Dark Victory (1939)

Synopsis: Bette Davis soars in this superb, soapy starring vehicle, chauffeur-driven by director Edmund Goulding (THE GREAT LIE, GRAND HOTEL). A flighty, energetic socialite with a passion for champagne and... Bette Davis soars in this superb, soapy starring vehicle, chauffeur-driven by director Edmund Goulding (THE GREAT LIE, GRAND HOTEL). A flighty, energetic socialite with a passion for champagne and country living, Judith (Davis) won't admit there's something wrong with her vision until she almost dies in a horse jumping accident. When a handsome doctor (George Brent) examines her, he discovers a rare and incurable brain disease. They fall in love and get married, determined to make every last moment count, aware that she might pass on at any time. A batch of familiar faces helps make these last few months as happy as possible: Geraldine Fitzgerald, terrific as Judith's friend and secretary; Humphrey Bogart, sporting an occasional Irish brogue as a horse trainer; and Ronald Reagan, slurring up a storm as Judith's boozy pal. Although the men acquit themselves nicely, the film belongs to the women, and Davis and Fitzgerald are both first-rate in this typically tough and lovely Warner Brothers tear-jerker. [More]

Starring: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald

Starring: Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan, Henry Travers, Cora Witherspoon, Virginia Brissac, Dorothy Peterson, Charles Richman

Director: Edmund Goulding

Director: Edmund Goulding
Producer: David Lewis
Screenwriter: Casey Robinson
Composer: Max Steiner

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