Dark Victory (1939)
Dark Victory was released in 1939, considered Hollywood’s best year in filmaking. This film is a hoot. Bette Davis plays a dying socialite who has everything except her health. She’s obviously the star of the film. She has moments of vulnerablitity but overall she’s a diva with huge expressive eyes smoking and drinking.
Bland but good actor George Brent plays her doctor/love interest. Humphrey Bogart is out of place. Ronald Reagan is a loveable drunk. Beautiful Geradine Fitzgerald plays Davis’ best friend. While Davis steals the whole film, it’s very obvious Fitzgerald is an excellent actress. Fitzgerald’s charm makes me want to see her other films.
Bette Davis has always been too over the top for me but she’s growing on me now that I’ve been viewing her 1930s and early 40s film. My childhood memories of her are The Nanny and Dead Ringer….pretty scary.
I’ve seen this film! A few years ago, I became interested in movies about blindness, and that’s how I learned about this one. My favorite blindness films are:
City Lights (1931)
Dark Victory (1939)
The Miracle Worker (1962)
Wait Until Dark (1967)
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
There’s one I haven’t seen called “A Patch of Blue” (1965). It sounds very interesting because it’s about a blind White woman who falls in love with a Black man, and the blind woman’s mother is racist.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve seen A Patch of Blue. It’s a good movie. Check it out.
Also check out the silent Orphans of the Storm (1921)
LikeLiked by 1 person