Old Acquaintance
Directed by Vincent Sherman
Written by John Van Druten and Lenore J. Coffee from a play by Van Druten
1943/USA
Warner Bros
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Kit Marlowe: It’s late, and I’m very, very tired of youth and love and self-sacrifice.[/box]
Compared to Miriam Hopkins, Bette Davis looks like a method actress.
Kit Marlow (Davis) and Millie Drake (Hopkins) have been best friends since childhood, though one would be hard pressed to explain why. As the movie opens, Kit, a young “literary” novelist, visits the newly married Millie. We find out that Millie is also expecting a baby. Millie swiftly shows off her personality by throwing tantrums whenever she doesn’t get her way. Kit, who knows her well, can make the tears go away merely by saying she envies her something. Millie’s hen-pecked husband Preston (John Loder) takes a liking to Kit right away. Millie gives Kit her first manuscript, a romance novel, to read. As the story proceeds, we will see that Kit will get the critical acclaim but Millie will be the one who gets rich from her writing.
The years pass. Kit becomes a friend and companion to Millie’s daughter Deirdre, whose mother has no time for her. Preston falls in love with Kit and she with him but she is too loyal a friend to even listen to Preston’s declarations. Preston gets enough of catering to Millie’s self-centered lifestyle and leaves her.
More years pass. Kit is having a romance with a younger man (Gig Young). Diedre is interested in him too. I think most readers will see where this is going.
It is worth seeing this movie just to witness the much-anthologized clip of Davis shaking Hopkins in its proper context. It is really satisfying to see this after spending most of the story wanting to shake, or slap, Hopkins oneself. Millie is supposed to be a self-dramatizing, skittish, bigger-than-life character and Hopkins milks every last bit of juice out of it, bordering on camp. Davis on the other hand is in her self-sacrificing career-girl mode, and quite natural for her. It is fascinating to see her change as her character ages throughout the movie.
The Warner Home Video DVD I watched had an excellent commentary by director Vincent Sherman and a Davis biographer. It was fun to listen to Sherman’s war stories about shooting this film and his saga with the lovelorn Davis, which he takes almost, but not quite, to what happened after he took her home from dinner.
The revenge of Bette Davis
I find Bette Davis very appealing in OLD ACQUAINTANCE. She is so natural next to Hopkins character. A great contrast. Vincent Sherman felt Kit was very close to the “real” Davis. I feel that way too.
He said as much on the commentary. Have you heard it? The historian tried to get him to “tell all”. I don’t know if he wasn’t willing to do so in that format or whether Warner Home Video wanted to cut out the whole story.
My DVD has the commentary but I have not listened to it. I will! Depending on the date it was recorded, I would guess that Vince wanted viewers to read his book for the fuller story. Or, he was “saving” it for the book. The real Bette Davis could much calmer than fans might expect. She could be volatile too!
There is no contest here…..the Star, Davis runs off with the film while “the star”, Hopkins rants like a drunken fishwife and makes herself look like a contestant at amateur night. I have never been a Hopkins fan and this film validates my opinion……..she is shrill and over the top.
The film is another of those “women’s pictures” so popular in the 30s and 40s and holds up well in that genre. . Davis is looking good as the professional woman that she portrays and although she does her typical schtick with cigarettes and hand gestures, she is a little more subdued than usual. You can almost believe her affair with the boyish Gig Young and her sorrow as it ends. You, however, can never believe that the elegant John Loder could have been married to Hopkins…….he belonged with Davis but it was not to be. My favorite scene has to be when Davis shakes the snot out of Hopkins and since it has been reported that they didn’t like each other, I’m sure it was Bette’s favorite scene as well.
According to director Sherman, Davis predicted that Hopkins would come up with some way to get extra attention in the shaking scene as well. It turned out she made herself limp so didn’t give Davis much to play against. Every time any one would call her on one of her stunts she would reply “I’m only trying to cooperate!”.
Jill, I love John Loder. Elegant is the word!
I have a weakness for “elegant Englishmen” and he was a perfect example!!!!