Mr. Skeffington

Director: Vincent Sherman

Overview

In this film, set in 1914, Bette Davis stars as vain, flighty society woman Fanny Trellis. Informed by Jewish-American financier Job Skeffington that her brother Trippy has stolen money to pay his gambling debts, Fanny marries Job, securing his promise that he won't prosecute her thieving sibling.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/14/2005
UPC:	0012569673052
Original Release:	1944
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Home Video
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	2:26:00
Sales rank:	19,388

Special Features

Closed Caption;Commentary by director Vincent Sherman; New featurette Mr. Skeffington: A Picture of Strength; Theatrical trailer; Languages: English & Fran?ais; Subtitles: English, Fran?ais & Espa?ol

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bette Davis	Fanny Trellis
Claude Rains	Job Skeffington
Walter Abel	George Trellis
George Coulouris	Dr. Byles
Richard Waring	Trippy Trellis
Marjorie Riordan	Young Fanny
Robert Shayne	MacMahon
John Alexander	Jim Conderley
Jerome Cowan	Edward Morrison
Charles Drake	Johnny Mitchell
Dorothy Peterson	Manby
Peter Whitney	Chester Forbish
Bill Kennedy	Thatcher
Tom Stevenson	Rev. Hyslup
Halliwell Hobbes	Soames, Fanny's 1st Butler
Walter Kingsford	Dr. Melton
Gigi Perreau	Young Fanny at Age 25
Bunny Sunshine	Young Fanny at 5
Dolores Gray	Singer
Molly Lamont	Miss Morris, Secretary
Sylvia Arslan	Young Fanny at Age 10
Harry C. Bradley	The Rector
Creighton Hale	Casey, Employee
Ann Doran	Marie, Nursemaid
Georgia Caine	Mrs. Newton
Lelah Tyler	Mrs. Forbish
Mary Field	Mrs. Hyslup
Regina Wallace	Mrs. Conderly
Bess Flowers	Mrs. Thatcher
Edward Fielding	Justice of the Peace
Vera Lewis	Justice's Wife
Erskine Sanford	Dr. Fawcette
Cyril Ring	Perry Lanks
Crane Whitley	Louie, Speakeasy Owner
Matt McHugh	Drunk
Will Stanton	Drunk
Saul Gorss	Plainclothesman
Ann Codee	French Modiste
Jack George	Henri
Dagmar Oakland	Woman
William Forrest	Clinton, Fanny's 2nd Butler
John Vosper	Artist
Janet Barrett	Witness
Frances Sage	Skeffington's First Secretary
Minerva Urecal	Woman in Beauty Shop
Joe Devlin	Boat Employee
Richard Erdman	Western Union Boy
Johnny Mitchell	Johnny Mitchell
Franz Waxman	Composer

Technical Credits

Julius J. Epstein

Julius J. Epstein	Screenwriter,Screenwriter,Producer,Producer
James Leicester	Special Effects
Jack Warner	Executive Producer
Robert B. Lee	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Credits [:59]
2. Suitors Three [4:53]
3. Trippy's Little Killing [2:57]
4. Mr. Skeffington [5:19]
5. Letting It Ride [5:22]
6. No Flowers [5:06]
7. Office Visit [4:11]
8. Onrush of War [2:28]
9. Unknown Admirer [3:51]
10. Newlyweds [6:14]
11. Trippy's Outburst [3:54]
12. Despising Mrs. Skeffington [3:19]
13. Patient Men [3:49]
14. Face In The Newsreel [2:29]
15. Pregnant and Fearful [5:24]
16. Young Fanny [3:31]
17. Tragic News [:05]
18. Macmahon's Lady [5:02]
19. Gin Joint Encounter [5:01]
20. Divorce [3:25]
21. Our Daughter [2:57]
22. Hard To Explain [4:17]
23. Through The Years [5:07]
24. Home From Abroad [3:30]
25. Diphtheria Strikes [3:26]
26. Staring Eyes [3:26]
27. Breakfast Company [5:51]
28. Doctor's Advice [2:57]
29. Gathering Of Old Friends [4:34]
30. Faces Of Change [3:25]
31. Hollow Enshrinement [3:21]
32. Falling Out With Edward [2:27]
33. Goodbye, Mother [5:54]
34. All Alone [4:07]
35. Her Last Chance [2:34]
36. Beautiful and Loved [5:06]

Menu

Side #1 --
Play Movie
Scene Selections
Special Features
Commentary by Director Vincent Sherman
Mr. Skeffington: A Picture of Strength
Theatrical Trailer
Languages
Spoken Languages
English
Subtitles
English
Français
Español
Subtitles: Off
warnervideo.com

Editorial Reviews

Scripted by Philip Epstein and Julius Epstein form the novel by "Elizabeth," Bette Davis ages from beautiful New York coquette to a ravaged and chastened 50-year-old in the epic melodrama Mr. Skeffington (1944). Fearless about playing unlikable leads, Davis's Fanny Trellis Skeffington is an unstinting narcissist who cares only about the validation of her beauty by increasingly younger men. Photographed by Ernest Haller and costumed by Orry-Kelly to initially look her glamorous best, Davis ends up an over-made up gargoyle after Fanny's illness; fleeting close-ups of Fanny's ruined face reveal enough without lingering over her ugliness. As her rich husband Job, Claude Rains conveys his undying adoration for Fanny with masterful subtlety, lending quiet credence to his assertion that "a woman is beautiful only when she is loved." One of the first films to deal with anti-Semitism and Nazism, Job's Judaism makes him a less "suitable" match for socialite Fanny c. 1915; his concentration camp experience leaves him at Fanny's newly discovered mercy decades later. Smoothly directed by Vincent Sherman, Mr. Skeffington resulted in Davis's seventh Best Actress Oscar nomination, and a Supporting Actor nod for Rains. 20 minutes cut for time in 1944 were restored for the home video release.