Writer: Casey Robinson, Dashiell Hammett, Lenore J. Coffee, Howard Koch, John Collier, Joseph Than
Director: Irving Rapper, Herman Shumlin, Edmund Goulding, John Huston
Cast: Bette Davis, George Brent, Mary Astor, Hatte McDaniel, Olivia de Havilland, Charles Boyer, Miriam Hopkins, Paul Lukas, Geraldine Fitzgerald
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Warner Bros
Release Date: April 1, 2008

Throughout her career, Bette Davis dominated the silver screen. She starred in some of the best movies to ever be made, particularly in the 1940s era of filmmaking. This period of her career was where she was in her zone more than any other time.

It was during this period when Davis would be nominated for five consecutive Academy Awards for Best Actress. Between the years of 1938 and 1942, Davis was nominated each year. She would go on to be nominated for an additional four oscars. Over her career she would be nominated for eleven Oscars; one would be a written in nomination, two would be wins, and the rest would just be nods at her supreme acting talent. During her time as an acting powerhouse, in her prime, she would be known as the “Fourth Warner” and would briefly be named the president of the Academy. While she was only the president for a brief time, she was the first female president that the Academy had.

Bette Davis was one of the actors most deserving of the title ‘movie star’. She was a firecracker with immense talent who created the perfect persona of the evil and devious broad better than anyone ever has or could. On this, what would have been her 100th Birthday, Warner Bros and Fox have both put out Collectors box sets of a collection of some of her best films. This set, put out by Warner Bros includes The Old Maid, The Great Lie, All This and Heaven…Too, In This Our Life, Watch On the Rhine and Deception.

Being a Davis fan this set was an absolute treat for me. I am ashamed to say that I hadn’t seen many of these films, but they have quickly become favorites in the few times I have seen them to prepare for this review. This set is impressive for a number of reasons, the biggest being that many of these movies have not been released on DVD prior to this point.

Release Information:
Warner Bros released this set of six Davis films on April 1, 2008. It can be purchased at most major retail stores including online at stores like Amazon where it retails for $47.00, while at DVD Empire you can pick this up for $46 and change. Considering the fact that you’re getting six quality movies, you cannot really beat the price. At least a few of the films available had not been on DVD before this set, so it will definitely be a treat for Davis fans. Not only that, but each film also includes a selection of bonus features, which is a nice touch for older films when bonus features weren’t a thought in the filmmakers’ minds.

The Bette Davis Collection Vol. 3 Plot
Rather than attempting to randomly discuss six plots from the movies in the Bette Davis Collection Vol. 3 I have just separated them into their own sections. Each movie plot is discussed for your convenience.

The Old Maid (1939)
The Old Maid is about as close to a soap opera as you can come without actually watching one! Charlotte (Bette Davis) falls in love with a Civil War soldier, Clem (George Brent), after her sister Delia (Miriam Hopkins) tosses him aside for a wealthier suitor named Jim (James Stephenson). Clem dies in the war before he is able to marry Charlotte, though he has gotten her pregnant, leaving her an unwed mother. She attempts to raise her daughter, but things soon go wrong when Jim’s brother Joe (Jerome Cowan) falls for Charlotte. Before you know it, things are out of hand and Delia attempts to ruin the wedding and take Charlotte’s baby, as well.

Filled with drama and treachery, The Old Maid offers an entertaining way to burn an hour and a half. While this is not the favorite of mine in this set, I did enjoy watching it and would again. Of course, it’s hard to knock any Bette Davis movie, especially in the beginning of her career. Still, this one is especially nice.

All This, And Heaven Too (1940)
All This, And Heaven Too is a tragic love story of sorts that has Davis playing a role that we seldom see her play. The sweet, caring Henriette Deluzy-Desportes (Bette Davis) is a governess with a heart of gold. When she is hired to care for the Duc (Charles Boyer) and Duchesse de Praslin’s (Barbara O’Neil) children she has no idea that she will grow to love the Duc and to despise the crazy Duchesse who cares only for herself and her obsession with her husband, not her children. Trapped in a no-win situation, Henriette has to try and ignore the love she feels in order to concentrate on the kids, offering them the mother that they do not have. However, when the Duchesse blows her top and things go dark things will only get worse. Seeing the Duc as a suspect is easy, but hearing the shocking news that Henriette is a more than willing accomplice who becomes portrayed as a husband stealing harlot, is shocking.

All This, And Heaven Too was definitely one of my favorites in the bunch. It was nice to see Davis in a role that wasn’t her normal style. It’s worth mentioning that O’Neil (as annoying as she was) was in top form, as well. It’s hard to watch her performance and not want to kill her, too. Together the performances of Boyer and Davis make me long for the days of old Hollywood when stars could act and passion was nothing more than a look, a gentle touch, and the occasional path to madness as we see here. This is a fabulous movie and as I hadn’t seen it before, I am so glad that it was placed in this set.

The Great Lie (1941)
Just like the tagline says, sometimes there is a great penalty for telling the truth. Pete (George Brent) fell in love and married Sandra (Mary Astor) only to discover that their marriage is not valid because Sandra has not been divorced from a previous marriage. Moving on, Pete goes back to old flame and former fiancée, Maggie (Davis) and gets married to her. Little does Pete know that Sandra is carrying his child! When Pete flies to South America and the plane crashes everyone assumes he is dead. When Maggie finds out she approaches Sandra to buy the right to adopt her and Pete’s baby. However, when Pete returns from the plane crash and South America there are two girls waiting there to fight for him and his baby.

The Great Lie offers another fabulous movie for this set. Mary Astor was given the Best Supporting Actress win for her role. Likewise, Brent and Davis did an excellent job. As with most of these films, there is plenty of drama, some shocking moments, and plenty of entertainment. This is definitely one of those movies that I will watch more than once due to the captivating performances given by all.

In This Our Life (1942)
Stanley Timberlake (Davis) is a bored socialite akin to a prettier, smarter Paris Hilton. With little to amuse her and boredom around every corner, Stanley only wants what someone else has. Keeping this in mind, Stanley dumps her fiancé Craig (George Brent) and runs off with her sister, Roy’s (Olivia de Havilland) husband, Peter (Dennis Morgan). Unfortunately, Stanley sucks the life out of her husband and he resorts to suicide as a means of escape.

When Stanley returns to Richmond she is devastated to see that Roy and Craig are now planning to get married and there is nothing that she can do to break them up. As things progress, Stanley’s ugliest colors begin to show. This is seen most apparently when she pins a car accident (hit and run) on a young black boy, Parry Clay (Ernest Anderson) who is a family friend and works with Craig, in order to take the heat off of herself.

Davis is in true form as the selfish bitch, Stanley. Any movie with Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel (she plays Minerva Clay, Parry’s mother) is a treat. Like with All This and Heaven, Too, this is definitely one of my favorites in this set. You won’t want to miss this especially if you’re a Davis fan. She’s so despicable you will want to punch her and those are really the best Davis movies!

Watch on the Rhine (1943)
Sara (Davis) and Kurt Muller (Paul Lukas) have what seems to be the perfect life. Living overseas in Europe, the couple raise their three children who are all well behaved and proper. The Mullers need to return to Sara’s family home in Washington DC after Sara has been away nearly 20 years. When they return home they encounter a Romanian Count (George Coulouris) that is a Nazi sympathizer who has it out for the Mullers, even before he knows why. When the Count learns that the Mullers work for the anti-Nazi movement in Germany he tries to blackmail Kurt. It is up to Kurt to stop the Count from becoming a problem before heading back to Germany to help the movement. As the movie progresses we see Sara’s distress as it will soon be time to send her eldest son to also help the movement and their cause.

Paul Lukas won the Best Actor Oscar for his role here and with good reason. While films that were plays first can be a bit too rigid, Watch on the Rhine ends up being one of the better films here. The acting is excellent and the film is solid from start to finish.

Deception (1946)
Christine Radcliffe (Davis) is a musician with a love for the musical arts. She is in love with Karel Novak (Paul Henreid), an amazing cellist. While she thought that he was killed in the war, she later discovers that he is alive. Unfortunately, in the time she thought that he was dead she picked up another lover, composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains). When she learns that Novak is alive she insists that they become married as she simply cannot wait! Though it doesn’t make sense to Novak that Christine has done so well over the years, he loves her and agrees to marry her. Hollenius offers Novak the spot in a concert of his, and tells Christine that he is going to reveal the truth about them, using the opportunity of the concert to torture her in any way he can. The question then becomes, what is Christine going to do about it, and will Karel stand by her when she’s finished?

There isn’t a bad movie in this set, which makes it one of the better ones released by Warner Bros, or anyone else for that matter. Generally, a set like this will include one or two movies that fall flat, but that isn’t the case here. Of course, with this time period and the actress in question they really would have had to work hard to make that happen.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
While I would normally do sound and video individually for each movie, in this case I really do not see any need for that. All of the visual aspects are presented with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. All films are black and white and are absolutely gorgeous. There is little to no grain, the films are sharp, and the detail is meticulous. I couldn’t have been happier with this if they were made this year. The cleanup job on these was excellent and it really shows in the final product.

When it comes to sound, the films offer Dolby Digital Mono. I did not notice a single problem with the sound. Everything was clear and sounded fabulous. I did not have to play with the volume, the musical moments were full-bodied and dynamic, and the dialogue was perfect. I wish that all DVDs came out looking and sounding like this. It certainly would make my job and life a lot easier.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
There are so many special features in this set that it could be hard to determine where to begin. I will start by saying that each DVD has plenty of features to keep any Davis fan happy. Many of the DVDs offer similar features so I will go through the similar options first and then fill you in on DVD specifics.

All of the DVDs offer their original theatrical trailers. All DVDs also offer one other theatrical trailer for other movies that were made at the time. Those trailers include Confessions of a Nazi Spy, Dr. Ehlrich’s Magic Bullet, The Strawberry Blonde, Desperate Journey, Mission to Moscow, and A Stolen Life.

Every DVD offers vintage newsreels. Each newreel lasts between a little over a minute to a little over seven minutes. Each reel discusses a different topic. Among the reels include topics about a beauty pageant in Venice Beach (1939), Davis and Mickey Rooney accepting crowns to become King and Queen of Hollywood (1940), a trip to Ciro’s nightclub to watch the stars mingle, a showing of the stars that rallied around the war movement, the preparation of the bombing of Hamburg, and a reel that shows how frozen dinners were produced by Long Island Chefs.

Commentaries are available for All This, And Heaven Too, In This Our Life, Watch on the Rhine, and Deception. There are several Porky Pig cartoons spread throughout the movies including, “The Film Fan”, “Kristopher Kolumbus Jr.”, “Porky’s Last Stand”, “Porky’s Pooch”, and “Mouse Menace”. There are also a couple Daffy Duck spots, including, “Hollywood Daffy” and “The Wise Quacking Duck”.

Finally, each movie has a small selection of special featurettes or sole features that none of the other DVDs share. These are listed by movie below.

The Old Maid
“Lincoln in the White House” (20:51)
“Sword Fishing” (9:47)

All This, And Heaven Too
“Meet the Fleet” (20:17)
“Lux Radio Broadcast 12/15/1941″ (52:39): Note: This is an audio only broadcast.

The Great Lie
“At the Stroke of Twelve” (20:37)
“Kings of the Turf” (9:43)
“Polo with the Stars” (9:10)

In This Our Life
“March On, America!” (20:33)
“Spanish Fiesta” (18:53)
“Who’s Who in the Zoo” (7:09)

Watch on the Rhine
“Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra” (9:21)

Deception
“Facing Your Danger” (10:06)
“Movieland Magic” (16:24)

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
There is no doubt that Warner Bros wanted to show their pride in having Bette Davis as a part of their team. This DVD set was excellent from start to finish. The team at Warner Bros managed to pick some of her best movies and fill each DVD with tons of extras that would only enhance the viewing experience. This set comes highly recommended. Bette Davis fans will not want to miss this or the previous Bette Davis Collections put out by Warner Bros.

Overall Rating:

Technorati Tags: Movie, DVD Review, Box Set, Bette Davis, Collection, Volume Three, Warner Bros, Classic Films, Drama, Romance, Tragedy, Olivia de Havilland, George Brent, Jane Bryan, Hatte McDaniel

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