jacobs-greenwood Bette Davis is a serious literary writer who's enjoyed mild success. She returns to her hometown to visit her childhood friend, played by Miriam Hopkins, who's married to John Loder. Hopkins's character yearns for a life of her own, outside of the trappings of her husband and daughter, and is inspired by her friend's visit to try and get her trashy romance novel published. Davis helps her out and, of course, Hopkins becomes a big success, much to the chagrin of Davis and her now neglected husband Loder.Years later, Davis is dating Gig Young, whom she thinks is about to propose to her but who has actually now fallen for Hopkins's daughter Dolores Moran. Hopkins's character wants to reconcile with her own estranged husband Loder, who is uninterested but does seem attracted to Davis's worldly sophistication. The career woman Davis gets an opportunity to be a martyr as she allows Young to pursue Moran, and then a savior for Moran, who almost makes a mistake with Philip Reed's character.Anne Revere plays a writer who figures out the relationship between the two women and more. My favorite exchange in this film (filled with great lines) is when Revere's character comments to Davis's that "at least when you (Davis) publish a book, it's a good thing, and not like grinding out some sausage." She then recognizes that Hopkins's character (to whom she was obviously referring) has overheard and (embarrassed) says "maybe I should just slit my throat" to which Hopkins, not missing a beat, replies "well, there's a knife on that table over there".Roscoe Karns also appears as a reporter; Esther Dale plays Davis's longtime maid and confidant.One of the things that makes this film so enjoyable is the on screen loathing between Davis and Hopkins, no real friends off the screen either, though they share a great final, "reconciliation" scene together - the derivation of the film's title.Directed by Vincent Sherman, this John Van Druten play was converted into a screenplay by Van Druten and Lenore Coffee. Later remade as Rich and Famous (1981) with Candice Bergen and Jacqueline Bisset.

Bucs1960 There is no contest here.....the Star, Davis runs off with the film while "the star", Hopkins rants like a drunken fishwife and makes herself look like a contestant at amateur night. I have never been a Hopkins fan and this film validates my opinion........she is shrill and over the top.The film is another of those "women's pictures" so popular in the 30s and 40s and holds up well in that genre. I won't repeat the plot as it has been covered in other reviews. Davis is looking good as the professional woman that she portrays and although she does her typical schtick with cigarettes and hand gestures, she is a little more subdued than usual. You can almost believe her affair with the boyish Gig Young and her sorrow as it ends. You, however, can never believe that the elegant John Loder could have been married to Hopkins.......he belonged with Davis but it was not to be. My favorite scene has to be when Davis shakes the snot out of Hopkins and since it has been reported that they didn't like each other, I'm sure it was Bette's favorite scene as well.If you like soap operas and sacrifice, then this film is for you. It's not as bad as it appears initially.

evanston_dad I didn't much like this Bette Davis women's picture from 1943.It starts out promisingly enough, with Davis as a successful writer paying a visit to childhood friend Miriam Hopkins. Always competitive, Hopkins decides she wants to be a writer too, and finds tremendous success writing popular entertainments while Davis struggles to find an audience for her more artistic endeavors. If the film had continued to examine the relationship between these two artist friends, it might have been engaging. However, it instead goes off on a bunch of standard-issue romantic tangents, all of it the stuff of dull soap opera, none of it very interesting, that feels like a hundred other movies you've seen before from the same time period.Davis gives one of her best performances up to a point, until the material abandons her. The less said about Hopkins' hysterically unfunny performance, the better.Grade: C

jodilyn Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins reunite after being together in "The Old Maid!" It sets practical but lonely Bette against flighty but happy Miriam. Bette plays Kit Marlowe..a single, successful author coming home to the small town she grew up in. She meets up again with childhood friend, Millie Drake played by Miriam Hopkins. There's always been a bit of a rivalry between the two, even though they've been friends. Millie has a daughter, a husband and love. Kit has a successful career but no one really to love in her life. Kit's visit triggers jealously in Millie, so she decides to become a successful author like Kit. She writes a steamy, sexy book and Kit helps it along with her connections. Lo and behold, the book becomes a best seller, starting Millie on a career eclipsing her old friend's career, but she loses her husband along the way when she lets success go to her head.The subplots swirl around these two women...Millie's envy of Kit and then Kit's help turns Millie into a success but she loses her husband who becomes infatuated with Kit. Preston professes his love for Kit, but she in turn tells him no because of Millie and her daughter. Kit falls in love with a younger man, but she finds herself unwilling to commit because of his age. He in turn falls in love with Millie's daughter. When Kit finally realizes what she has and wants to be with him, he admits to her how he has fallen for another woman..the daughter Kit never had..the daughter of her best friend. The threads weave in and out of these two women keeping them bound together. When Millie finds out Preston was attracted to Kit long ago, she sets this scene up which is one of the funniest I've seen from Bette Davis. Millie admits to Kit that she told her daughter Kit and Preston were having an affair. She goes off on a self-pitying tirade at Kit. Kit tries to reason with her to no avail. Finally, Kit leaves the apartment only to come right back again. She walks over to Millie and then shakes the life out of her and throws her down on the couch.After reading interviews by Ms. Davis about some of her frustration at some roles she has endured, it was a revealing look at how she wanted to shake the life out of some producers and directors. Ms. Hopkin's hair and shoulders were just shaking with it, and you have to wonder how many takes it took for this one.The end finds them there in Kit's apartment drinking champagne and watching the fire. They've shared more than just a friendship now. They're shared the loss of love but have kept their friendship intact.This is a delightful movie, and one worth watching. It reminds us how friends alway stick no matter what. No one is perfect and each have faults and good qualities. It is true "old acquaintances" can accept both good and bad and stick to the end!