift for drawing every last scintilla of emotion out of a situation and then flinging it, as though it were a poison-tipped razor-sharp spear, into the heart of every member of her audience.

Whether or not it is because Bette Davis (the Edith Piaf of the moving image) dominates this film so completely, her supporting cast certainly makes very little impact.  George Brent and Geraldine Fitzgerald are both talented actors but neither manages to snatch the limelight from Davis for a second - which is just as well because neither gives a particularly convincing performance.  Ronald Reagan is at least appropriately cast as a faceless playboy who spends most of his time in a drunken stupor (a foretaste of his future career maybe), but there can be absolutely no excuse for hiring Humphrey Bogart to play an Irish stable hand.

The film was directed by Edmund Goulding, who already had a good track record in Hollywood, helming such memorable films as Grand Hotel (1932) and The Dawn Patrol (1938). After this successful collaboration, Goulding would work with Bette Davis on two of her other notable films - The Old Maid (1939) and The Great Lie (1941). Dark Victory's power derives almost as much from Ernest Haller's brooding chiaroscuro cinematography as it does from Bette Davis's tortured bravura performance, the stark changes in the lighting underscoring the dramatic changes of mood of the main character.  Without this, and without Max Steiner's subtle scoring, Davis's histrionic firework display may have seemed just a tad overly theatrical.  As it turns out, these various elements complement one another perfectly, and the end result is extremely effective, enough to make a grown man weep.

Dark Victory was originally a stage play by George Brewer and Bertram Bloch, which was performed unsuccessfully on Broadway in 1934, with Tallulah Bankhead in the lead role.   In 1935, studio boss David O. Selznick considered making a film of the play, with Greta Garbo in the lead role, but the actress chose to star in Clarence Brown's Anna Karenina.  When Warner Brothers decided to make the film three years later, Bette Davis was initially reluctant to appear in it - she had set her sights on another film (something called Gone With the Wind...) - but her contractual obligations limited her options.

When it was first released in 1939, Dark Victory was a huge commercial success, securing Bette Davis's standing as one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.  However, 1939 was an exceptional year for American cinema and the film was overshadowed at the Oscars by such popular masterpieces as Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz - although it was nominated for three awards: Best Picture, Best Actress (Davis) and Best Score.  The film was remade as Stolen Hours in 1963, with Susan Hayward in the lead role.

Film Synopsis

Long Island society heiress Judith Traherne has an appetite for fast living - parties, horses and cars being just three of her interests.  When she begins to suffer bouts of dizziness, her friend Ann King insists that she see a doctor.  Reluctantly, Judith agrees to a medical examination by Dr Frederick Steele, a brain surgeon who is about to close his practice in  New York so that he can pursue research in Vermont.  Steele diagnoses that Judith has a malignant brain tumour and hastily proceeds with an operation.  The outcome is not an unqualified success - Judith's symptoms have been cured in the short term, but she will still die, within a few months.  Steele decides to keep this from Judith and resolves to make her last few months the happiest she has known.  All is well until Judith sees through the deception...