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> The Little Foxes |
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Staring:
Bette Davis,
Herbert Marshall,
Teresa Wright,
Richard Carlson,
Dan Duryea
Director:
William Wyler
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $21.94
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: DAVIS,BETTE
EAN: 9780792850908
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
ISBN: 0792850904
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2001-09-18
Running Time: 115
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: 1941-08-21 |
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Product Description
Davis stars as the vicious Regina Giddens, the southern lady who destroys everyone around her while trying to satisfy her desire for wealth and social position.
Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: NR
Release Date: 18-SEP-2001
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
William Wyler and Bette Davis made their third and final collaboration their finest with this striking 1941 adaptation of Lillian Hellman's acidic play. The titular foxes are a particularly ravenous turn-of-the-century Southern moneyed clan, the Hubbards, and the most cunning of them all is sister Regina Giddens, the brilliant but ruthless woman played by Davis. In contrast to the manipulative Regina and her scheming brothers (Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid) is her guileless sister-in-law Birdie (Patricia Collinge in a delicately flighty performance) and her sickly, humanistic husband Horace (Herbert Marshall), whom she tolerates only for his money and position--until he stands in the way of a scheme that could bring her a fortune. Teresa Wright is the hope of the next generation as Regina's thoughtful daughter, Alexandra, who stands in marked contrast to her graceless, greedy cousin Leo (Dan Duryea). Wyler's longtime cameraman, Gregg Toland, fresh from his groundbreaking work on Citizen Kane, fills the film with amazing deep-focus compositions and razor-sharp images, showing off the grandly handsome mansion set in all its old-world splendor. But for all its beauty Wyler reveals it as a cold, lonely world ruled by a heartless woman. Excellent performances by all make Hellman's sharp dialogue glint like the edge of a knife, which ultimately cuts deep into the soul of this powerful classic. --Sean Axmaker
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Crisp Dialog, Great Acting & Photography, 2009-03-12
I see this movie more of a straight drama than a normal Bette Davis melodrama, thanks in part to the crisp dialog and nature of the story.
It's a story about money and how to use it or how to acquire more of it through deceit and greed. Davis, as "Regina Gidden," is the most greedy of the Gidden clan, vying for more money with her brothers who aren't exactly trustworthy people themselves. Among the three, there wasn't anyone to root for since the family shared in their lust for money.
Davis does her normal excellent acting job but I enjoyed Charles Dingle as "(Uncle) Ben Hubbard" best. I liked his lines more than anyone's and the way he delivered them. The sub-plot in this tale is the coming-of-age of Hubbard daughter "Alexandra" played by Teresa Wright. Her "coming of age" translates to finally standing up to her domineering mother. That part is melodrama.
Anyway, the excellent cast, great dialog complemented by an outstanding director in William Wyler and world-class cinematographer Gregg Toland all adds up to a solid film.
 A classic that some will love & others will like, 2009-03-07
Why you'll like it- great acting,classic drama,good cast. Why you wont - the movie is just too long,& too talky,& maybe you wouldn't like to see family members blackmailing each other/too downbeat. Bette Davis fans will not want to miss this one. It is a classic,but for me it wasn't my cup of tea. She & her brothers are like JR Ewing of Dallas basically. She is scheming against her brothers & her husband,she plays a foul character as do her brothers in particular Charles Dingle(what a SOB is he is). I dont think the movie is for everyone's tastes,but it is a classic,it certainly is worth seeing.It is a renter,& for lovers of these drama's it is something you will want in a collection. The MGM is a terrific full frame transfer
Buyer beware.. it's in fullscreen, not widescreen!, 2009-10-16
Why is this classic shown here in the cheap/fullscreen format & not the widescreen it was originally filmed in? I say, buyer beware... hold out, until they release it in it's full format. Let's hope that is soon!
"I hope you die!, I hope you die soon!, I'll be waiting for you to die!", 2009-08-02
A stinging portrait of family greed and corruption, dripping with venomous dialogue. Lillian Hellman's THE LITTLE FOXES stars Bette Davis as money-minded family matriarch Regina Giddens. Desperate to pool her family fortune with those of her two brothers (Carl Benton Reid and Charles Dingle) for what promises to be a huge windfall if invested properly, Regina asks daughter Alexandra (Teresa Wright) to bring home her estranged husband Horace (Herbert Marshall), and even though he's dying of an acute heart condition, the only things on Regina's petty mind are the untold millions waiting to be collected...
In THE LITTLE FOXES, Bette Davis was teamed for the third and final time with director William Wyler. Wyler had extracted Davis' Oscar-winning turn in "Jezebel" and later one of her all-time best performances in "The Letter". In THE LITTLE FOXES he subdued Davis' mannerisms and animated antics to create a woman whose stillness and subtlety are the keys to her strong control over others--notice how her jaw is tightly clenched throughout the movie.
Patricia Collinge co-stars in her screen debut as Aunt Birdie, the character most abused and underfoot of the family's inbred cruelty and greed. There's a really telling scene where Birdie's insufferable son Leo (Dan Duryea) steps on her cloak and tears it whilst leaving a party, and he never even acknowledges it. Teresa Wright, also making her screen debut with this film, would later be reunited with Patricia Collinge in "Shadow of a Doubt" and "Casanova Brown", both filmed in 1943. Herbert Marshall gives a finely-controlled performance as Regina's ill husband.
THE LITTLE FOXES came during the most prestigious chapter of Bette Davis' screen career. In 1941 alone she appeared in "The Great Lie" and "Shining Victory", and was just coming off her wildly-acclaimed performance in "The Letter". For Lillian Hellman's THE LITTLE FOXES, Davis was loaned out to the RKO Studios (where she'd scored one of her early triumphs in 1934's "Of Human Bondage"). But, because of their stormy business relationship, Jack Warner was always loathed to loan out his premiere female star. In this case, the 'punishment' for her transgression at RKO would be a comedy entitled "The Bride Came C.O.D.", which she duly filmed after returning from her duties as Regina Giddens.
The DVD includes the trailer and a bonus restored Chace Digital Stereo soundtrack (which is sadly wasted on such a dialogue-heavy movie). An invaluable addition to your Bette Davis collection.
One of Bette's best, 2009-07-09
Just as good today as when it was made (1941). Terrific ensemble cast, excellent writing (Lillian Hellman wrote the play and screenplay), and of course there's always Bette doing her thing. A melodrama with enough intrigue and ruthless, despicable characters to keep you riveted. One of the timeless classics. Directed by William Wyler.
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