Old Acquaintance
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DVD Cover Information Actor: Bette Davis, Dolores Moran, Gig Young, John Loder, Miriam Hopkins Director: Chuck Jones, Ralph Staub, Vincent Sherman Brand: Warner Brothers Writer: Ralph Staub Writer: Edmund Goulding Writer: John Van Druten Writer: Lenore J. Coffee Writer: Michael Maltese DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0 Format: Dubbed, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 110 minutes DVD Release Date: 2006-05-30 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Warner Home Video |
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Movie Reviews of Old Acquaintance
Movie Review: "Old Acquaintance" Should Be Forgot ...
Summary: 3 Stars
Film: **1/2 _____ DVD Transfer: ****1/2 _____ DVD Extras: ****
Through no fault of her own, "Old Acquaintance" is definitely one of Bette Davis's lesser vehicles from the late 30's through the early 1940's, certainly not up to the standards set by "Jezebel", "Dark Victory", "The Letter", "The Little Foxes", "The Man Who Came to Dinner", "Now, Voyager", "The Watch on the Rhine", and "Mr. Skeffington". In those superior films, Davis had the advantage of top flight scripts, formidable supporting casts, and superb production values in terms of directors, cinematographers, costume designers, and composers. In "Old Acquaintance", she is saddled with a sappy screenplay, a lackluster leading man (the bland John Loder), an unmanageable co-star (Miriam Hopkins who overplays her every scene to the point of embarrassment), an anachronistic wardrobe and hairstyles (in the 1924 and 1932 sequences), and unflattering camerawork by Sol Polito. Although Miss Davis tries hard, the resulting film is a tepid soap opera that drags on for what seems longer than its running time of 110 minutes.
The dreary plot follows two women (Davis and Hopkins) through 20 years of a friendship that began years earlier, in their school days. Davis has chosen a career and become a critically successful author, while Hopkins has elected to focus on her family. Naturally, both are at least a little jealous of the other, and years later, Hopkins has become a financially successful (if critically drubbed) novelist, while Davis has captured the love of Hopkins' husband and child. The two women fuss and feud, but at the end the film have predictably discovered that their friendship has triumphed over all obstacles. Pity Davis' character, winding up with an obnoxious (w)itch like Hopkins as the screen fades to black!
The DVD transfer of this minor melodrama is pretty good, with a generally sharp picture and a crisp soundtrack. The original theatrical trailer is included and looks great. There's also a featurette on the film in which a number of fine film historians try (unconvincingly) to lend the film an importance which it simply doesn't deserve. The 1943 short film, "Stars on Horseback" is pretty awful, implying that old feature film footage of Davis jumping hurdles in 1939's "Dark Victory" was just shot recently at the actress's home, but the vintage cartoon on the disc, "Fin 'n Catty", is a whimsical treat.
"Old Acquaintance" is the weakest entry in Warner Brothers' "Bette Davis Collection, Volume 2" ... acceptable as part of the set, but hardly worth purchasing separately.