Alex da Silva
Bette Davis (Rosa) is a wildcat in a small town. She is married to nice guy doctor Joseph Cotton (Louis) but longs for a more adventurous life in Chicago. Wealthy David Brian (Neil) provides her with some hope for a new lifestyle
..but is he really that interested? When Cotton's friend Minor Watson (Moose) discovers Bette's plans, she kicks in with an even newer plan that results in her going on trial for murder.This film, sadly, is rather boring. Bette Davis does deliver some classic lines of dialogue but there is nothing much more going on. She is given a Katy Jurado gypsy kind of look which I think works fine with Bette but not with her servant Dona Drake (Jenny). Not only does Dona Drake's look not seem right but she plays her role as a caricature of Bette Davis which is somewhat unconvincing. There is only one Bette and no-one should be answering her back and having the last word! This is Bette's film all the way. It's a pity that the storyline is unconvincing (Bette's character would have left this sleepy town yonks ago) and pedestrian. A couple of good scenes can't really save this one.
dbdumonteil
I would not do heaven's work well,I pray the devil comes and takes me,To stand in the fiery furnaces of hell. (Bruce Springsteen)"Madame Bovary" meets evil.Actually,the central character is so evil,that King Vidor felt compelled (or the producers suggested he did) to "warn" the audience : in a nutshell,knowing where evil lays helps us to fight against it.A long-haired prodigious Bette Davis plays a modern Madame Bovary:like Flaubert's heroine ,she is married to a poor country doctor (Joseph Cotten)who treats his patients for free;like her,she dreams of luxury (the scene when she puts on Roman's fur coat is revealing),of leaving her little provincial town (a voice-over at the beginning tells us that the train seems to whisper:" Chi-Cago Chi-Cago");like her ,she has a flighty lover .There the comparison ends:Rosa Molines epitomizes evil.She was born to be a queen and she won't be satisfied till she owns everything.With the exception of the short scene in the woods where she tells her husband she's pregnant by him -look at her hair !- ,Rosa never stops,she pushes people out of her way;even when she is humiliated -the scenes "beyond the forest" in Chicago-,she knows she will not lose,cause she is completely unscrupulous.Unlike Pearl (Jennifer Jones) in "Duel in the sun"(1946) or Ruby Gentry (Jones again) in the eponymous movie(1952),Rosa's only motives are money,luxury and being a socialite in Chicago.Pearl and Ruby led the men they loved to ruin,but they did love them.Rosa only loves herself.The "abortion" scene -which strongly recalls Gene Tierney's in Stahl's "Leave her to heaven" (1946)- was probably the main reason for the "warning" lines" during the cast and credits.You should see these three Vidor works one after the others:"Duel in the Sun" "Beyond the Forest" and "Ruby Gentry" .These are superior melodramas.
lizphairian
I saw this movie on my 21st B-day, and was really loaded... I loved it!! Then forgot what it was called.The shot with Bette on the porch swing and the burning lumber thing in the background still creeps me out, it looks insane. What kind of husband would put up with that tramping around? And the long,long.... drawn out crawling back to the train scene is a riot. I thought she got ran over but i guess she has a miscarriage? What is the deal with the ending?I don't know but I'm happy with thinking she get run over.The ending is the best!! THE BEST!!!
Obituary666
...in fact, a deeply disturbing film! What's most disturbing is that back in those days, people were supposed to be shocked and disgusted with the character Rosa Moline, (needless to say, so brilliantly acted by Davis) but today, I'm sure a lot of viewers would sympathise with her desperation to get out of the confines of a dead-end life. From the beginning, we learn of her hatred for life- her husband being a doctor is a sick irony!If morbid humour is your thing, then you'll love this film. Especially when she says things along the lines of "the only people who are doing a worthwhile job in this town are the undertakers who carry the dead out of here". The only flaw in this film, is the ending. Not enough explanation is given. Give it a try.
AD
