The Old Maid (1939)

Davis and Brent:
Who’s Child Is This? Part One
The Old Maid (1939)
Studio: Warner Bros • 95 min B&W • AR 1.33:1 • US: 2 Sep 1939
Re-release: Warner Bros (Apr 2008)
Series: Bette Davis Collection, Vol 3 (6-DVD)
Starring: Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, Jane Bryan, George Brent, Donald Crisp
Dir: Edmund Goulding

The Old Maid isn’t just remarkable for being made in 1939* — the year of Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz — but also for being the same year Bette Davis also starred in Dark Victory, one of her most indelibly famous films. Edmund Goulding, who would turn 50 during the filming of The Great Lie, yet another Davis vehicle, directed all three. Their fourth collaboration was their first, 1937’s That Certain Woman, which paired Davis with Henry Fonda. More on Goulding later — see part two focussing on The Great Lie.

It’s the wedding day of southern belle Delia Lovell (Miriam Hopkins) who is about to marry into the socially acceptable (and wealthy) Ralston family; Jim Ralston (James Stephenson) is the lucky groom. Helping her prepare is cousin Charlotte Lovell (Bette Davis) and the ever-present kindly Dr Lanskell (Donald Crisp), a long-time friend of the family. Word suddenly arrives that Lt Clem Spender (George Brent) is coming back to town after an extended absence. Delia had been madly in love with Clem and expected to marry him; but she has settled on the more reliable Ralston fortune. Secretly, Charlotte has also been in love with Clem; she rushes to the train station to meet him, and warn him Delia is about to marry and is forever lost to him. After a brief confrontation in her wedding boudoir, Clem leaves and the wedding proceeds. Charlotte, however, provides deep comfort to Clem and, as he heads off to the civil war, she is left pregnant. To her dismay, he is killed in battle shortly after. Charlotte goes away, has the child, and returns to run an orphanage in which her own child, Clementina (Jane Bryan), is known only as a foundling.

Not long after, Delia arranges for Charlotte to marry Joseph Ralston but, when she discovers “Tina” is actually Clem’s daughter, she poisons the engagement leaving Charlotte without money or social prospects. When her own husband dies suddenly, Delia invites Charlotte and Tina to live with her. And so the secret festers over the years as Charlotte never reveals to anyone else, including Tina, that she is the real mother. Charlotte never marries and eventually it’s time for Tina to become betrothed; by formally adopting Tina, Delia arranges for a suitable marriage to handsome Lanning Halsey. On the night before the wedding, it all comes to a head: who will reveal what to whom and what will the consequences be?

Spanning almost 25 years, Davis transforms herself from debutante innocent full of spunk into a severely prim and fussy old maid, with a short stint as collective mother in an orphanage. Davis was 30 at the time of this role and never really manages to look “old” — she’s much too glamourous — but she’s very effective nonetheless. The script provides ample opportunities and conflicts for her to explore being mother, hated “aunt”, martyr, and well meaning “what’s good for you” guide for both her cousin and his daughter. But if Davis gives the better performance, it’s Miriam Hopkins who gradually transforms from grasping status seeker to mother with the knowing heart, and always putting other’s interests first.

As in other roles, Brent is his usual reliable self although he has little screen time. Donald Crisp provides a thread throughout the story, filling in as a parent figure as needed. Already in his late 50s, Crisp doesn’t manage the age transformation as well as the starring women; he seems remarkably robust, in fact, for a man allegedly in his 70s. Jane Bryan as the daughter Tina, is vivacious and youthful but hardly stands out in an otherwise strong cast. Ms Bryan had a short but promising film career, retiring in 1940 after just 18 films; she passed away only a few days ago on Apr 8, 2009 at Pebble Beach, CA.

As with other Edmund Goulding directed films, it’s the ensemble collaboration, onscreen and off, that marks the film with distinction. Max Steiner’s score, Robert Haas’ art direction and the sometimes over-fussy costumes of Orry-Kelly makes this period piece still watchable and enjoyable. If the 1860s through 1880s seems a long, long time ago to us, it’s worth remembering that, for its day, this is something like a period piece of the 1940s is to us.

The sound and print are superb. For this series, Warner has piled on extras in the form of other forgotten shorts from the year of the main film. These include cartoons, newsreels and memorable, if low budget and somewhat hokey, longer shorts. Lincoln in the White House, shot in Technicolor no less, serves up Frank McGlynn Sr, a forgotten stage and silent actor, as Lincoln (audiences of the times would still have Walter Huston’s penetrating portrayal in their mind’s eye — from Abraham Lincoln, one of DW Griffith’s few talkies). At 73, McGlynn was actually much older than the Lincoln he portrayed; McGlynn, in fact, was born only months after Lincoln was assassinated. Child star Dickie Moore plays a central role. There are no commentaries.

*1939 was a truly remarkable year for the movies as the list at this link proves.