I don't really honestly like Bette Davis. However, I'm a great fan of the studio films of this era. I watched this and felt it was a trial version of "Gone with the wind" - a screen test almost! I can't suspend disbelief in a woman like this and therefore have a hard time identifying with her in order to care much what she gets up to. I normally love Foindsa, but here even he sinks in the mire of flouncy skirts!
Not one I will re-watch! [Reviewed by Nuthatch]
Although I thought Bette Davis was excellent (as usual) in this film, I was disappointed by the film itself. I believe it was released around the same time as 'Gone With The Wind and to me it seemed to be a smaller-scale version of many of the same themes (spoiled wilful heroine who destroys her own happiness, North/South divide, a world torn apart by sudden disaster - in this case sickness rather than war). Unlike Scarlett O'Hara, however, Bette Davis' character does take responsibility for her actions and makes an act of heroic sacrifice to atone for her misdeeds. The ending, with Bette Davis sitting on the cart with the dead and dying, is a classic movie moment. I'm sure at the time it was released, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Modern cinema-goers are however much more sophisticated and would be unlikely to appreciate the moralistic tone of the story or the staged quality of the production. [Reviewed by Nightjar]
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