There are lots of similarly titled melodramas from the mid-1940s, and I often get them confused. In This Our Life, To Each His Own, Hold Back the Dawn - don't they all sound like the same movie? The former in that list stars both Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland, so you can imagine the competition in scenes as to who can be more dramatic.
Bette and Olivia play sisters, and as is often the case in Bette Davis movies, one of them runs off with the other's man. No, this isn't The Old Maid, and this isn't Old Acquaintance. See what I mean; they all run together! In this one, Bette is impulsive and selfish, and even though she's engaged to her favorite leading man, George Brent, she steals Olivia's husband, Dennis Morgan. Olivia and George are left to pick up the pieces, along with parents Billie Burke and Frank Craven. Charles Coburn, the uncle, is particularly devastated, because Bette was always his favorite niece and he indulged her behavior more than once.
This movie marks the only time Hattie McDaniel was given an opportunity to show off some dramatic acting. I'm not discounting the couple of tearful scenes from Gone With the Wind, but for the majority of that movie, she's the same sassy maid she was to Mae West in 1933. In this movie, she still plays a maid, but her son, Ernest Anderson, is arrested for a crime he didn't commit and seeks help from George Brent, a lawyer. In This Our Life features a rare, sympathetic portrayal of African-American characters. Ernest is accused by a rich, white woman, and it's seen as unjust - not what audiences were used to seeing in 1942. It's no surprise Bette Davis, a racial pioneer in real life, wanted to be in this movie. Both she and Hattie McDaniel entertained the troops (of all colors) during this time, so I'm sure this movie meant a lot to them.
I've seen this one a couple of times, and while it's not my favorite classic, it's always enjoyable. Check out this black-and-white melodrama if you haven't yet seen it. You won't like Bette Davis, though, so have a movie on hand where she's more likable, like Dark Victory.
Bette and Olivia play sisters, and as is often the case in Bette Davis movies, one of them runs off with the other's man. No, this isn't The Old Maid, and this isn't Old Acquaintance. See what I mean; they all run together! In this one, Bette is impulsive and selfish, and even though she's engaged to her favorite leading man, George Brent, she steals Olivia's husband, Dennis Morgan. Olivia and George are left to pick up the pieces, along with parents Billie Burke and Frank Craven. Charles Coburn, the uncle, is particularly devastated, because Bette was always his favorite niece and he indulged her behavior more than once.
This movie marks the only time Hattie McDaniel was given an opportunity to show off some dramatic acting. I'm not discounting the couple of tearful scenes from Gone With the Wind, but for the majority of that movie, she's the same sassy maid she was to Mae West in 1933. In this movie, she still plays a maid, but her son, Ernest Anderson, is arrested for a crime he didn't commit and seeks help from George Brent, a lawyer. In This Our Life features a rare, sympathetic portrayal of African-American characters. Ernest is accused by a rich, white woman, and it's seen as unjust - not what audiences were used to seeing in 1942. It's no surprise Bette Davis, a racial pioneer in real life, wanted to be in this movie. Both she and Hattie McDaniel entertained the troops (of all colors) during this time, so I'm sure this movie meant a lot to them.
I've seen this one a couple of times, and while it's not my favorite classic, it's always enjoyable. Check out this black-and-white melodrama if you haven't yet seen it. You won't like Bette Davis, though, so have a movie on hand where she's more likable, like Dark Victory.