{"id":44965,"date":"2019-10-07T10:29:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-07T17:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44965"},"modified":"2021-01-24T13:38:41","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T20:38:41","slug":"little-foxes-the-1941","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44965","title":{"rendered":"Little Foxes, The (1941)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The Lord forgives those who invent what they need.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Poster-115x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"115\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-45063\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Poster-115x300.jpg 115w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Poster-49x128.jpg 49w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Poster-393x1024.jpg 393w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Poster.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 115px) 100vw, 115px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA Southern aristocrat (Bette Davis) and her two independently wealthy brothers (Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid) will stop at nothing to convince Davis&#8217;s unwell husband (Herbert Marshall) to invest in a business deal &#8212; including attempting to marry Reid&#8217;s irresponsible son (Dan Duryea) to Davis&#8217;s daughter (Teresa Wright), who instead is in love with a poor newspaperman (Richard Carlson).\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>Dan Duryea Films<\/li>\n<li>Deep South<\/li>\n<li>Family Problems<\/li>\n<li>Greed<\/li>\n<li>Herbert Marshall Films<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptations<\/li>\n<li>Siblings<\/li>\n<li>Teresa Wright Films<\/li>\n<li>William Wyler Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nWilliam Wyler&#8217;s adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Little_Foxes\">Lillian Hellman&#8217;s 1939 stage play<\/a> remains a deeply troubling drama showcasing both the worst of humanity and noble attempts to push back against greed and corruption. In terms of the story itself, Bosley Crowther&#8217;s spot-on review for the NY Times is worth citing at length: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>No one who saw the play need be reminded that Miss Hellman was dipping acid straight when she penned this fearful fable of second-generation carpet-baggers in a small Southern town around 1900. Henrik Ibsen and William Faulkner could not together have designed a more morbid account of inter-family treachery and revoltingly ugly greed than was contained in Miss Hellman&#8217;s purple drama of deadly intrigue in the Hubbard clan. And with a perfect knowledge of the camera&#8217;s flexibility, the author and Mr. Wyler have derived out of the play a taut and cumulative screen story which exhales the creepy odor of decay and freezes charitable blood with the deliberation of a Frigidaire.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Davis deservedly won an Oscar nomination as the middle-aged matriarch at the cold heart of the family&#8217;s treacherous scheme, and Wright makes a lovely cinematic debut as her good-hearted daughter. Also notable is Patricia Collinge in a small but memorable role as Reid&#8217;s alcoholic wife, who shares some of the family&#8217;s deepest truths while under the influence. Wyler&#8217;s direction and Gregg Toland&#8217;s cinematography effectively convey the claustrophia and heightened tensions of this &#8220;parlor drama&#8221;, which opens up occasionally into the town and other settings but primarily takes place within the cavernous family home. As DVD Savant writes about Wyler: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8230; shot-for-shot he&#8217;s a supremely superior director. His scenes are built around the drama instead of a strong personal style so he&#8217;s not as distinctive as Hitchcock, Ford, or Hawks. But after you&#8217;ve seen a few, especially those films he made with Gregg Toland, his style jumps out immediately.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>This one is well worth a look on multiple counts. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bette Davis as Regina<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Davis.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Davis.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45069\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Davis.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Davis-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Davis-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Teresa Wright as Alexandra<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Wright.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Wright.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45064\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Wright.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Wright-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Wright-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Herbert Marshall as Horace<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Marshall.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Marshall.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45071\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Marshall.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Marshall-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Marshall-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Patricia Collinge as Birdie<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Collinge.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Collinge.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45068\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Collinge.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Collinge-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Collinge-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Strong direction throughout<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Direction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Direction.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Direction.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Direction-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Direction-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Gregg Toland&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Cinemtography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Cinemtography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-45066\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Cinemtography.png 512w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Cinemtography-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Little-Foxes-Cinemtography-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Davis&#8217;s performance and as a still-powerful adaptation. Listed as a film with Historical Importance and a Personal Recommendation in the back of Peary&#8217;s book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0033836\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1941\/08\/22\/archives\/the-little-foxes-full-of-evil-reaches-the-screen-of-the-music-hall.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s346fox.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/KjIT8P9xpOk\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/81524\/the-little-foxes#articles-reviews?articleId=64058\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The Lord forgives those who invent what they need.&#8221; Synopsis: A Southern aristocrat (Bette Davis) and her two independently wealthy brothers (Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid) will stop at nothing to convince Davis&#8217;s unwell husband (Herbert Marshall) to invest in a business deal &#8212; including attempting to marry Reid&#8217;s irresponsible son (Dan Duryea) to Davis&#8217;s daughter (Teresa Wright), who instead is in love with a poor newspaperman (Richard Carlson). Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Bette Davis Films Dan Duryea&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44965\"> 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":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44965","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=44965"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44965\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65625,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44965\/revisions\/65625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}