The Little Foxes

The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the deep South at the turn of the 20th century. Regina Giddens née Hubbard (Bette Davis) has her daughter (Teresa Wright) under her thumb. Mrs. Giddens is estranged from her husband (Herbert Marshall), who lives in Chicago and suffers from a terminal illness. But she needs him home, and will manipulate her daughter to help bring him back. She has a sneaky business deal that she's cooking up with her two elder brothers, Oscar and Ben (Carl Benton Reid and Charles Dingle). Oscar has a flighty, unhappy wife (Patricia Collinge) and a dishonest worm of a son (Dan Duryea). Will the daughter have to marry this contemptible cousin? Who will she grow up to be—her mother or her aunt? Or can she escape the fate of both?

This is the daughter's coming-of-age story, and Teresa Wright gives a good performance. But the commanding role is, of course, Bette Davis's; she dominates our memory of the film, with her fiery but subtle portrait of an evil woman. Collinge as Aunt Birdie gives a performance equal in merit to Davis's. She gives this woman a crushed soul and breaks our hearts. Marshall, with his fine voice and dignified manners, is typically appealing, understated yet impressive. Duryea is enjoyably hissable.

Gregg Toland's deep-focus, black-and-white photography is intensely satisfying throughout, no more so than in all those shots of people walking up the staircase, with the camera at the top of the stairs. The director, William Wyler, demonstrates his usual ability to bring cinematic life to stage plays. Lillian Hellman has adapted her own play, which is too heavy-handed in its leftist sentiments about money and power; but her points about greedy, selfish people are nevertheless well taken. This is a fine drama, with an instructive moral struggle at its center.

I always loved Lillian Hellman, way ahead of her time - she may have been controversial with powerful enemies and treacherous groupies but I'm always reminded of the stuff the lady was made of by going back to the letter she wrote to the House Of Un-American Activites that she wrote knowing that she was risking everything. She paid a heavy price but now we know who the real, patriotic Americans were - Lillian Hellman right up there - I saw The Little Foxes last night - first time in two decades - and I was enveloped in its relevance. Lillian Hellman herself wrote the screenplay based on her play about greed, the banquet of the 1 per cent and the blatant social injustice. Class, race and all the rest of it. As if that wasn't overwhelming enough, William Wyler and Bette Davis - what an brilliant combination - Davis was only 33 when she played Regina - Astonishing performance. This must be one of her very best, The film also has the extraordinary Patricia Collinge as Birdie and Teresa Wright. This is a film to visit and revisit for its historical relevance and cinematic brilliance

This was a surprisingly good movie - for me, not people who like Bette Davis and melodramas. They got what they hoped for, another solid film with her starring in it. I don't particularly care for Davis or "soaps," but I liked this film and see it more of a straight drama, anyway, especially because of the crisp dialog.

It's a story about money and how to use it or how to acquire more of it through deceit and greed. Davis, as "Regina Gidden," is the most greedy of the Gidden clan, vying for more money with her brothers who aren't exactly trustworthy people themselves. Among the three, there wasn't anyone to root for since the family shared in their lust for money. Davis does her normal excellent acting job but I enjoyed Charles Dingle as "(Uncle) Ben Hubbard" best. I liked his lines more than anyone's and the way he delivered them. Carl Benton Reid played the other greedy Hubbard brother, "Oscar" and Dan Duryea was interesting as Oscar's dumb son, 'Leo."

Herbert Marshall was good, too, as Regina's husband "Horace." He was an honest, principled man and thus, the black sheep in that household. Unfortunately, he was dying and his death played a big part in this story.

The sub-plot in this tale is the coming-of-age of Hubbard daughter "Alexandra" played by Teresa Wright. Her "coming of age" translates to finally standing up to her domineering mother. Richard Carlson plays her reluctant boyfriend "David Hewitt" who, in the end, is won over when "Alexandra" grows up.

So, this excellent cast, complemented by an outstanding director in William Wyler and world-class cinematographer Gregg Toland all adds up to a solid, memorable film.

I have been a fan of Bette Davis since I was a young child. Her riveting performance in this movie made me conscious of what a truly good actor can do. Regina (Bette) and her covetous brothers made the biblical passage "the love of money is the root of all evil" come to life.

The Little Foxes is an apt name. As animals Regina, Horace and Oscar not only would tear others to pieces to get what they want; they would eventually turn on each other to gain satisfaction.

The performance of Herbert Marshall made me immediately search for his other movies to view; I've not been disappointed. I am thankful his character was included to offset the viciousness of Regina and her brothers.

Besides a very strong cast and an interesting story, this carefully crafted drama also has many subtleties that make it satisfying to watch, and even more so on repeat viewings. It is still among the better movie depictions of the effects of greed and materialism, and it has lost none of its effectiveness or believability.

Several things work together to make "The Little Foxes" a worthwhile classic. The cast could hardly be improved upon, with the great Bette Davis taking center stage with a role that has her in her element, Herbert Marshall in a role ideal for him, and the supporting roles filled by talented performers who are themselves, in most cases, very well-cast.

The script, likewise, is a well-conceived and well-paced adaptation of the Lillian Hellman play. Finally, William Wyler and his crew piece everything together effectively. Wyler might not be the kind of director who draws a lot of raves for innovation or experimentation, but when he has a good cast and good material, he knows how to make it work.

One of the movie's several noteworthy features is the pace. Much of the first half seems to move quite slowly, and much later the pace of events begins to build steadily. The first part contains many less obvious touches that fit together well, so it is worth watching carefully, even if parts of it seem slow. In the second part, the characters' cat-and-mouse games and attempts to outwit each other come to a head, resulting in some compelling moments.

It might be even more satisfying to watch after you have already seen the movie once, because the numerous subtle points that help to establish the characters then come out more clearly, and the way that things fit together is also easier to see. In any case, it is a classic that has held up well.