A superior melodrama, showing that Bette Davis could play even a Jane Eyre type! It's one of the most romantic, tragic movies you'll see. Definitely a two-hankie film. Davis is the shy governess whom intense, sad-eyed Charles Boyer falls deeply in love with. It's an unspoken romance, but anyone who sees Boyer and Davis together knows their bond. This is one of Davis' most subtle and quiet performances, and may just be my favourite film of hers yet. Barbara O'Neil is best known as being Vivien Leigh's demure mother in "Gone With The Wind", but here she's pure venom, needy and possessive as Boyers jealous wife who suspects an affair. The lack of sex in their marriage is made strikingly obvious. O'Neil goes from being one of the most beloved mothers of the silver screen to one of the most hated, and she excels. This Warners production is handsomely, impeccably made and it really captures the mood of it's setting. Perhaps a mite long, but on reflection I can't think of any part I would dare cut from it.
Review of All This, and Heaven Too
