In the aftermath of the publishing phenomena that was Margret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind, Warner Brothers Studios could not get the film rights, those went to David O. Selznick, but they still wanted to make some kind of antebellum melodrama as a vehicle for studio queen Bette Davis. What Warner Brothers got was a 1933 stage play about a spoiled, strong willed southern bell in 1850's New Orleans, Jezebel. It's a great part for Davis, her Julie Marsden is just a terror, causing all sorts of trouble, most of it intentional, but with a lot of unintentional fall out. Henry Fonda is Ms. Marsden's long suffering northern influenced fiancé, Margret Lindsay a northern girl, and George Brent, Donald Crisp and Richard Cromwell various southerners. Fay Bainter won the best supporting actress Oscar as Julie's aunt, nicely understated, and Bette Davis won the best actress Oscar, both deserved.
This is really a top flight movie, you can tell that Warner's wasn't scrimping on the budget for this thing, it was doubtless their big prestige movie of the year. Very capably directed by William Wyler who was borrowed from Universal for just that purpose. Great performances, great mood, but on the downside even more racially uncomfortable then Gone with the Wind. Also unlike most any other film form the era the movie ends ambiguously, I just adored that, I was hoping and hoping that they would and they did, I was so happy. Now its up to you the viewer to decide if Henry Fonda lives or dies. ****
Fun Fact: In the 1991 film The Rocketeer, the title character fly's by a big movie premier at Grauman's, that movie is Jezebel which puts the action of the film in March of 1938.
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