The Little Foxes
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Movie Reviews of The Little Foxes
Movie Review: NEGLECTED MASTERPIECE....
Summary: 5 Stars
William Wyler's film of Lillian Hellman's play is a fine old example of masterful filmmaking. Scripted by Hellman, it tells of the ultimate greedy Southern clan circa 1900. Thankfully most of the leading players came from the play with the exception of Bette Davis who assumed the role of Regina---originally played by Tallulah Bankhead---and she is magnificent. Regina is embroiled with her brothers in a greedy and corrupt get-rich-quick scheme to open a cotten mill and needs the final third of the money to come from her ailing husband (a grand Herbert Marshall) who is opposed to the plan with good reason: he's honest and sensible. The brothers are cold, evil and despicable. But Regina is all that and more---she's smarter and greedier. Since Marshall won't give her the money, she withholds his heart medicine and allows him to die knowing she'll get the money now that he's dead. This is an unforgettable scene and there are many in this outstanding film. In contrast to the evil characters, there's Teresa Wright in her film debut as Alexandra---Regina's daughter---who represents innocence and hope and the marvelous Patricia Collinge (from the play) as the sweet, alcoholic and abused sister-in-law Birdie who represents the painful trampling of gentility by corruption and greed. Her performance is heartbreakingly good. Beautiful b&w photography and the recreation of small town Southern life are right on target here. And Davis is at her best as the wicked Regina. She performs feats of acting magic that no other actress could have accomplished in this role. "The Little Foxes" is a must see and a vintage classic that garnered 9 Oscar nominations for 1941. It deserved every one of them. Excellent DVD treatment from MGM as well. A collector's item.Movie Review: The Little Foxes
Summary: 5 Stars
The date is 1900, give or take a couple of years, and fading Southern beauty Regina Giddens (Bette Davis) needs $75,000 to join her brothers Ben (Charles Dingle) and Oscar (Carl Benton Reid) in investing in a cotton mill. Daughter Alexandra (Teresa Wright) is sent to Baltimore to retrieve father Horace Giddens (Herbert Marshall), who refuses to invest in a `sweatshop.' Regina is persistent, though, and Horace has a weak heart.
THE LITTLE FOXES is William Wyler's 1941 film of the Lillian Hellman hit stage play. The movie pits two types against each other - the physically weak but morally conscious people exemplified by Horace Giddens against the strong and unscrupulously ambitious Regina Giddens of the world.
This is an acting rich movie that boasts a deep and talented cast. Davis, newcomer Teresa Wright and Patricia Collinge as Teresa's Aunt Birdie all received Oscar nominations. Davis is as sharp-edged as ever, and the scenes of her crossing swords with Charles Dingle (brother Ben Hubbard) are maliciously delightful. Some of Regina's scenes with desperately ill husband Horace are among the most spine-chilling in movie. There aren't many, if any, actresses who could read deliver this line - "I don't hate you. I just feel contempt for you." - with the power of Davis. It's one of many moments in this film that, through its sheer malevolence, takes your breath away.
THE LITTLE FOXES is a great movie by one of the three or four greatest directors in Hollywood history. Davis is at the top of her game and the supporting cast more than keeps pace with her. Recommended without hesitation.
Movie Review: What was Horace doing on the stairs?
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Little Foxes," one of the NY Times' "1000 best films of all time," is a stunning film set in New Orleans in 1900. It centers on two brothers and a sister, along with their respective families, who have become wealthy largely by cheating the masses out of a fair wage. Bette Davis, again a formidable dame, provides the star power, and Lillian Helman provides a brilliant script based on her own stage play, her words giving the characters depth and breadth that sometimes grows noticeably with a single word, and all of the principal players do the same with sometimes a facial expression, a movement, or even by being silent at a moment when words would seem to be called for. Extraordinary and classic, this artistry that sometimes seems to be lost in today's Hollywood.
The film is about greed, yes, but more. It's a murder mystery told in reverse, where there is no mystery but all the elements are there. It's the backstory for a young lady on the verge of womanhood, who is sure to atone for her family's sins, and for her romance that gently leads her into maturity as regards her opinion of her family and of the world around her. It's about a Deep South at the turn of the last century that had seen slavery abolished for it, but that retained it in everything but its legal technicalities, a world where the only real career choices available to practially any African-American were as servant or field worker.
"The Little Foxes" is many, many things. Above all, it is a true classic of American cinema, one that's been unjustly neglected with the passage of time. Well worth repeated viewing.
Movie Review: A movie you'll continue to think about after it's over
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is so riveting that you will quickly cease being aware that it: (a) was filmed 70 years ago, in 1941, and (b) is in black-and-white.
The movie stays with you long after you watch it. You think about the characters - what they did, what they said, how they looked - and you discover insights, meanings, and subtleties that you missed when you were watching simply to find out what was going to happen. You think about the social issues raised: class struggle, race relations, physical abuse, mental cruelty, the loss of innocence, social injustice, etc.
The acting and directing are superb (OK, "Leo" may have been a little over-acted).
The "back story" to the movie is equally as intriguing as the movie itself. Apparently, Bette Davis and William Wyler, the director she respected but to whom she wouldn't yield creative authority, tangled mightily during the production of the film, so much so that they never again worked together.
After you watch the movie, read the play. The dialogue is terse and vivid. You find yourself picturing different ways that you would have, or another could have, filmed the movie. Nevertheless, THIS version is an excellent one well worth the investment of two hours of your time.
Movie Review: Family Study
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Little Foxes" is one of those rare dramas from the glorious studio days where the insightful dialogue and nastiness of character haven't been modified or censored. Intelligent and expertly acted, Lilliam Helman's play lays bare the greed and underhandedness that can infect the upper ranks of an unjust society.Bette Davis is in her glory here, scheming and coming up with her vile ideas before the camera. We watch as she sinks from self interest to treachery in an ultimately repellent manner. The short-lived indecision in which she engages, in the harrowing final scene with her husband, gives depth to her work. Her posture, mannerisms, speech, and expressions create a total portrait of a viper. Her siblings are cut from the same cloth, albeit with varying degrees of her self interest.
Well acted and literate, the film does contain dated racial stereotypes that do not serve the purposes of the story. Teresa Wright as the daughter seems out of her element amongst all the powerhouse thespians; her acting too is somewhat caricatured. These are minor quibbles with an otherwise superlative film. For an incisive look at a truly dysfunctional family and rotten segment of U.S. society, "The Little Foxes" fits the bill.