A young socialite is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, and must decide whether she'll meet her final days with dignity.
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Title: Dark Victory (1939)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Bette Davis | ... | ||
| George Brent | ... | ||
| Humphrey Bogart | ... | ||
| Geraldine Fitzgerald | ... | ||
| Ronald Reagan | ... | ||
| Henry Travers | ... |
Dr. Parsons
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Cora Witherspoon | ... |
Carrie
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Dorothy Peterson | ... |
Miss Wainwright
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Virginia Brissac | ... |
Martha
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Charles Richman | ... |
Colonel Mantle
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| Herbert Rawlinson | ... |
Dr. Carter
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Leonard Mudie | ... |
Dr. Driscoll
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Fay Helm | ... |
Miss Dodd
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Lottie Williams | ... |
Lucy
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Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
Storyline
Judith Traherne is at the height of young society when Dr. Frederick Steele diagnoses a brain tumor. After surgery she falls in love with Steele. The doctor tells her secretary that the tumor will come back and eventually kill her. Learning this, Judith becomes manic and depressive. Her horse trainer Michael, who loves her, tells her to get as much out of life as she can. She marries Steele who intends to find a cure for her illness. As he goes off to a conference in New York failing eyesight indicates to Judith that she is dying. Written by Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Taglines:
"I've Crammed EVERY MINUTE SO FULL of waste. And now there's so little time. I don't know what to do. I'm afraid!"Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
22 April 1939 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Opfer einer großen Liebe See more »Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
MonoColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
Michael O'Leary: [on the phone] Hello, there. Is this the house? I've been trying to get you.
See more »
(1939) (uncredited)
Music by Edmund Goulding
Lyrics by Elsie Janis
Sung by Vera Van
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Based on a play that opened at the Plymouth Theatre in New York on Nov. 9, 1934 (with Tallulah Bankhead originating the role of Judith Traherne) and ran for 51 performances. See more »Goofs
When George Brent and Henry Travers are discussing Judith's prognosis based on her "pathological reports"; Henry Travers describes the blindness she will suffer just before death as amblyopia. Amblyopia is the loss or lack of development of central vision in one eye that is unrelated to any eye health problem and is not correctable with glasses. It usually develops before the age of six and is not related to cancer. It is sometimes thought to be "lazy eye" but that is actually more correctly called strabismus. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Michael O'Leary: [on the phone] Hello, there. Is this the house? I've been trying to get you.
See more »
Soundtracks
OH, GIVE ME TIME FOR TENDERNESS(1939) (uncredited)
Music by Edmund Goulding
Lyrics by Elsie Janis
Sung by Vera Van
See more »
Judith is a wealthy Long Island society girl given to a dizzy lifestyle… Self-assured of her affluence and her faculty over men, she is unprepared for tragedy, which strikes in the form of a brain tumor… The underlying bravery and courage with which she faces this physical suffering eventually demonstrates the woman of substance that she is…
Among her friends is Ann King (Fitzgerald), her secretary, and handsome young Alex Hamm (Reagan), who directs her toward brain specialist Dr. Frederick Steele (Brent). The doctor diagnoses her illness as one which will end her life within a year… Judith falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage… When she discovers that her tumor is calamitous, she rejects the doctor's proposal considering it an act with compassion…
Davis provides scene after scene with the special magic only she was able of bringing vividly…
Swept into the current of events was Bogart playing an Irish horse trainer, who fails in an attempt to make love to her, yet encourages her to enjoy her time with her true love, George Brent…
The film was remade in 1963 as "Stolen Hours" with Susan Hayward, and as a 1976 TV movie under its original title with Elizabeth Montgomery…