Rating: 
Summary: Powerful Love Story From Bette Davis
Review: "Jezebel" is a true classic released in 1938. Its plot about a woman, Julie, who loses her fiance, Preston, because of being greedy and manipulative is brilliant. Its powerful theme keeps audiences watching every scene closely. The plot builds up to the end, especially as her former fiance returns after being gone for one year. She's waited so long to beg for his forgiveness. Problem: he's now married. Jelousy begins lingering through every scene, keeping the plot interesting. There is never a dull moment through any movie detail. The intensity builds as yellow fever strikes, which offers a brilliant conclusion. The set construction and the costume designs are amazingly ahead of their time. Few other movies in 1938 mastered such elaborate settings so flawlessly. Every detail is accurate to the actual 1850's New Orleans style. Bette Davis deservingly won her Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Julie. She proves as always that she is one of the greatest and most influencial actresses of Hollywood history. Her heart and soul through her character is obvious. Henry Fonda's role as Preston is beautiful. His character's anger and love are expressed to his fullest. In this movie, Davis and Fonda answer why they deserve their legendary status. All other actors, major or minor, also perform their roles wonderfully. "Jezebel" is a great movie for those looking for a great movie classic and/or a unique love story. This is sure to please audience for many more years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful Love Story From Bette Davis
Review: "Jezebel" is a true classic released in 1938. Its plot about a woman, Julie, who loses her fiance, Preston, because of being greedy and manipulative is brilliant. Its powerful theme keeps audiences watching every scene closely. The plot builds up to the end, especially as her former fiance returns after being gone for one year. She's waited so long to beg for his forgiveness. Problem: he's now married. Jelousy begins lingering through every scene, keeping the plot interesting. There is never a dull moment through any movie detail. The intensity builds as yellow fever strikes, which offers a brilliant conclusion. The set construction and the costume designs are amazingly ahead of their time. Few other movies in 1938 mastered such elaborate settings so flawlessly. Every detail is accurate to the actual 1850's New Orleans style. Bette Davis deservingly won her Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Julie. She proves as always that she is one of the greatest and most influencial actresses of Hollywood history. Her heart and soul through her character is obvious. Henry Fonda's role as Preston is beautiful. His character's anger and love are expressed to his fullest. In this movie, Davis and Fonda answer why they deserve their legendary status. All other actors, major or minor, also perform their roles wonderfully. "Jezebel" is a great movie for those looking for a great movie classic and/or a unique love story. This is sure to please audience for many more years to come.
Rating:
Summary: Davis shines as a strong-willed Southern belle
Review: "Jezebel," directed by William Wyler, opens in New Orleans in 1852. The film tells the story of Miss Julie, a strong-willed Southern belle played with passion and flair by the great Bette Davis. Miss Julie's tempestuous relationship with a handsome gentleman (played by Henry Fonda) is played out in the shadow of both social controversies and a yellow fever epidemic. "Jezebel" is a superbly produced period piece. The opulent sets and costumes, along with the romantic musical score, contribute well to the overall feel of the film. The black-and-white cinematography is breathtaking; Davis looks positively luminous in many scenes. The excellent Davis gets solid support from the rest of the excellent cast. But make no mistake: this is Davis' picture, and she commands the screen from her first scene. Her Miss Julie is a flawed but fascinating woman. This is a thought-provoking film on many levels. The portrayal of Southern culture as strange and alien to Northerners, the fetishization of Southern womanhood (a "frail, delicate chalice," as one male character puts it), the references to the abolitionist controversy, and the depiction of the relationships between black servants and white masters are all fascinating elements in the film, and richly ironic. "Jezebel" is one Hollywood classic that remains compelling and, I believe, open to new critical interpretations.
Rating: 
Summary: a great precursor to "Gone With the Wind"
Review: "Jezebel" is a marvelous vehicle for Bette Davis, and won her an Academy Award, although it may have prevented her from starring as Scarlett O'Hara in Selznick's "Gone With the Wind." Although it features a rather a pot-boiler of a plot, set in New Orleans against the gathering stormclouds of Civil War America, Davis's Miss Julie shines as a headstrong, passionate girl, determined to flout convention to have her way.
Yellow fever, endemic to the New Orleans environment with its undrained swamps and bad sewers, strikes at the heart of Miss Julie's world, and she grows as a character and wins redemption in the way she meets a crisis. Davis is simply superb and makes the whole production come alive in this well-deserved Oscar winning role. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful film!
Review: "Jezebel" is a really great classic film. I highly recommend it . Bette Davis is wonderful in her role, so is Henry
Fonda, her lover in the film. This film has some of the best acting in it I've ever seen. I'd give it more stars if I could.
I'm a big fan of Bette Davis' , and in this film, as in all her others, she always gave her absolute best performance.
Rating:
Summary: Davis shines as a strong-willed Southern belle
Review: "Jezebel," directed by William Wyler, opens in New Orleans in 1852. The film tells the story of Miss Julie, a strong-willed Southern belle played with passion and flair by the great Bette Davis. Miss Julie's tempestuous relationship with a handsome gentleman (played by Henry Fonda) is played out in the shadow of both social controversies and a yellow fever epidemic. "Jezebel" is a superbly produced period piece. The opulent sets and costumes, along with the romantic musical score, contribute well to the overall feel of the film. The black-and-white cinematography is breathtaking; Davis looks positively luminous in many scenes. The excellent Davis gets solid support from the rest of the excellent cast. But make no mistake: this is Davis' picture, and she commands the screen from her first scene. Her Miss Julie is a flawed but fascinating woman. This is a thought-provoking film on many levels. The portrayal of Southern culture as strange and alien to Northerners, the fetishization of Southern womanhood (a "frail, delicate chalice," as one male character puts it), the references to the abolitionist controversy, and the depiction of the relationships between black servants and white masters are all fascinating elements in the film, and richly ironic. "Jezebel" is one Hollywood classic that remains compelling and, I believe, open to new critical interpretations.
Rating:
Summary: Not Gone With The Wind, But Otherwise Fine Drama
Review: 1938: O.K. So Bette Davis didn't land the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind, which won the hearts of millions the following year, even getting Best Picture at the Oscars. But our determined Bette Davis did the next best thing. She took on the role of an equally ambitious, independent and strong Southern belle, Julie. In much the same wave length as Gone With The Wind, the movie takes place in the Old South, directly before the Civil War or antebellum period. Anti slavery movements were strong and Southerners were anticipating a conflict with their Yankee adversaries. Julie is the beautiful daughter of a plantation owner, who has her heart set on marrying a handsome and decent aristocrat. Because she is a flirt and very popular, she has the pick of any man she wants and men do flock to her. But Julie, much like Scarlett, goes for the man she cannot have. After scandalizing New Orleans society by wearing a vivid red ball gown at a party where most of the women are in white, and waltzing with the man she loves without any question, her reputation begins to diminish. I don't recall the name of the man she loves (in my way of thinking he is no different than Ashley Wilkes in Gone With The Wind, except that he does support slavery). Julie's love interest rejects her advances and marries instead a more humble, unassuming and submissive woman (yet another manifestation of Melanie Hamilton in GWTW). Although she has lost the man she loves and her reputation is down the drain (an old woman mocks her and even calls her Jezebel the wicked queen from the Bible), Julie rises to the ocassion in noble fashion by putting her life at risk as her love interest is taken ill at an island off Louisiana and she must cure him. The island is swarming with malaria but Julie does her best and saves his life. This selfless spirit is not anywhere near Scarlett's, but we must remember that Bette Davis was known for noble women roles (Cameille) and for her confrontation scenes with rivals. Bette Davis was also known for her blue eyes.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL star vehicle for Davis!!
Review: A melodramatic plot indeed, but it features an awfully-well nuanced performance by Ms. Davis and some magnificent set pieces. The scene where she dances in the infamous red dress is worth the price of admission alone! This is a MUST see for any fan of Bette's talents...
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable...
Review: A very odd, amusing movie...sometimes tightly and very effectively directed and sometimes hysterical to the point of camp. The ending is an absolute scream, and yet I remember being strongly affected by it after the first time I saw this movie. Davis's characterisation is campy and often startlingly effective. She is a real and powerful star...just when you start to entertain doubts about her performance, you start to chide yourself for being so niggardly because she is just so damn marvellous. She is the sole reason to watch this movie. Her instincts and choices keep you on your toes. Her Julie manages to live in this movie in a way that the other characters do not. She appears to be thinking and reacting on her feet. At times, she overdoes it...but that appears to be both a part of her screen persona and her misperception of the character she plays. Everything about her performance is in big bold, primary colors. The rest of the cast cannot help but seem muted. George Brent holds his ground and turns in probably his finest performance, and Fay Bainter is charming. Brent's performance really is exemplary. Fonda underplays, which is a wise choice when you are cast opposite a firecracker like Davis. Although one wonders if the choice doesn't render his marriage into more of a plot device than it is. Worth buying...repeat viewings turn this movie into something very comfortable, entertaining and fun (rather like a good, old friend). It might seem like a peculiar thing to say about a movie...but I think in this case, it holds true.
Rating:
Summary: Deep Drama In The Deep South
Review: A wonderful sad story for a night with a friend. I doubt a boyfriend would watch it with you, but it is a grand movie. I LOVED IT!
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