On the strength of her breakthrough performance as the vixenish Mildred in Of Human Bondage (1934), the studio almost bought the rights to Owen Davis, Sr.'s failed play about a southern belle whose scandalous decision to wear a red dress to New Orleans's Olympus Ball ruins her chances for happiness. had considered producing Jezebel as a vehicle for Davis as far back as 1935, before anybody had heard of Gone with the Wind. Many critics have hailed his work in Jezebel as the most fully rounded male performance in the film. star and frequent Davis co-star George Brent had a rare opportunity to demonstrate his acting abilities. In his one outing working with Wyler, Warner Bros. Most of the film's conflict stems from her refusal to let others, particularly men, exercise any power over her. Jezebel is one of the Davis films most consistently cited by feminist critics for her depiction of a woman fighting to maintain her independence. Wyler's use of long takes to allow Davis to reflect her character's thoughts and feelings through body language was a revelation to serious critics of the cinema. This was one of the first Hollywood films to suggest the power of the screen to reveal character with a richness usually found only in plays and novels. They would re-team for The Letter (1940) and The Little Foxes (1941). Davis would always credit him with helping her refine her acting technique for the camera, showing her how to hold back and taming her notorious nervous mannerisms. Jezebel was the first film to team Davis and director William Wyler, one of the most acclaimed director-actor collaborations in film history. Its success, critically and financially, would cement her position as the studio's top female star and one of the best actresses in Hollywood. in second class films, Jezebel was Bette Davis' first big-budget feature as well as her first historical drama. ![]() Descriptive Video.Īfter years of delivering dynamic performances at Warner Bros. Livingstone), Fay Bainter (Aunt Belle Massey), Richard Cromwell (Ted Dillard), Henry O'Neill (General Bogardus), Spring Byington (Mrs. Screenplay: Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston, Robert Buckner (based on the play by Owen Davis, Sr.)Ĭast: Bette Davis (Julie Marsden), Henry Fonda (Preston Dillard), George Brent (Buck Cantrell), Margaret Lindsay (Amy Bradford Dillard), Donald Crisp (Dr. When her audacity ruins her relationship with Pres, she determines to win him back, even after he returns to New Orleans with a new wife. She thinks nothing of playing the aggressor in her romance with Pres, attends her own party in a riding habit and - worst of all - wears a red dress to the Olympus Ball, an action she knows will create controversy. She consistently flaunts social etiquette by doing as she pleases instead of following a tradition of subservience. In the decade before the Civil War, Julie Marsden defies the standards of New Orleans society by refusing to play the conventional southern belle. Amy acquiesces, and Julie rides into the night at Pres's side. In a final confrontation, Julie convinces Amy that her ignorance of Southern ways means certain death for them both. Amy, accompanied by Ted and Aunt Belle, follows Julie, and as Pres's wife, she insists on attending to him. Livingstone tells Julie that Pres must go to the leper colony for quarantine. Julie sneaks through the fever line with the help of her servant, Gros Bat. Buck is killed, and Pres is struck down with fever. At dinner, Pres and Buck argue politics, but Pres is called to town and it is Ted who finishes the argument in a duel with Buck. There they entertain the Dillards, Pres's younger brother Ted, and one of Julie's persistent suitors, the rebellious Buck Cantrell. The growing threat of yellow fever in New Orleans has forced Julie and her Aunt Belle to move to their country plantation. Pres has married a Yankee, Amy Bradford, and asks Julie to accept his wife without bitterness. When he returns, she humbles herself in front of him, begging for forgiveness, but it is too late. In disbelief, Julie waits for Pres to apologize, but he stands his ground, leaving for the North on business. At the ball, Julie begins to regret her decision, but Pres forces her to dance, and afterward ends their engagement. Pres is shocked, but ultimately agrees to escort her. Their struggle for supremacy in the relationship comes to a head the night of a traditional ball to which unmarried women are expected to wear white, but Julie defiantly insists on wearing red. In New Orleans, in 1850, Julie Marsden, a strong-willed Southern belle, is engaged to marry Preston Dillard, a prominent New Orleans banker with an equally strong mind.
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