User reviews

... That would be Fanny Trellis, later Skeffington. She has all of these male admirers and yet she can't seem to talk about anything more interesting than her manicure. I mean, her looks won't last forever, right? Right. That is what this film is all about. Fanny has a brother, Trippy, that bests her in the "waste of flesh" department. He spends all of Fanny's and his inheritance, is forced to get a job, and is caught embezzling from his employer, Mr. Skeffington, who is smitten by Fanny. Why, I have no idea.

So forget the synopsis that says "Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge". That is not what happens. Job Skeffington tells Fanny he will give Trippy time to repay the debt, and then months go by and he hasn't brought the subject up again at all. When Fanny finds out that Job is the secret admirer who commissioned a painting of her, SHE pursues HIM for marriage - not that he is anything less than enthusiastic - and she does it ONLY to save her brother.

But then the weirdest thing happens. Trippy has been angry at Skeffington because HE stole from Skeffington and got caught. He is even angrier when he finds out Fanny married Job and rescued him and packs off to England to fight in WWI, which the US has not joined yet. So the Skeffington marriage limps along on four square wheels for a couple years. A daughter is born that has none of mom's looks and most fortunately, none of her lack of character. Then the notice comes that Trippy has died in the war, and now Fanny completely ices out Job. There is the eventual divorce. Mom packs off little Fanny to live with her father so as to be able to maintain her active dating life without a reminder of how old she actually is.

And then comes the day when Fanny contracts diphtheria while out on a sailing outing with a beau twenty years her junior. And diphtheria is no beauty treatment. Post diphtheria Fanny is balding, wrinkled, and matronly figured. I have no idea how diphtheria gives you osteoporosis, but from her posture, that's what happened. And now Fanny finds out what exactly she has in male interest and personal character without her beauty - zip, zilch, nada.

Maybe this is a pretty conventional story, but Bette Davis is really great as Fanny. The makeup and fashion department have to be given credit here too. Ironically, Bette Davis was a knockout in her 20s and early 30s, but her looks fell apart in record time. She was already going downhill by the time this film was made, in 1944. Yet she truly looks mid to early 20s in the first part of the film. And she truly looks 45-55 in the last part of the film.

WWII is brought into the plot of this film in a sideways sort of way, and it is refreshing to see a film made during wartime that does not get oppressively patriotic. Claude Rains excels as the used and abused financial wizard Job Skeffington. He is endearing as the loving father and the rejected husband. And yet he is not overly melodramatic. In fact he injects quite a bit of subtle humor into the role. Honorable mention to Walter Abel as George Trellis, Fanny's and Trippy's cousin, who must have gotten down on his knees every night and thanked his lucky stars that in spite of common grandparents, he has nothing in common with either of his cousins.

Highly recommended.

"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.

This truly lavish melodrama really knocked me out. I simply did not find any significant weaknesses to this film, at least none of which others have alluded. Films of this type can easily become maudlin, insignificant, and flat. However, "Mr. Skeffington" is the result of a set of elements that are incorporated vibrantly. The film simply has a grand sweep to it, lifting it high above many others of this genre.

The staging and sets (in conjunction with Ory-Kelly's costumes) are as good as any movie that I've seen, along the lines of "Gone With the Wind", "Citizen Kane", "Gigi", or "Long Day's Journey into Night". The use of silence and spaciousness, along with noise and density, is brilliantly carried out and is extremely well-balanced by the characters' non-verbal responses to each other. It's hard to describe without providing details of given scenes - I would suggest that you watch it with this perspective and see what you think.

Speaking of scenes, length is the common enemy of films of this type, but not here - each scene plays out like a shining entity that still provides momentum and underpinning for the entire story. I counted at least 12 very memorable scenes. Humor is added strategically to most scenes to balance the starkness of the story and is nicely understated to avoid a sense of camp. Director Vincent Sherman has polished each scene like a diamond, and the effect is very powerful. The scenes really do stand on their own almost like a set of montages.

Bette Davis' performance is decidedly affected as she plays Fanny as a young girl, but the pure talent and visual power of this actress makes one believe that she is truly the beauty that she is supposed to be. Notice how her movements and responsiveness reinforce the sense of someone almost 15 years younger than herself. While others have complained about the makeup of the older Fanny in portraying her change in age, I found that the makeup perfectly embodied the older Fanny because Davis plays the character so consistently to her advanced age. I would place this performance in Bette Davis' top tier, along with "Now, Voyager", "The Little Foxes", and "All About Eve".

Claude Rains plays the title character with restraint, integrity, and great love for Fanny, but the sense of pathos that he communicates really helps to give the movie a lot of power. The other acting performances are uniformly excellent, particularly Walter Abel as Cousin George. Without the strength of Abel's characterization, this would have been a far weaker movie.

Franz Waxman's score has been criticized by some as being extravagant and overly dramatic to the point of being startling. I really enjoyed it - Waxman incorporates a lush late romantic style that has a stronger "classical-music" feel than other scores for movies of this type, which tend to emphasize strings as accompaniment. The result is a feeling of complexity which shades the story along with the other elements.

This is easily Vincent Sherman's best work, one of Ernest Haller's best, and one of the best melodramas that I have seen. 10 out of 10.

Bette Davis and Richard Waring are the Trellis siblings, an old name and dwindling money. They also have the snobbery that comes from having a name that goes back to the 17th century in terms of residence on the North American continent. Both their lives get forever intertwined with that of Claude Rains, Mr. Skeffington.

Fanny Trellis Skeffington is one of Bette Davis's best screen performances. She's a shallow woman who is a great beauty and enjoys all the flattery that a stream of men give her. Waring to keep up with his lifestyle goes to work for investment banker Skeffington and winds up embezzling a considerable sum of money.

Rains is ready to prosecute, but Davis intercedes and marries Rains who is as entranced as everyone else is with her beauty. They have one rocky marriage that produces a daughter, Majorie Riordan, but little else in the way of happiness for either.

If Mr. Skeffington has a fault it's that Rains is sometimes just to good to be true. For what he put up with, if he were a Christian, he'd be a candidate for sainthood.

Another thing I like about Mr. Skeffington is that it does tackle the issue of anti-Semitism head-on. Waring is a Jew hater as are many of Davis's upper crust admirers. Rains keeps a cheerful look on his face, but because he's that brilliant an actor, you can see the pain registering.

Mr. Skeffington was nominated for two Academy Awards. Bette Davis got one of her nominations for Best Actress, but lost to Ingrid Bergman for Gaslight. And Rains was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, but he lost to Barry Fitzgerald in Going My Way.

Warner Brothers gave Davis a great group of supporting players and among the ones I like are Dorothy Peterson as her loyal maid, George Coulouris as a psychiatrist who gave her some words of wisdom like a Dutch Uncle, and Walter Abel as her wise cousin who is the catalyst for some positive change in her in the end.

Mr. Skeffington is Bette Davis at her best and always finds a place in the top 10 of her screen roles.

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.

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.

Difficult to believe Bette Davis as a magnetic beauty who entrances every man who crosses her path, especially with that irritating voice, but otherwise this is a prime example of a glossy melodrama from Hollywood's golden age. Polished and entertaining, even though Bette's suitors are nearly all portrayed as buffoons.

I think this is one of Bette Davis' best roles ever. I have always been the "beautiful one' in my family also, getting all the attention, neglecting (but still loving my child). This movie is timeless, especially today in our youth worshiping society. It should be required watching for all young teenage girls. The moral is: beauty fades but true love lasts forever. A cliché? Sure, but so what! I cry each time I see this film. It hits me close to home, I always secretly wondered if my daughter would be as beautiful if not more beautiful than me. Mr. Skeffington (played by Claude Rains) is too good to be true, no man would tolerate such rejection from his wife. How did she get pregnant? Also, all the men she constantly entertained in their home! Thats something that didn't make sense to me but the good outweighs the bad in this movie. I know Franny Skeffington was shallow, but what about all those around her? Once her youth & beauty had faded, not only did her so-called admirers & friends disappear but they were so cold & callous about it. This movie woke me up like a slap in the face. I make it a point to try not to look in the mirror more than 3 times a day. :) But I used to sleep with a mirror next to my bed just like Franny did. All women thrive on compliments, etc. But I pity Franny not for losing her beauty, but for losing her innocence. How ironic it was for her to get a children's disease in order to grow up. Having to be told by a therapist that she was old & her only hope was to go back to her husband. The ending was truly inspired! Another movie that has a similar message about beauty & love is "The Enchanted Cottage" (1945) All in all this is a realistic portrayal of a selfish, shallow person and it takes one to know one.............

I saw this movie many years ago, but was able to see it again recently and actually it is one of her best performances. She first comes off so lady like and as you get deeper in to the story, the layers come off. There are also a lot of 'aww shucks' comedic parts to it that you wouldn't normally see in her films. So good! Then, I had an 'ah-ha' moment. The core of this film is a woman coming to terms with her own vanity and aging. Davis portrayed this so flawlessly. Man, she was so ahead of her time. For real. What a performance!

Mr. Skeffington is remarkable for its time because it candidly deals with the subject of anti-semitism. Skeffington is a successful Jewish stockbroker who rose from the slums. Fanny Trellis came from aristocratic wealth but is now broke. Their marriage of convenience outrages Fanny's blueblooded family and relatives. The film contains a candid treatment of marital disintegration and mutual infidelity followed by a typical N.Y. fault-based divorce (in which both parties are at fault but the husband allows a default divorce to proceed). Fanny gladly gives up custody of her daughter so that she can maintain her liberated lifestyle; little Fanny is responsibly raised by her father (who schleps her off to Germany). There is also a painful scene in which father and daughter agree to stay together in which the father warns her that by staying with him she will be treated as Jewish and will confront discrimination, especially in Germany. All of this was quite unusual for films of the time. Of course, the film was made in 1944 when anti-Nazi themes were permissible, but even then it was rare to see even reasonably candid treatment of divorce and child custody issues and rarer yet to see anti-semitism.

Bette at her best, (and most cruel) Mr. Skeffington is a movie I had at first avoided watching as it seemed like a comedy of manners or a "period film" frozen in time. Not the case at all. Not only is this a brilliant theme (especially for 1944) But it is also well worth watching for Claude Rains, as the be-trodden Skeffington, and Davis as his narcissistic wife.

It starts out with Davis marrying Skeffington to help her brother out with some debts. They were from an aristocratic, albeit now broke family. Skeffington is a wealthy stockbroker who marries Fanny. He also happens to be Jewish, and after the marriage fades, takes his daughter to Germany, although he still seems to love Fanny in some sense.

Fanny is impervious to any real affection turned her way. She is narcissistic and wants only more and more attention from younger and younger men. There are some amusing scenes as she flirts with handsome MGM extra Johnny Mitchell, who is surprised when he meets her 20 year old daughter (Davis coyly states; ..."she looks tall for her age"...) The expressions are priceless, and lines delivered with expertise as only Davis can. Finally Franny is struck with diphtheria. She returns from the hospital looking much older. The makeup used was somewhat of a surprise; the dramatic change makes Franny isolate herself, and she starts to hallucinate that Job (Rains) is watching her.

She finally visits a psychiatrist, well portrayed by George Coulouris. He is amusing as he looks at her with disdain, and tells her to pick up and get back to her husband. At any rate, this is an enjoyable and unusual film from 1944. 9/10.

So huffs Bette Davis, in a high affected voice, as the shallow Mrs. of Claude Rains' stately Jewish banker, as she realizes--too late!--that she has a responsibility to the good man who genuinely loves her. Based on a story by "Elizabeth," whoever that was, this is a luxe Warners melodrama designed to show off Bette. She's good, but doesn't show a great deal of range here, hampered by a screenplay that limits her to vain and stupid. It's also not entirely credible that her face would be the one that enraptures all of New York from approximately 1914 to 1935, and the picture's severely hampered by a musical score--by Franz Waxman, whom I usually like--that underlines everything and removes whatever subtlety there might have been. The glory of the film is Rains, who artfully underplays, and some fun supporting actors turn up--John Alexander, George Colouris, even Dolores Gray in one plot-unrelated bit. The Warners trappings are lush, and Vincent Sherman's direction is a little slow, but that's not a bad choice for this soapy material.

Some of the best movies came from the 1940's. I always watch a movie when it is a 1940 movie. This one was one of the best, with the characters and the theme. The main characters seemed to be perfectly matched to the actors. The characteristics of the people in the movie were crystal clear...good and less that good. I really got into the movie and have seen it five times, and see something new each time. I'll watch it again when it comes on TV. I was entranced with Claude Rains, as I have been with each of his portrayals in other movies. Bette Davis is always the STAR, and the supporting figures showed more personality that usual. All in all, it was a great way to spend a couple hours.

I'm a big fan of Claude Rains and Mr. Skeffington is one of his best performances. Every time he is on screen he steals the movie. The same cannot be said for the miscast Bette Davis. I'm not just talking about the obvious: that her character is supposed to be a great beauty and Bette, attractive in her own way, is no great beauty. She attempts to portray an unsympathetic character sympathetically but I'm not convinced she makes it work. Fanny is a vain unlikeable woman and the ending to this film...well let's just say I was left wanting for something more. I enjoyed the movie but not as much as I expected to. Claude Rains makes anything better so check it out for him. Bette Davis does her best but this is not one of my favorite roles of hers. However, hardcore Bette fans will probably enjoy this one far more than the average viewer.

In 1914, in New York, Fanny Trellis (Bette Davis) is a shallow futile selfish woman surrounded by suitors and without any other preoccupation but her beauty. Her brother Trippy Trellis (Richard Waring) wasted the fortune of the family. When he fakes business in stock market and embezzles US$ 24,000.00 commission from the Skeffington Bank, the wealthy Job Skeffington goes to Trellis' house to charge the amount back and meets Fanny. He falls in love for Fanny and she marries him to save Trippy. Fanny gets pregnant, but her selfishness destroys their marriage and they divorce. Many years later, when Fanny has diphtheria and loses her beauty, she realizes that a woman is beautiful only when she is loved.

"Mr. Skeffington" is a good melodramatic love story, silly and dated in many parts, but also very beautiful and touching. The story about a selfish woman that is only concerned with her beauty and does not learn how to grow-up and age has many memorable scenes, mostly because of the performance of Bette Davis and the make-up of the actors and actresses. In the present days, it can be clearly seem that the story shows also a quite incestuous relationship between Fanny and Trippy. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Vaidade" ("Vain")

Desirable, flirtatious Bette Davis (as Fanny Trellis) fends off many male admirers; daily, they arrive at her posh New York estate, to repeatedly propose marriage. Vain, selfish, and very attractive; Ms. Davis prefers to string her suitors along. During one cocktail hour gathering, Davis discovers her ne'er-do-well brother Richard Waring (as Trippy Trellis) has been embezzling funds from Jewish banker Claude Rains (as Job Skeffington). To shield her beloved brother from prosecution, Davis endeavors to wed the ultra-wealthy Mr. Rains. Rains, like most men, has worshiped Davis from afar; but, she is unable to change her coquettish lifestyle.

"The most difficult aspect of the character Fanny was (that) she was a famous beauty of her day," Davis observed, "I was far from being beautiful."

Yet, Davis, with her strength of personality and acting prowess, pulls off the role; she is, as always, a great one to watch. Rains also performs well; but, his is more of a supporting character, despite being the title role. Walter Abel (as George Trellis) gets a lot of good camera time, also. And, George Coulouris is exceptional, as Davis' astute psychoanalyst. "Mr. Skeffington" is a relatively long film, in its "restored" length. Davis and Rains were nominated for "Academy Awards" in the "Best Actress" and "Supporting Actor" categories. The film might have been cited for its decade spanning make-up work, if the category had existed back then.

******* Mr. Skeffington (1944) Vincent Sherman ~ Bette Davis, Claude Rains, Walter Abel