{"id":32717,"date":"2013-11-15T11:04:57","date_gmt":"2013-11-15T18:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=32717"},"modified":"2021-01-24T20:54:42","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T03:54:42","slug":"dark-victory-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=32717","title":{"rendered":"Dark Victory (1939)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Confidentially, darling, this is more than a hang-over.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Poster-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-32718\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Poster-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA headstrong young heiress (Bette Davis) with an inoperable brain tumor falls in love with her surgeon (George  Brent), believing he&#8217;s cured her &#8212; but how will she react when she finds out that both Brent and her best friend (Geraldine Fitzgerald) are lying to her?\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bette Davis Films<\/li>\n<li>Death and Dying<\/li>\n<li>Edmund Goulding Films<\/li>\n<li>George Brent Films<\/li>\n<li>Geraldine Fitzgerald Films<\/li>\n<li>Heiresses<\/li>\n<li>Humphrey Bogart Films<\/li>\n<li>Illness<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Ronald Reagan Films<\/li>\n<li>Strong Females<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;famous Warner Bros. weeper features [a] powerhouse performance from a truly lovely, appealing Bette Davis&#8221;, who &#8212; &#8220;in her favorite role&#8221; &#8212; plays &#8220;a kind, strong-minded heiress who has frittered her life away partying, riding horses, [and] shopping&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early-1024x625.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"391\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55650\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early-1024x625.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early-768x469.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early-1536x938.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early-442x270.png 442w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis-Early.png 1675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but must confront her own mortality when she begins &#8220;suffer[ing] vision problems&#8221; and learns that her &#8220;prognosis is negative&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis-1024x623.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"389\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55652\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis-1024x623.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis-300x183.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis-768x468.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis-1536x935.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis-443x270.png 443w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Prognosis.png 1677w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I wouldn&#8217;t necessarily choose the words &#8220;kind&#8221; or &#8220;appealing&#8221; when describing Davis&#8217;s &#8220;Judy Traherne&#8221;, given that she initially comes across as sullen, brash, and spoiled &#8212; &#8220;When I tell you to do something, do it!&#8221; she barks at her horse trainer, played by a notoriously miscast Humphrey Bogart:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2-1024x617.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"386\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55654\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2-1024x617.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2-300x181.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2-128x77.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2-768x463.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2-1536x926.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2-448x270.png 448w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Bogart2.png 1681w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p> &#8212; but she does indeed later &#8220;demonstrate a tremendous reserve of strength that few women in film have shown and it&#8217;s quite moving&#8221;. As with so many &#8220;Bette Davis films&#8221;, Davis is truly the highlight of the show here: Brent (her real-life lover) is more or less &#8220;stiff and wimpy as usual&#8221; as her surgeon\/love interest:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2-1024x621.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"388\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55647\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2-1024x621.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2-300x182.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2-128x78.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2-768x466.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2-1536x931.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2-445x270.png 445w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Cinematography2.png 1687w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and while Peary refers to Fitzgerald as &#8220;superb&#8221;, I find her doting character oddly opaque. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald-1024x634.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"396\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55645\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald-1024x634.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald-128x79.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald-768x475.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald-1536x951.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald-436x270.png 436w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Fitzgerald.png 1659w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>With that said, the &#8220;direction by Edmond Goulding is both strong and sensitive&#8221;, and Davis&#8217;s character arc is compelling. As Peary notes, despite the &#8220;morbid&#8221; subject matter and the &#8220;tears caused by the drawn-out finale, the triumph of this woman at the point of death actually has a cheering effect&#8221;. Watch for Ronald Reagan in a supporting role as Davis&#8217;s consistently inebriated party companion. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan-1024x636.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"398\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55644\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan-1024x636.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan-128x80.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan-768x477.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan-1536x954.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan-435x270.png 435w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Reagan.png 1653w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bette Davis as Judith Traherne (nominated by Peary in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> as one of the Best Actresses of the Year)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6-1024x611.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"382\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-55648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6-1024x611.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6-300x179.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6-128x76.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6-768x458.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6-1536x916.png 1536w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6-453x270.png 453w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Dark-Victory-Davis6.png 1695w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a cult classic, and for Davis&#8217;s performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cult Movie<\/li>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0031210\/\">IMDb entry<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/dark.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/586\/dark-victory#articles-reviews?articleId=29905\">TCM Article<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1639davi.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/dark-victory\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Confidentially, darling, this is more than a hang-over.&#8221; Synopsis: A headstrong young heiress (Bette Davis) with an inoperable brain tumor falls in love with her surgeon (George Brent), believing he&#8217;s cured her &#8212; but how will she react when she finds out that both Brent and her best friend (Geraldine Fitzgerald) are lying to her? Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Bette Davis Films Death and Dying Edmund Goulding Films George Brent Films Geraldine Fitzgerald Films Heiresses Humphrey Bogart Films Illness&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=32717\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32717"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65762,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32717\/revisions\/65762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}