The Old Maid (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The old maid |
| Original title | The Old Maid |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1939 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Edmund Goulding |
| script | Casey Robinson |
| production | Hal B. Wallis |
| music | Max Steiner |
| camera | Tony Gaudio |
| cut | George Amy |
| occupation | |
| |
The Old Maid is a 1939 American drama directed by Edmund Goulding. Casey Robinson is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Zoë Akins from 1935. The story is based on the novel The Old Maid: the Fifties by Edith Wharton , first published in 1924.
action
The film takes place during the Civil War . Delia Lovell's wedding day with the wealthy Jim Ralston is disrupted by the arrival of Delia's former lover Clem Spender, who after a two-year absence is unaware of the upcoming wedding. However, Delia marries Ralston and the rejected find consolation with Delia's cousin Charlotte. Clem enrolls in the United States Army and is killed in action. A short time later, Charlotte learns that she is pregnant from Clem. In order to escape the social stigma of an illegitimate child, she travels west to secretly give birth to her child: a daughter whom she names Clementina (or "Tina" for short) in memory of Clem.
Charlotte moves to Philadelphia with Tina . There she opens a home for war orphans. She also passed off her own daughter as an orphan . In the meantime, Delia becomes a mother herself and Charlotte becomes engaged to Joe Ralston, her cousin's brother-in-law. On their wedding day, Charlotte tells Delia that Tina is her child and Clem is the father. Delia jealously prevents the upcoming wedding by telling Joe that Charlotte is in poor health. After the incident, the two cousins become estranged. When Delia's husband Jim dies in a riding accident, Delia invites Charlotte and Tina to live with her and their children. Tina, who does not know that Charlotte is her birth mother, begins with Delia, who fulfills her every wish to be called mom. Over the years she has become increasingly annoyed by the strict and embittered "Aunt" Charlotte.
Tina falls in love with the wealthy Lanning Halsey. Delia offers to formally adopt Tina in order to give her the respected Ralston name and a prominent position in society. This accepts the offer. Charlotte wants to tell her daughter the truth before the wedding, but cannot bring herself to heart. Charlotte reveals to Delia that she resents the fact that both Clem and Tina loved Delia more than herself. Delia then tells Tina that Charlotte sacrificed her own happiness by refusing to marry a man who Tina did not want to raise as his own daughter. Delia urges Tina to kiss Charlotte one last farewell before embarking on a honeymoon with her new husband. Tina agrees and gives Charlotte the last kiss before leaving the carriage.
background
Humphrey Bogart was originally slated for the role of Clem Spender, but studio boss Jack L. Warner felt he was unsuitable for the role and had him fired after two days of shooting. Bette Davis urged director Edmund Goulding and producer Hal B. Wallis to replace Bogart with George Brent, who accepted the role despite the small size. Brent had co-starred in Jezebel a year earlier , for which Davis won the Academy Award for Best Actress .
The professional relationship between the two female leading actresses was strained. Biographer Charlotte Chandler quotes Davis about working with Hopkins on The Old Maid as saying: “(...) Despite her strong southern accent, she was a charming woman. As far as professional is concerned, you just had to accept that she tried in every possible way to play the others on the wall (...) One of the antics she was particularly fond of was never looking at you when you were speaking (... ) She didn't follow the guidelines for our close-ups (...) She kept moving around on the set so that I had to turn away from the camera (...) "
Web links
- The Old Maid in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Charles Higham: The Life of Bette Davis . Publishing Company 1981. ISBN 0-02-551500-4 , pp 123-125.
- ↑ Charlotte Chandler: Bette Davis. The personal biography . LangenMüller, Munich 2006, ISBN 978-3-7844-3137-6 , pages 184-185.