113. JEZEBEL (1938)

Running Time: 103 minutes
Directed By: William Wyler
Written By: Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, John Huston, Robert Buckner, from play by Owen Davis
Main Cast: Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, George Brent, Donald Crisp, Fay Bainter

201, HERE I COME!

I hope you all enjoyed the Top 20 list that I posted and it was nice being able to reflect on all of the films that I've watched this far, good and bad. I'm ready to tackle the next 100 films in the book and we're kicking it off with "Jezebel", a film that had massive potential, in the form of, William Wyler, John Huston, Bette Davis and Henry Fonda, but seemed to come up a bit short, at least as far as my tastes are concerned.

Bette Davis plays the lead role of Julie Marsden, a spoiled, southern belle who is engaged to banker Pres Dillard (Fonda). When she interrupts him in the middle of a big banking deal and forces him to go with her to shop for a new dress, he refuses. In retaliation for his refusal, she buys a red one, a big no-no at the time, as only white dresses were meant to be worn by unmarried women. Despite his arguments telling her to change the dress, her strong will prevails and she wears the red one to the Olympus Ball. Once at the ball, Julie realizes the mistake she made, as everyone is staring at her, but Pres doesn't budge, forcing her to live with her blunder and dance with him. When they arrive back home, later that night, they break off their engagement. After her embarrassment and her broken engagement, Julie takes shelter in her home, refusing to leave or see visitors.

One year passes and Julie still dwells in her home, regretting her decision to wear the red dress and thus cause arguments between her and her true love, Pres Dillard. Meanwhile, Pres has gone North, and word arrives that he's arriving back in town, to help Dr. Livingstone (Crisp), to convince city authorities to take measures against a recent outbreak of yellow fever. When Julie hears that Pres is returning, she decides that she'll make the best of it, suiting up in her best white dress and planning to beg forgiveness of Pres. Her and her family take refuge in their big plantation house and await the arrival of Pres and other visitors. Julie can't wait to see Pres and reconnect with him, however, when he arrives he unveils his new wife, whom he married in the North. The moment when Julie meets Amy, Pres' new wife, is a absolutely gripping one, where we wait for Julie to go into hysterics, but it never happens. With an outbreak of yellow fever sweeping New Orleans, the love triangle plays out and eventually Pres is sent into the heart of the infected area, possibly never to return.

I am a huge Henry Fonda fan and didn't even know he was in this until the beginning credits rolled. He was fantastic in it, playing the good guy with a stern head about him and Bette Davis was fine too, as the spoiled belle. This was actually my first Bette Davis movie ever and so far, I'm semi-impressed with what I've seen, although I'd have to chalk up most of my disappointments to the plot in general. It just wasn't for me, and I never imagined Henry Fonda as a 19th century, New Orleans banker, although, I'll say it again...he played it well. I just couldn't get into this one as much as I would've liked to and I really have no out and out reasons why. I just wasn't feeling this one at all, and despite some really good performances, I'd have to call this one a fairly average film. There are some really good scenes though, such as, when Julie meets Amy and the duel between Julie's other lover, Buck and Pres' brother, Ted, which Julie eggs on and the scene is carefully constructed and plays out very well.

RATING: 5/10 I'm glad Fonda is on the scene now, as I really love his work and acting and I'll look forward to future Bette Davis roles, that suit my taste better.

NEXT UP: The Adventures of Robin Hood...I've been waiting a long time to see this one and after seeing Flynn in "Captain Blood", I can't wait to see what he does with the story of Robin Hood.

February 22, 2010 5:01pm