Mr. Skeffington
by Vincent Sherman
List Price:
Our Price: $17.99
You Save: $1.99 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $9.03 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Bette Davis, Claude Rains, George Coulouris, Richard Waring, Walter AbelDirector: Vincent Sherman
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Ernest Haller
Producer: Jack L. Warner
Producer: Julius J. Epstein
Writer: Julius J. Epstein
Producer: Philip G. Epstein
Writer: Philip G. Epstein
Writer: Elizabeth von Arnim
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 145 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-06-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Mr. Skeffington
Movie Review: There's Only One Kind Of Beauty
Summary: 5 Stars
Normally I don't review a lot of movies but this one I couldn't resist. Mr. Skeffington stars none other then the great Bette Davis in one her finest performances (she had many many more). The subject matter is also important because of it's important message,which still holds up strong in todays world where looks and youth often seem to matter more then even morality. Davis is Fanny Trellis,a tragic character if I ever saw one. This epic drama begins in 1914 just before the start of WW1 as Fanny,a New York social climber seeks the romantic attention of her swindling brother's boss Job Skeffington (Clause Rains),a wealthy banker who happens to be Jewish in order to get her brothers name cleared. Through the war the couple have a child and,while Skeffington himself is always aware she's not truely in love with him she dismisses it as him "laughing at her" on the inside. Skeffington is a likeable and a very sympathetic man who goes all out to show Fanny and their daughter,also named Fanny all the love and kindness he can. When Fanny's brother dies in the war,having gone because of her selfish ways,she blames-resulting in bitterness and6 infidenlity on both sides.In the end the couple seek divorce. As with most cases like this,the daughter is torn but ends up traveling overseas to Europe with her father following the war. Of course once she is gone the elder Fanny is back to to her selfish,and frankly rather disrepretable ways.She only views her looks as a significant asset. When one such date results in diptheria Fanny's years catches up with her and she is left with an aged face. By this time it is during the second world war and Fanny is left to contend not only with her haunted memories of Job Skeffington but finaly by the man himself,blinded and in financial ruin after time in a Nazi concentration camp. The only thing is,while he still loves Fanny,the next part is where the movie gets reallllly interesting:Fanny's faded looks have deflated her ego and she finds she too really does love Mr.Skeffington and decides to be there for him. Yes,small justice for her ammoral behavior over the years but a fitting conclusion. This is a great story with tremendous acting on the part of everyone participating. In the end Claude Rains brilliant performance,reserved yet very warm makes you really like Job Skeffington.Even when,after Fanny's betrayal of his effections he resorts to extra marital affairs-it's only only time I ever sympathized with a movie character who did that.After all Fanny had been having "suiters" all through her marriage:men literally lined up to share her affections. At first one doesn't emphathize with Bette Davis's Fanny until the end,when you realize your dealing with a character who has become so consumed with her appearance that she forgot how to really love. At any rate this is a wonderful black & white Bette Davis classic that everyone interested in classic cinema should see.
Summary of Mr. Skeffington
Whose face ravaged, grotesque is in the mirror? Surely it?s not that of Fanny Skeffington, the prettiest woman in New York. Fanny always used her beauty to manipulate her way through life. She?s encouraged dozens of suitors, even after her marriage. But now diphtheria has robbed her of her only attribute. And without her looks, she?s lost. Bette Davis earned her eighth Best Actress Oscar nomination portraying FannyDVD Features:Audio Commentary:Featurette:New Featurette; Mr. Skeffington: The Big PictureTheatrical Trailer:
Fanny Skeffington, an incorrigible society flirt of the WWI era, was one of the meatiest roles and most exasperating women Bette Davis ever played. Flighty Fanny loves the attention of her male suitors, but marries the steadfast Jewish financier Job Skeffington (Claude Rains) for security; long after their wedding day, she still enjoys receiving gentlemen callers. Time catches up with Fanny, of course, and the bills are due by the time World War II rolls around.
Mr. Skeffington is a vintage Warner Bros. workout for Davis, who never shied away from playing unsympathetic or physically unappealing roles. (Her main worry here was looking pretty enough in the early reels to justify Fanny's reputation.) Her theatrical performance and Rains's impeccable work carry the handsomely dressed story through its many melodramatic shifts. The dialogue by Julius and Philip Epstein (who were doing Casablanca around this time) has the sprung rhythm of screwball comedy, although director Vincent Sherman and the cast don't always seem to have noticed this. There's also the growing issue of anti-Semitism--a subject rare in Hollywood prior to this--especially as it concerns Fanny and Job's daughter. But mostly the film has Bette Davis, who strides headfirst into the gray areas (her indifferent treatment of her daughter is especially unappetizing), a fearless attitude that looks like the polar opposite of Fanny Skeffington's vanity. --Robert Horton
Drama DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Top Movies of 1944
GaslightWarner Brothers; Release date: 2004-02-03; DVD
Best price: $9.56
Price in other shops:
![Laura [Region 2] Image](/images/Laura-Region-2-B00008WQ4D-X.jpg)
Laura [Region 2]DVD
Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)Universal; Release date: 2006-08-22; DVD
Best price: $11.59
Price in other shops:
Mr. SkeffingtonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops:
The Fighting Sullivans - Commemorative EditionRelease date: 2005-11-22; DVD
Best price: $14.61
Price in other shops:
Going My Way (Universal Cinema Classics)Universal; Release date: 2007-02-06; DVD
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Old AcquaintanceWarner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $7.92
Price in other shops:
RebeccaRelease date: 2008-10-14; DVD
Best price: $11.85
Price in other shops:
Mildred Pierce (Keepcase)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $11.69
Price in other shops:
Hush...Hush, Sweet CharlotteRelease date: 2005-08-09; DVD
Best price: $7.62
Price in other shops:
All About Eve (Two-Disc Special Edition)TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-04-08; DVD
Best price: $9.91
Price in other shops:
The LetterWarner Brothers; Release date: 2005-01-11; DVD
Best price: $10.98
Price in other shops:
Jezebel (Restored and Remastered Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $11.97
Price in other shops:
Dark Victory (Restored and Remastered Edition)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $9.63
Price in other shops:
Now, Voyager (Keepcase)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2005-06-14; DVD
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops:
The Little FoxesRelease date: 2001-09-18; DVD
Best price: $6.46
Price in other shops: