In This Our Life (1942)
Posted: January 3rd, 2008, 10:58 pm
This film mainly belongs to the type of Woman’s melodrama that was expertly made back in the 1940s (I feel that the genre reached its zenith during that decade) and that surely is not being filmed anymore.
Here we have the queen of melodrama, Bette Davis in one of her most over the top performances, with all her mannerisms at full display, especially those exaggeratedly open eyes and the nervous tics that go with it.
She plays Stanley Timberlake, a spoiled, manipulative, whimsical, fiery southern belle who’s used to having her own way, especially due to the extreme pampering courtesy of her apparently weak, whining mother, Lavinia Fitzroy Timberlake (Billie Burke) and her no-holds-barred rich maternal uncle William Fitzroy, expertly played by that grand actor Charles Coburn -who had a big run of good parts in noteworthy films the year in which this picture was released (Kings Row, The Man Who Came to Dinner & George Washington Slept Here). Uncle William has no children of his own and Stanley is his absolute weakness; he does anything Stanley wants, just like mum Lavinia.
Olivia De Havilland plays her mature, subdued, modest, good natured sister Roy Timberlake (I wonder why both characters were given masculine names…was it on purpose?) who’s betrayed in one of the most terrible ways by her “dear” sister Stanley.
Dennis Morgan and George Brent play the men in the Timberlake girls’ lives, giving both good performances.
I was surprised that this melodrama tackled serious social issues for 1942, principally the discrimination of black people, especially in the South (the film is mainly set in Richmond, Virginia), where at the time they had little chance to improve their socioeconomic position in life. Ernest Anderson plays perfectly against stereotype the smart, ambitious Parry who wants to be a lawyer, in spite of being conscious of all the obstacles he will have to face. Hattie McDaniel portrays his mother Minerva, who works as a maid in the Timberlake Residence, playing a non-comic role for a change.
Lee Patrick is also in the cast as a dizzy lady who befriends Bette Davis’ character in Baltimore, after she flees Richmond to avoid public scandal.
Being a film directed by John Huston it shouldn’t surprise anyone that in spite of its predominant melodramatic elements it has also many moments of truth, especially in the scenes that involve the idealistic lawyer played by George Brent, the good natured Roy, beautifully played by Olivia De Havilland and the lovable, dependable Parry, played deftly by Ernest Anderson in one of the few non-stereotypical, truly dignified roles I’ve seen an African American actor during the 1940s. When Bette enters the picture though, we’re back in Melodrama’s Neverland.
Walter Huston, father of the director, plays a small cameo role as bartender in a Tavern.
Here we have the queen of melodrama, Bette Davis in one of her most over the top performances, with all her mannerisms at full display, especially those exaggeratedly open eyes and the nervous tics that go with it.
She plays Stanley Timberlake, a spoiled, manipulative, whimsical, fiery southern belle who’s used to having her own way, especially due to the extreme pampering courtesy of her apparently weak, whining mother, Lavinia Fitzroy Timberlake (Billie Burke) and her no-holds-barred rich maternal uncle William Fitzroy, expertly played by that grand actor Charles Coburn -who had a big run of good parts in noteworthy films the year in which this picture was released (Kings Row, The Man Who Came to Dinner & George Washington Slept Here). Uncle William has no children of his own and Stanley is his absolute weakness; he does anything Stanley wants, just like mum Lavinia.
Olivia De Havilland plays her mature, subdued, modest, good natured sister Roy Timberlake (I wonder why both characters were given masculine names…was it on purpose?) who’s betrayed in one of the most terrible ways by her “dear” sister Stanley.
Dennis Morgan and George Brent play the men in the Timberlake girls’ lives, giving both good performances.
I was surprised that this melodrama tackled serious social issues for 1942, principally the discrimination of black people, especially in the South (the film is mainly set in Richmond, Virginia), where at the time they had little chance to improve their socioeconomic position in life. Ernest Anderson plays perfectly against stereotype the smart, ambitious Parry who wants to be a lawyer, in spite of being conscious of all the obstacles he will have to face. Hattie McDaniel portrays his mother Minerva, who works as a maid in the Timberlake Residence, playing a non-comic role for a change.
Lee Patrick is also in the cast as a dizzy lady who befriends Bette Davis’ character in Baltimore, after she flees Richmond to avoid public scandal.
Being a film directed by John Huston it shouldn’t surprise anyone that in spite of its predominant melodramatic elements it has also many moments of truth, especially in the scenes that involve the idealistic lawyer played by George Brent, the good natured Roy, beautifully played by Olivia De Havilland and the lovable, dependable Parry, played deftly by Ernest Anderson in one of the few non-stereotypical, truly dignified roles I’ve seen an African American actor during the 1940s. When Bette enters the picture though, we’re back in Melodrama’s Neverland.
Walter Huston, father of the director, plays a small cameo role as bartender in a Tavern.