The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3 [6 Discs]The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 3 [6 Discs]

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MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

    Once again, the First Lady of Warner Bros. works her magic on celluloid in a third extraordinary collection. Includes In This Our Life (1942/97 min.), All This and Heaven Too (1940/143 min.), Deception (1946/112 min.), The Old Maid (1939/95 min.), The Great Lie (1941/107 min.) and Watch on the Rhine (1943/114 min.). 6 DVDs. B&w/NR/fullscreen.

DVD FEATURES:
  • Number of Discs: 6
  • Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • Features:
    • Expert commentaries
    • Warner night at the movies extras - select music/sports/patriotic shorts, cartoons, newsreels and trailers from the film's release year
AWARDS
  • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  •     Won Best One-Reel Short - 1946
  •     Won Best Actor - 1943 (Paul Lukas)
  •     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1941 (Mary Astor)
  •     Nominated Best Picture - 1943
  •     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1943 (Dashiell Hammett)
  •     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1943 (Lucile Watson)
  •     Nominated Best One-Reel Short - 1941
  •     Nominated Best Black and White Cinematography - 1940 (Ernest Haller)
  •     Nominated Best Picture - 1940
  •     Nominated Best Supporting Actress - 1940 (Barbara O'Neil)
  • Film Daily
  •     Won 10 Best Films - 1943
  •     Won 10 Best Films - 1940
  •     Won 10 Best Films - 1939
  • Hollywood Foreign Press Association
  •     Won Best Actor - 1943 (Paul Lukas)
  • National Board of Review
  •     Won Best Acting - 1943 (Paul Lukas)
  •     Won Best Acting - 1942 (Ernest Anderson, Hattie McDaniel, Charles Coburn)
  •     Won Best Acting - 1941 (Mary Astor)
  •     Won Best Acting - 1939 (Bette Davis)
  •     Nominated Best Picture - 1943
  • New York Film Critics Circle
  •     Won Best Actor - 1943 (Paul Lukas)
  •     Won Best Picture - 1943
  • New York Times
  •     Won 10 Best Films - 1943
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
REVIEWS:
  • All This and Heaven Too may not be great drama, but it's a jim-dandy melodrama -- the kind of "women's picture" that's a real guilty pleasure. It has all the ingredients that a romance flick of this kind needs, from a tortured but noble heroine who suffers for the sins of others to a charming and unfortunate hero to an incredible harridan of a wife who makes life miserable for the both of them. Throw in some snotty schoolgirls who learn a valuable lesson in life, some adorable children, a few crises narrowly averted, a suicide, and a close call with the law, and there's more than enough to keep one glued to the screen, even when things stretch credulity a bit. Casey Robinson's screenplay is a great deal of fun, as well as being very well structured and providing the stars with some juicy parts to sink their teeth into. Bette Davis and Charles Boyer are near perfect as the lovers-that-cannot-be, but it's Barbara O'Neil as the wicked wife that gets highest marks for her deeply committed and immensely enjoyable performance. As a matter of fact, of the cast, only the annoying Jeffrey Lynn -- whose subtext for almost every line seems to be "Gee whiz! Isn't that exciting!" -- fails to satisfy. Anatole Litvak has directed with style and panache, assisted by Ernest Haller's dramatic lensing and Max Steiner's glorious score. Heaven is ultimately a little too artificial (by design) to be a great film, but it's thoroughly entertaining. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
  • Although unashamedly propagandistic -- and to modern audiences, at least, sometimes didactic and preachy -- Watch on the Rhine, nonetheless, continues to stir and impress viewers. It's hard to deny charges that Dashiell Hammett and Lillian Hellman's screenplay is melodramatic, or that the authors stack the deck in favor of their point -of-view, or that parts of the film belie its stage origins. However, these shortcomings also add to the ultimate impact of the movie, which carries the power of its convictions to the fullest. If the dialogue occasionally comes across as stilted, much more of it is compelling and moving; the various set piece speeches accorded the characters are filled with the kind of glorious turns of phrase and construction with which Hellman excelled. The movie also benefits from a superb cast. Top-billed Bette Davis is in rare form, turning in a finely nuanced performance that is more restrained than usual, yet still commanding. She makes the most of the opportunities given her in the script, particularly her final tug-at-the-heartstrings monologue. Even better is Paul Lukas, whose weariness is constantly at war with his dignity and his responsibility. He navigates the difficult transitions for his character with admirable ease, and creates a character that fully warrants the audience's depth of feeling. Lucile Watson is quite believable in her efforts to deny unpleasant truths as well as her willingness to fight once she comes to terms with reality, and George Coulouris is appropriately villainous. Despite its flaws, Rhine still packs an impressive wallop. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
  • Despite star Bette Davis's initial reluctance about the soap opera screenplay, she and co-star Mary Astor turned The Great Lie (1941) into a deliciously outrageous yet emotionally involving woman's melodrama. Bowing to the content restrictions of the Production Code while preserving the original novel's central struggle over George Brent's aviator Pete between Maggie, Davis's genteel Southern heiress, and Sandra, Astor's bitchy concert pianist, screenwriter Lenore Coffee justified Sandra's impregnation with a mistaken marriage. Allegedly displeased with the scripted interplay between Maggie and Sandra, Davis worked with Astor to devise a relationship that seethes with witty jealousy, yet reaches a twisted sisterhood in the central sequences in which Maggie looks after the pregnant Sandra as they await the birth in desert isolation. Smoothly directed by Edmund Goulding with the high style afforded Davis's Warner Bros. star vehicles, Davis has her signature moments of sweetness, grief, and steely strength, yet she also steps back to let Astor strut her histrionic stuff as the Tchaikovsky-playing, brandy-swilling diva. A box office success, The Great Lie earned Astor a much-deserved Supporting Actress Oscar. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi
  • Melodramas don't come much soapier than Deception. If that means the film doesn't qualify as art, it doesn't prevent it from being a rollicking good time -- provided one is willing to let oneself get in the right mood. That mood might be called "Bette Davis on the Loose," for Deception is one of those pictures in which Davis is called upon to suffer nobly and hints of glycerin tears in the eyes; to use halting body language to disguise her ill-concealed past; and to vent her wrath in a no-holds-barred manner that shakes the heavens. It's not one of Davis' great performances, but it has the sound and fury that is so rewarding. The same cannot be said of Paul Henreid, whose performance is lifeless and annoying. But Claude Rains is another matter. Whereas Davis is simply playing to the balcony, Rains gives a truly fine performance. He's a cold and manipulative monster, but the actor understands that a veneer of warmth, a tendency to underplay and an ability to keep the fires on the inside rather than belching out can add definite layers of interest to a character. Irving Rapper's direction is nowhere near as fine as in Now, Voyager, but he hits the high points in an audience-friendly manner. Ernest Haller's cinematography enhances the picture, but modern viewers are likely to find Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score a bit too much for their tastes. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi
  • One of four superior Bette Davis vehicles from 1939, The Old Maid features Davis at her embittered best as a Civil War-era spinster and mother squaring off with her selfish cousin over the child's love. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Zoe Akins play from Edith Wharton's novel, Davis and co-star Miriam Hopkins's fractious off-screen relationship lent an extra dash of realism to the onscreen rivalry between Davis's wallflower Charlotte and Hopkins's flighty, conniving Delia over Charlotte's daughter by Delia's spurned suitor Clem. A victim of societal limits as well as Delia's jealousy, Charlotte's transformation into a harsh old maid to preserve illegitimate daughter Tina's reputation amply displays Davis's actorly range, from the palpable rage in her confrontations with the simperingly malicious Hopkins, to the restrained grief over her daughter's cruelty. Edmund Goulding's elegant direction keeps the Davis-Hopkins cat fight in control without losing any of the melodramatic punch, heightening the emotional payoff of the final rapprochement between mother, daughter and rival mother. Praised for its polished production and Davis's poignant, complex performance, The Old Maid became a popular hit and might have garnered Davis an Oscar nomination-but that honor came for Dark Victory (1939) instead. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi

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