Davis is Joyce Heath, a glorious comet, who fell from stage glory into despair. Believing she possesses a theatrical jinx on actors and producers, she leaves the stage and becomes destitute. Don Bellows (Franchot Tone) remembers her glory, and was greatly effected by her stage appearances. Now an aspiring architect and engaged to a pretty socialite Gail Armitage (Margaret Lindsay) he stumbles across Heath in a dive; drunk, homeless and broke ... She begins reciting Shakespeare and we learn she appeared as both Camille and Juliet in the theatre. Don is transfixed, but when she passes out, he promptly dumps the contents of her bag on the table; a key, a watch, a compact, a clip and some tokens are all she possesses in the world. He leaves it there and carries her away ...
Then Came The Dawn ...
She awakens at Don's farmhouse and needs a drink. She insults widow Williams (Alison Skipworth) and storms downstairs. She confronts Don and demands liquor ... She becomes Bette Davis. Flamboyant and overly-theatrical, like a twitching finger on a trigger of a loaded gun, she explodes on the screen with her renown selfish and faithless persona. Overwhelmed, Don leaves her there, but soon discovers he cannot because of an unpassable road in a rainstorm. He returns to find Joyce asleep and dry in the barn and she follows him out into the rain. Under a tree in the dark, her wild sparkling eyes and tempting gaze are irresistable ... He kisses her passionately ... and Cut ...
Obssessed now with her, Don breaks ties (not to mention pencils), reconciles himself and his love for her, and attempts to produce "But To Die", the one stageplay she's always wanted. But he demands that she marry him and realizes too, that he can't afford the play. In love with Don now, Joyce must delay his proposals, and confront her estranged husband Gordon (John Eldredge) and get rid of him somehow. She gets him into Don's car and races it forward ... Suddenly she announces wildly;
"It's either going to be your life or mine ... If you're killed, I'll be free ... If I die, it really doesn't matter ... If we both die, good riddance" ...
At high speed, she slams the big roadster into a massive tree ... W
W ...Don is now ruined, he smokes too much and his beloved estates collapse. He got the jinx. He loses everything because Joyce, now hospitalized, is unable to open the play. Dejected, he returns and marries Gail to pay a personal debt. Joyce, in physical pain, forces herself up, and returns to the play, making it a great success. The final scene, an unexpectedly poignant delight, finds the brilliant Joyce Heath redeeming herself and paying her debts too. She witnesses Don's wedding and returns his investment, and brings sweet orchids and ribbons to Mercy Hospital to her recovering husband ...
This film (and "Of Human Bondage") set Davis on her way, and is a coming out of sorts for her. It made popular and compelling to audiences this new acting style. This emotionally aggrevated woman bent on unsequestered selfishness, practically forcing her neediness into the realm of others. A new femme fatale screen persona for sure. The movie runs like an MGM entry and is better produced than RKOs 'Bondage', (kudos to Warners) and I contend, Davis here outshines that performance and would later outshine this one. Here, she seems more like a stage actress than a movie actress. Notice how she flippantly over-emphazises her dialogue and her physical gestures and how quickly she can redirect her emotions ... it's absolutely amazing to watch her act. Director Alfred E. Green does well to simply allow Davis to project herself. Franchot Tone (always an intelligent and honest cad) also excels in this one ...
Here is one case surely, the Best Actress Oscar was correctly awarded ...
Agree ? ... Disagree ? ... I know ... Don't call me Shirley ...
