Rating: 
Summary: they don't get any better than this!
Review: This is, quite simply, THE BEST of Bette's best! If you don't like this one, you aren't breathing!
Rating:
Summary: We DO have the stars!
Review: This picture transcends the genre of "romantic melodrama". Based on Olive Prouty's novel, this Hal Wallis production is one of the best films the studio system produced. The story, improbably romantic though it is (the novel at least makes some effort to provide some motivation for the romance) moves along smartly, the settings are sumptuous, the writing deft. Max Steiner's sensitively written score is one of his best. Bette Davis shows her considerable acting gifts here, as she seldom did later in her career. She understands the character, and plays her with compassion. Davis is truly present in every scene, playing off the other actors genuinely, without any of the self conscious posing that marred her later playing. Henreid and Rains, both with acting gifts the equal of Davis', play their parts with the same truthfulness. The result is a truly moving film. .
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent Restoration
Review: Warner Brothers is to be commended for their restoration and reissue of this beautiful film from the 40's. Hated Bette back then, but have come to realize how great she was. WB keep those b&w restorations coming. I'll buy them every time.
Rating:
Summary: In Praise of Therapy, among other things
Review: Well, having been born in the 1960s I can't really say for sure, but I'll bet that "Now, Voyager" went a long way towards making therapy more acceptable to the average American in the 1940s. Other 1940s movies dealing with mental illness include "The Snake Pit", "Kings Row", and "Spellbound" , and none of them paint a promising picture--the afflicted folks were shown as really screwed up! But "Now, Voyager" is different. Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is having a nervous breakdown after years of her domineering mother's (Gladys Cooper) abuse. After the therapeutic interventions of Dr. Jasquith (pipe-smoking Claude Rains), Charlotte is better able to handle a new life with its many more complications, including a troubled love affair. If that doesn't give you hope, I don't know what else could! This is one of Bette's most sympathetic roles; she imbues Charlotte with a vulnerability that is quite appealing as she bears her soul to Paul Henreid's Jerry, the married man with whom Charlotte falls in love on her recuperative cruise to South America. I'll have to make a point to see more of Paul Henried, since he is a highly attractive actor, both physically and in manner. Jerry treats Charlotte with tenderness and any woman in her right or wrong mind would be hard pressed not to fall in love with him. She starts off with him somewhat standoffishly, but what we know that he doesn't is that she is tremendously insecure, even about her borrowed clothing. Then as his own natural kindness comes out, so she responds with gratitude and ultimately love. One regret I've always had about "Now, Voyager", though, is that I've long wished Charlotte might have been united with Dr. Jasquith--but that's my partiality for Claude Rains showing again!
ac
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST OF BETTE.
Review: What is it about this perennial soap opera which remains such a timeless diversion? While not a perfect film by any means, it nevertheless lingers in the psyche once seen. More than any other character in the film, Janis Wilson seems to be singled out for her rather annoying portrayal of Tina. The most mawkish scenes are those in which she and Davis interact together: i.e. "This is Jerry's child I have in my arms" et al. That aspect and the rather forced and unfunny humor from the Argentine cab driver are the film's two major drawbacks. But most of the film is splendid. The script is pretty true to the original Olive Higgins Prouty novel and the film benefits immensely from the inspired performances of Claude Rains and Gladys Cooper. Cooper has a genuine triumph in her playing of a frankly witch-from-hell shrike of a mother who dominates her spinster daughter unmercifully. After the film was released back in 1942 Davis herself received literally hundreds of letters from young women in the same predicament! Claude Rains is his usual brilliant self as the gently mocking, kind and benevolent Jacquith. His scenes with Davis in her bedroom upstairs are real and thought provoking. Ilka Chase is sophisticated but kindly concerned for Charlotte, who in turn appreciates Lisa's "interference". But this is Bette's picture ALL the way. From the moment we see her Oxfords coming down those stairs, we know we are in for a tour-de-force Davis performance. Originally Paul Henried's screen test horrified Davis, because his hair was slicked back with hair tonic and he was quite stiff in his acting technique (the producers thinking this was very Continental and European, apparently). Davis saw to it that his both appearance and acting were both more natural and softened somewhat. Cooper had the utmost admiration for Davis and confided that to those who would listen that she was a genius who could have done "anything". As June, Charlotte's cheeky neice, Bonita Granville is adequate and attractive. The beautiful score by Max Steiner is one of the most loved (and most famous) done for any picture anytime. This is classic Hollywood moonshine, impeccably distilled.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful movie, but...
Review: Wonderful movie, but didn't anyone want to strangle "little Tina?" I know child performances from that era date a bit, but she was just awful. Paul should have put her up for adoption and sailed away with Bette. Otherwise, one of the best.
Rating:
Summary: "SHE DID IT THE HARD WAY!!"
Review: Yeah? So when her contract expired at Warners she had the last farewell drink with a few grips and drove off the lot ..... Also termed "The FIFTH Warner Brother" Miss Davis had and still has enough pluck for the entire town! What an Actress and What a performance in this weepie - from dowdy "secret-smoking" and "slightly tipsy" spinster firmly under Mama's iron thumb, until ..... TO the spectacular swan she becomes on her 'Holiday Cruise' - this is the definitive Davis vehicle. Lush Steiner score, bits of psycho-babble interspersed with Claude Raines, and Paul Hendried as the indelible love-interest - well-worth visiting over and over again. Companion? Crawford's "Mildred Pierce" - another stuggling 'distressed damsel' [teflon mode].
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