As powerful as Bette Davis was in Hollywood in the early 1940's, the biggest female star of her era wasn't above giving less so another performer could have more. Her subtlety in "The Great Lie" lead to Mary Astor winning an Oscar; She graciously took second fiddle to the outrageous Monty Woolley in "The Man Who Came to Dinner", and allowed Paul Lukas front burner in "Watch on the Rhine" to lead him to his own Oscar as well. For her second pairing with Miriam Hopkins, she simply reacted while Hopkins overacted, and the result was Davis stealing away the film without really trying.
Like her character in "The Old Maid" (her first pairing with Hopkins), sympathy ended up being on her side, not Hopkins. At least in "The Old Maid", Hopkins allowed subtly fake charm to dominate her performance. But here, she chews the scenery with so much venom, the meat of her performance never reaches her digestive system. She makes the character of the selfish and silly housewife and mother-to-be so resentful of Davis that it seems that she actually hates every aspect of the character that Davis plays, fictional or not. Whether or not the truth of the rivalry between these two ladies off screen was true or not, Davis acts like it is non-existent, while Hopkins seems determined to upstage her co-star every chance she gets.
Even when they are having meaningful heart-to-hearts, Hopkins acts entirely too grand, as if she was the diva in an opera, and the sympathy that should be there for her character (abandoned by her husband after she achieves success as a writer of trashy romantic novels) simply vanishes. After one confrontation, it is obvious that Davis's character (and perhaps Bette herself) has just had enough, quietly shuts the door, walks back to Hopkins after changing her mind about leaving, and you can hear yourself shouting, "Knock her lights out!"
Hopkins, so good in her early romantic dramas, sinks to a new low here, and thus after this, was reduced to touring mostly in stock and supporting parts in films where she often bellowed her lines. The one film of her later career that somehow lacked this was a sympathetic role in "The Heiress" where she simply played the role as written. John Loder wins sympathy as Hopkins' husband who smartly walks out after simply having had enough, leaving her with barely a word. Gig Young is handsome as the younger man who proposes to Davis, all the while unknowingly in love with Hopkins and Loder's grown-up daughter (Donna Moran).
If you want to see the difference between a braying performance and one with similar selfishness played with realistic acting, watch Moran's initially spoiled brat have her tantrum then slowly return to reality with a glow as she begins to see things beyond her own ego. Esther Dale gets some good moments as Davis's housekeeper, and Anne Revere has a memorable one-scene cameo as a reporter interviewing Davis. Hopkins really does well in this one scene with her reaction to Revere's embarrassment after insulting typical romantic trash novels like herself.
In spite of the film's short-comings, this soap opera is fascinating to watch, and one longs to have been an extra or crew member to have witnessed what really went on. Davis makes her acting look so easy, but at times, you begin to feel sorry for everybody in the film and on the set (even Hopkins) because it seems that everybody (including her) must have had a terrible headache because of her constant ranting.
Like her character in "The Old Maid" (her first pairing with Hopkins), sympathy ended up being on her side, not Hopkins. At least in "The Old Maid", Hopkins allowed subtly fake charm to dominate her performance. But here, she chews the scenery with so much venom, the meat of her performance never reaches her digestive system. She makes the character of the selfish and silly housewife and mother-to-be so resentful of Davis that it seems that she actually hates every aspect of the character that Davis plays, fictional or not. Whether or not the truth of the rivalry between these two ladies off screen was true or not, Davis acts like it is non-existent, while Hopkins seems determined to upstage her co-star every chance she gets.
Even when they are having meaningful heart-to-hearts, Hopkins acts entirely too grand, as if she was the diva in an opera, and the sympathy that should be there for her character (abandoned by her husband after she achieves success as a writer of trashy romantic novels) simply vanishes. After one confrontation, it is obvious that Davis's character (and perhaps Bette herself) has just had enough, quietly shuts the door, walks back to Hopkins after changing her mind about leaving, and you can hear yourself shouting, "Knock her lights out!"
Hopkins, so good in her early romantic dramas, sinks to a new low here, and thus after this, was reduced to touring mostly in stock and supporting parts in films where she often bellowed her lines. The one film of her later career that somehow lacked this was a sympathetic role in "The Heiress" where she simply played the role as written. John Loder wins sympathy as Hopkins' husband who smartly walks out after simply having had enough, leaving her with barely a word. Gig Young is handsome as the younger man who proposes to Davis, all the while unknowingly in love with Hopkins and Loder's grown-up daughter (Donna Moran).
If you want to see the difference between a braying performance and one with similar selfishness played with realistic acting, watch Moran's initially spoiled brat have her tantrum then slowly return to reality with a glow as she begins to see things beyond her own ego. Esther Dale gets some good moments as Davis's housekeeper, and Anne Revere has a memorable one-scene cameo as a reporter interviewing Davis. Hopkins really does well in this one scene with her reaction to Revere's embarrassment after insulting typical romantic trash novels like herself.
In spite of the film's short-comings, this soap opera is fascinating to watch, and one longs to have been an extra or crew member to have witnessed what really went on. Davis makes her acting look so easy, but at times, you begin to feel sorry for everybody in the film and on the set (even Hopkins) because it seems that everybody (including her) must have had a terrible headache because of her constant ranting.