La cruz de su dolor

After "Now Voyager" this is my favorite film of Davis. If you see the short subject on this film, the director said Davis loved a challenge and she took on the role of the "too pretty" Fanny Trellis because she felt she could "pull it off"... and in my humble opinion, she did that very well indeed. Some say she had a "pretentious" and "irritating" character, it is indeed the character of Fanny Trellis who is both pretentious and irritating. That is built into the character herself. I had a relative who behaved just as she did in this film. Davis especially reminded me of this aunt of mine when she visits Mr. Skeffington in his office when war is declared. She was artificially fragile, overly made-up, and oh too charming. Davis was brilliant in her portrayal of Fanny as the spoiled, fussy, prissy young woman who the "men" really go after.... but unlike today where most men are after physical attributes, it is Fanny's charm and her apparent wealth they are also attracted to. In reality, her character has none of these things.... it is an illusion, just as her life is an illusion. I think she did a marvelous job in a demanding and difficult role. The film also has one of the most remarkable music scores on film. Every scene is perfectly synchronized by Franz Waxman's magnificent score.

"Mr. Skeffington" is one of the great Hollywood melodramas. Bette Davis has the showy role in this epic story of a troubled relationship, but it's Claude Rains as her Jewish husband who jerks the tears. Bette is all mannerisms and makeup - and there's nothing wrong with that! - but Rains gives a subtle, weighty performance that anchors the movie.

This is Warner Brothers at its most elegant. The Franz Waxman score is superb and the way he punctuates Bette's eye-blinking is hilarious.

The magnificent singer/actress Dolores Gray made her first film appearance in this film as a 1920s speakeasy chanteuse. Bette acknowledges what a beautiful voice she has in a moment that hasn't really anything to do with the scene, but the divine Dolores deserves the comment. In case you don't know who she is, check out her own film career 10 years later in her MGM films such as "It's Always Fair Weather."

Bette's aging makeup presages her work in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

You won't want to miss "Mr. Skeffington." Bette's flamboyance and Rains' gravitas make this film totally enjoyable.

Bette Davis was an actress. She did not play herself over and over but reinvented herself in each film she made. Mr Skeffington is curiously names after Claude Rains character Mr Skeffington, like Dorothy Arzner's Christopher Strong, a film about Cynthia Darrington ( Katherine Hepburn). Davis plays a Fanny, a woman of less than average intelligence, one afraid of being a woman, mostly because of the attention paid to her by ridiculous suitors, and a life spent in sucking up to them and learning how to get what she wants because of their stupidity. Finally she is truly loved by Mr Skellington (Claude Rains). Nevertheless she still feels embarassed having a baby so she goes back east to hid her growing body. Whatever made her into the fragile and distant creature she truly is underneath her silly flirtations and airs, she realizes in the end the shallowness of her fan club and the true love of the man who loves her no matter what. She conveys the bunglings of a woman caught up in her appearance and the futility of living as an image brilliantly. Well done Bette! You still outshine all actresses living!

Watching "Mr. Skeffington" again, after not having seen the film for a while, one thing comes perfectly clear, the adage about love being blind never made more sense than what we witness Job Skeffington feel for his wife Fanny. His was a love like no other one; knowing she did not love him, he spent a lifetime to love her unconditionally until he loses his vision and can't see her dear face, which by that time is not the same as the young beauty he fell in love with and married.

Vincent Sherman's direction of this film, based on Elizabeth Von Armin's novel, makes it a classic that endures the passing of time. Sure, it's pure melodrama, but as a film, "Mr. Skeffington" makes perfect sense because of its timeless story. It helps too that the black and white cinematography by Ernest Haller is in pristine condition. The music score one hears in the background by Franz Waxman enhances the movie.

Bette Davis and Claude Rains had an easy way to compliment one another's work. It comes as no surprise these two actors made a tremendous contribution to the finished product as they are the only reason for watching the film. Bette Davis, with her enormous and expressive eyes is at the center of the story; a society beauty that was much in demand in her youth, sees her good looks fade as she ages in front of our eyes.

Claude Rains is the generous man who falls in love with Fanny, even though her brother has swindled money from his firm in order to keep living in the style the Trellis family has been used to. Mr. Skeffington being Jewish has to endure all the prejudice directed at him.

The supporting cast is excellent. Walter Abel, Marjorie Riordan, John Alexander, and the rest do a good ensemble job backing the principals.

"Mr. Skeffington" will delight all viewers.

'Mr Skeffington', by Elizabeth, came to the screen in 1944 with Claude Rains in the title role, Bette Davis as Fanny, Richard Waring as Trippy, Jerome Cowan as Edward, and others.

An absorbing and entertaining novel could only be buoyed up by the playing of Bette Davis as the self-absorbed Miss Trellis, who has no knowledge of the real world as it affects her friends and her family. Trippy's money problems mean as little to her as the attentions of her tribe of young men. Fanny losing her beauty would be her greatest calamity ...

As Job Skeffington, Trippy's understanding boss, Claude Rains adds a touch of dryness and dignity to the role. The teaming between Rains and Davis gives plenty of zip to the film and makes the whole thing hugely enjoyable - there is a tragic undercurrent to this story that both actors could carry off completely.

'Mr Skeffington' is excellent and one of those great 1940s wallows they just don't make anymore [sigh].