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By
NICK ZEGARAC
Bette Davis took home the
Best Actress Oscar for her performance as spoiled
Southern belle Julie Marsden in "Jezebel." More
than anything, Julie wants to be loved. But her
mean spirit and fiery desire seem to destroy her
only chances for happiness. When Julie arrives at
a debutante ball wearing a harlot-red gown amongst
the virginal white ladies of the evening, she
humiliates and alienates her rich lawyer beaux,
Preston Dillard (Henry Fonda).
Throughout the course of the film Julie will try
in vain to win back Preston's love, a dream that
is shattered when Preston retreats to the North,
only to return on the arm of Molly Allen (Janet
Shaw) -- his wife. Engorged by jealous rage, Julie
attempts to instill jealousy in her old friend,
Buck Cantrell (George Brent), but his feeble
attempt to pistol duel his way to her honor
results in his own death. Then yellow fever hits
and the South begins to fall down around Julie's
ankles.
Davis is superb and she is supported by a stellar
cast of character actors, topped off by Faye
Bainter, as her sympathetic aunt. This film really
stirred the breeze in 1936. It also killed
whatever small chance Bette Davis may have had to
play Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone with the Wind." This
is no "Gone with the Wind" but, as told by
director William Wyler, it's a finely crafted
melodrama and a tour de force for Davis. So
where's the problem?
In the transfer: Warner doesn't give us much to
hope for. Like "Dark Victory" this DVD is riddled
with artifacts and digital compression problems
that leave most of the image looking excessively
harsh and grainy. The audio is mono but nicely
balanced. Black levels are good but the grayscale
seems to be lacking -- too much middle range and
not enough high and low end balance so that
everything registers a dismal gray rather than a
vibrant silvery spectrum of lights and darks.
There are no extras. |
