Jezebel (1938)

 William Wyler' "Jezebel"


I think the primary reason we as a film community look back on William Wyler's 1938 film "Jezebel" is for none other than Miss Bette Davis. Although it was her second Best Actress win, her performance in "Jezebel" typically stands above her performance in her previous win for "Dangerous." However, many in the film criticism community note that the film's climactic moments seem to undermine the very thematic nature of the film and Davis' character. 

Bette Davis' southern belle, Julie, is set to be married to Henry Fonda's Preston in 1852's New Orleans. However, because of her spoiled and entitled attitude and her desires to antagonize and clash with everyone she meets, Julie loses Preston. Upon Preston's return to New Orleans after a year away, he brings back a new wife, Amy. Julie spends the evening scheming her other suitor Buck to antagonize Preston until things go awry and Buck dies in a duel. After this incident, Preston contracts yellow fever, along with thousands of others in the New Orleans area. He is set to be taken away and Julie convinces Amy to let her go with him.

It is this final act of martyrdom by Julie that many critics scoff at. She spends the entire film malignant and manipulative and suddenly has a virtuous change of heart right at the end. Many felt that this ending seemed to undermine the characterization. Many felt it was a bit confusing and pointed towards the laziness and lack of inspiration for a more complex plot. 

Despite this criticism of the film's plot, Bette Davis' performance is the lone stand-out of the entire picture. The entire reason for her being in the picture itself was due to David O. Selznick's guilt at not providing her the lead role in "Gone with the Wind," which ended up coming out the year after. After failing to secure the part that went to Scarlett O'Hara, Davis was offered the similar role as a spoiled Southern Antebellum belle as compensation. Either way, both her and O'Hara won Academy Awards for their respective roles. However, I believe that "Gone With the Wind" would have faired much better with Davis in the driver seat, despite O'Hara's incredible performance.

All in all, "Jezebel" remains a stand out role for Davis as well as a significant film for director William Wyler. 



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