In This Our Life (1942) or, Sisterhood Be Damned!

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Serene and lovely, a classical poster for John Huston and Raoul Walsh's In This Our Life

With outspoken and devil-may-care attitude Virginian Stanley ruins her sister's coming marriage by eloping with her man to be. But that life doesn't last.

In This Our Life is written by Howard Koch (The 13th Letter (1951)), adapting the same-titled 1941 novel by Ellen Glasgow (Virginia (1913)), and directed by Missourian master filmmaker John Huston (The Maltese Falcon (1941)), whose 2nd film it was, with uncredited co-direction from great New-Yorker filmmaker Raoul Walsh (The Regeneration (1915)).

A gloriously directed melodrama with pristine images (remastered to crisp perfection, cinematography by Ernest Haller (The 3rd Voice (1960))), and Bette Davis (All About Eve (1950)) in a performance of unbridled recklessness, which still today stands as utterly relevant as a portrayal of that type of person who only take themselves into consideration and always disregard those who might get in their way.

Olivia de Havilland (Gone with the Wind (1939)) is fine as the 'good sister', and so are the male actors, and the film is also esteemed by a race angle to its story, since Stanley is also willing to destroy her black help's life in order to be free.

 

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Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 713k $

Box office: 2.7 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 3.78 times its cost)

[In This Our Life premiered 7 May (New York) and runs 97 minutes. Warner Bros. paid 40k $ for the film rights to Glasgow's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, and Koch toned down the risqué topical material (incest and racism) to suit the censorship. Shooting took place from October - December 1941 in California. Davis fought costume, hair, make-up and other involved departments during production and disliked the script, later declaring herself "disgusted" by the outcome, which she deemed  "phony film". De Havilland reportedly carried on an affair with Huston during shooting. It is the 3rd of 6 that the female co-stars appeared in together. America's entrance in WWII, due to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7 1941, pulled Huston away from filming at the behest of the US Department of War, and Walsh was put in charge of direction at the late stage, seemingly finishing the film for his 20 years younger colleague. The Office of Censorship 'disapproved' the film for foreign distribution due to its truthful depiction of racial discrimination (the black character's legal testimony is deemed ineffectual simply due to his race), but the film was somehow released abroad nevertheless: It grossed 1.6 mil. $ (59.3 % of the total gross) in North America. It won 3 National Board of Review awards. Huston returned with Winning Your Wings (1942, short) and theatrically with Across the Pacific (1942); Walsh with Desperate Journey (1942). Davis returned in Now, Voyager (1942); and De Havilland in Thank You Lucky Stars (1943). 5.4k+ IMDb users have given In This Our Life a 7.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of In This Our Life?

A Star Is Born (1937) - The Hollywood melodrama landmark

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The rising star and her moody husband stand out on this colorful poster for William A. Wellman's A Star Is Born

A sincere, good country girl has only a single thing on her mind: Hollywood. That magical place, where a person becomes a celebrated star. But when she pursues her dream, she learns that indeed very many share that very same dream. Her success comes nonetheless, (as the title indicates), but her worries do not end for that reason.

A Star Is Born is a wonderful story, and its description of the hard-elbowed, unusually tough movie business is still incisive.
The acting is excellent; Janet Gaynor's face is a perfect mold for the melodrama deluxe that takes place here, and Lionel Stander (New York, New York (1977)) has a marvelous role as a cynical PR-agent.
A Star Is Born is a first-rate romantic melodrama with an early Hollywood portrayal of alcoholism and a fine morale about loyalty, being true to one's feelings and coming back after a terrible loss.
It is directed by William A. Wellman (The Public Enemy (1931)), with uncredited sequences directed by Jack Conway (Saratoga (1937)) and Victor Fleming (Captain Courageous (1937)), and written by Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell (Suzy (1936), both) and Robert Carson (Western Union (1941)), with producer David O. Selznick (Dracula's Daughter (1936)), Ben Hecht (Cleopatra (1963)), Ring Lardner Jr. (Laura (1944)), John Lee Mahin (Test Pilot (1938)), Budd Schulberg (Nothing Sacred (1937)) and Adela Rogers St. Johns (The Red Kimona (1925)) contributing uncredited writing.

 

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Watch the original trailer here

Budget: 1.1 mil. $
Box office: 2 mil. $ (North America only)
= Box office success (returned 1.81 times its cost in North America alone)

[A Star Is Born premiered 22 April (Los Angeles) and runs 111 minutes. The story was reportedly inspired by Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay's marriage and upon John Bowers. Fredric March (Bedtime Story (1941)) was paid 125k $ for his performance. Shooting took place from October - December 1936 in California, including Los Angeles. The film had reportedly turned a profit of 181k $ by the end of 1939. It was nominated for 7 Oscars, including the first ever nomination of a color film as Best Picture. It won Best Writing, Original Story and an honorary Oscar for cinematographer W. Howard Greene (Night in Paradise (1946)) for the film's color photography. It lost Best Actor (March) to Spencer Tracy in Captain Courageous, Actress (Gaynor) to Luise Rainer for The Good Earth, Assistant Director to In Old Chicago, Director to Leo McCarey for The Awful Truth, and Writing, Screenplay and Picture to The Life of Emile Zola. It also won a National Board of Review award. It has been remade theatrically 3 times with the same title, in 1954, 1976 and in 2018. It has fallen into public domain and can be seen and downloaded free and legally right here. Wellman returned with Nothing Sacred (1937). March returned in Nothing Sacred; Gaynor in The Young in Heart (1938). A Star Is Born is fresh at 100 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of A Star Is Born?