 | Jezebel is a movie just as concerned with the fate of a strong-willed woman in a rigid society as Gone With The Wind, but more harshly realistic about the ways society revenges itself. |
Director William Wyler cast Bette Davis as the classic headstrong southern belle in this New Orleans set drama of the early 1850s, a few years prior to the Civil War; it is the film that propelled her into superstardom, winning her an Oscar for Best Actress.
Davis (who was involved in a stormy relationship with Wyler during the shoot) was reportedly enraged at studio boss Jack Warner for not letting her go to another studio to play Scarlett O' Hara in Gone With the Wind and this similar romantic melodrama was seen as compensation for that loss. A story Davis denied…
Jezebel is a movie just as concerned with the fate of a strong-willed woman in a rigid society as Gone With The Wind, but more harshly realistic about the ways society revenges itself.
True to its stage roots the movie has three acts: The Dress, The Duel and The Disease. Wyler was a director who liked many takes – sometimes 30 or 40 to get perfection and had a strong vision. The studio had billed her as studio publicity proclaimed that Davis was "half angel, half siren - all woman!" but Wyler wanted the subtlety and the dynamic dramatic actress he knew Davis to be.
The film romanticizes the Old South as a grand old place of civility and hospitality, while at the same time casting an eye of aspersion on such a repressive society. A beautiful and poignant film…
Davis (who was involved in a stormy relationship with Wyler during the shoot) was reportedly enraged at studio boss Jack Warner for not letting her go to another studio to play Scarlett O' Hara in Gone With the Wind and this similar romantic melodrama was seen as compensation for that loss. A story Davis denied…
Jezebel is a movie just as concerned with the fate of a strong-willed woman in a rigid society as Gone With The Wind, but more harshly realistic about the ways society revenges itself.
True to its stage roots the movie has three acts: The Dress, The Duel and The Disease. Wyler was a director who liked many takes – sometimes 30 or 40 to get perfection and had a strong vision. The studio had billed her as studio publicity proclaimed that Davis was "half angel, half siren - all woman!" but Wyler wanted the subtlety and the dynamic dramatic actress he knew Davis to be.
The film romanticizes the Old South as a grand old place of civility and hospitality, while at the same time casting an eye of aspersion on such a repressive society. A beautiful and poignant film…