Das Leben der Mrs. Skeffington (1944)

Das Leben der Mrs. Skeffington: Directed by Vincent Sherman. With Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Walter Abel, George Coulouris. Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge.

“This truly lavish melodrama really knocked me out. I simply did not find any significant weaknesses to this film, at least none of which others have alluded. Films of this type can easily become maudlin, insignificant, and flat. However, u0026quot;Mr. Skeffingtonu0026quot; is the result of a set of elements that are incorporated vibrantly. The film simply has a grand sweep to it, lifting it high above many others of this genre.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe staging and sets (in conjunction with Ory-Kellyu0026#39;s costumes) are as good as any movie that Iu0026#39;ve seen, along the lines of u0026quot;Gone With the Windu0026quot;, u0026quot;Citizen Kaneu0026quot;, u0026quot;Gigiu0026quot;, or u0026quot;Long Dayu0026#39;s Journey into Nightu0026quot;. The use of silence and spaciousness, along with noise and density, is brilliantly carried out and is extremely well-balanced by the charactersu0026#39; non-verbal responses to each other. Itu0026#39;s hard to describe without providing details of given scenes – I would suggest that you watch it with this perspective and see what you think.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSpeaking of scenes, length is the common enemy of films of this type, but not here – each scene plays out like a shining entity that still provides momentum and underpinning for the entire story. I counted at least 12 very memorable scenes. Humor is added strategically to most scenes to balance the starkness of the story and is nicely understated to avoid a sense of camp. Director Vincent Sherman has polished each scene like a diamond, and the effect is very powerful. The scenes really do stand on their own almost like a set of montages.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBette Davisu0026#39; performance is decidedly affected as she plays Fanny as a young girl, but the pure talent and visual power of this actress makes one believe that she is truly the beauty that she is supposed to be. Notice how her movements and responsiveness reinforce the sense of someone almost 15 years younger than herself. While others have complained about the makeup of the older Fanny in portraying her change in age, I found that the makeup perfectly embodied the older Fanny because Davis plays the character so consistently to her advanced age. I would place this performance in Bette Davisu0026#39; top tier, along with u0026quot;Now, Voyageru0026quot;, u0026quot;The Little Foxesu0026quot;, and u0026quot;All About Eveu0026quot;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eClaude Rains plays the title character with restraint, integrity, and great love for Fanny, but the sense of pathos that he communicates really helps to give the movie a lot of power. The other acting performances are uniformly excellent, particularly Walter Abel as Cousin George. Without the strength of Abelu0026#39;s characterization, this would have been a far weaker movie.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFranz Waxmanu0026#39;s score has been criticized by some as being extravagant and overly dramatic to the point of being startling. I really enjoyed it – Waxman incorporates a lush late romantic style that has a stronger u0026quot;classical-musicu0026quot; feel than other scores for movies of this type, which tend to emphasize strings as accompaniment. The result is a feeling of complexity which shades the story along with the other elements.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is easily Vincent Shermanu0026#39;s best work, one of Ernest Halleru0026#39;s best, and one of the best melodramas that I have seen. 10 out of 10.”