The Old Maid (1939)

The arrival of an ex-lover on a young woman's wedding day sets in motion a chain of events which will alter her and her cousin's lives forever.

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Writers:

Casey Robinson (screen play), Zoe Akins (based on the play by: Pulitzer Prize),

Stars:

Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bette Davis	...	Charlotte Lovell
Miriam Hopkins	...	Delia Lovell
George Brent	...	Clem Spender
Donald Crisp	...	Dr. Lanskell
Jane Bryan	...	Tina
Louise Fazenda	...	Dora
James Stephenson	...	Jim Ralston
Jerome Cowan	...	Joe Ralston
William Lundigan	...	Lanning Halsey
Cecilia Loftus	...	Grandmother Lovell
Rand Brooks	...	Jim
Janet Shaw	...	Dee
William Hopper	...	John (as DeWolf Hopper)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rod Cameron	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

Delia marries Jim, not Joe After Delia breaks her engagement to Clem and marries Jim, Clem promises to marry Delia's cousin Charlotte, but he dies at the battle of Vicksburg leaving Charlotte an unwed mother. She and her daughter Tina, presumably an orphan, move in with Delia who legally adopts the girl. Charlotte watches her daughter grow up and get married, never able to claim her as her own. CORRECTION; Delia breaks her engagement to Clem, in favor of wealthy Jim. Cousin Charlotte comforts Clem, and becomes pregnant. Clem dies in the war before he can marry her, and Charlotte raises her daughter as a "foundling." When Jim's brother, Joe, falls in love with Charlotte, Delia, out of spiteful jealousy, destroys the forthcoming wedding, and eventually takes Charlotte's child from her.

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | brother | battle | romantic rivalry | maid | 

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Taglines:

Vividly, unforgettably, a woman's love starved soul is revealed. All those strange secrets she locks in her heart ... moments of rapture and of heartbreak ... longings that no man can fathom. Of these has the year's finest picture been woven!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Velha Ama

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Victor System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on October 30, 1939 with Miriam Hopkins reprising her film role.

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Goofs

The scene where Delia has come to the orphanage to speak with Charlotte, we can see Charlotte's sleeves change from rolled up to down several times within the shot.

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Quotes

Charlotte Lovell: She thinks I can't understand her. She considers me an old maid.
Delia Lovell Ralston: My dear.
Charlotte Lovell: A ridiculous, narrow-minded old maid. What else can she ever think of me?
Delia Lovell Ralston: Poor Charlotte.
Charlotte Lovell: Oh, but you needn't pity me. Because she's really mine. If she considers me an old maid, it's because I've deliberately made myself one in her eyes. I've done it from the beginning so she wouldn't have the least suspicion. I've practised everything I've ever had to say to her, if it was important, so that I'd sound like an old maid ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits are shown on facsimiles of wedding invitation cards.

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Connections

Featured in Rich in Love (1992)

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Soundtracks

"Silent Night, Holy Night"
(1818) (uncredited)
Music by Franz Gruber
Played as background music at Christmas

User Reviews

Extremely Strong Performances

Old Maid, The (1939)

*** (out of 4)

Exceptional version of the Pultzer Prize winning play has Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins making for more high-class Warner drama. In the film, Davis gets pregnant by her cousin's (Hopkins) old flame (George Brent) so instead of facing public scorn, she opens a home for children where she raises the daughter as a stranger. A few years later after the death of Hopkins' husband, she tells the girl that she's her mother while her real mother takes a place in the background and grows to be an old maid while watching her child grow up not knowing who she is. I really wasn't sure what to expect out of this film, which seems to have been partially forgotten but perhaps this is due to it being released in 1939, a year with countless great films and not to mention Davis being in three other highly popular films in DARK VICTORY, JUAREZ and THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX. This film perfectly blends the drama and makes for a very entertaining film even though some of the subject matter might hit new viewers as being old-fashioned but one much remember when this film takes place. What I enjoyed most about the movie is that many scripts would have fallen into a good guy/bad guy range. It would have been very easy to make Davis the sad, good girl while painting the Hopkins character as evil but the film isn't that easy. While you can't help but feel sorry for Davis you also can understand why Hopkins wants to protect the kid in her own way. The level of dirtiness that Hopkins sinks to will certainly make people hate her but you can also put some of that to the side when you really think about what's best for the kid. Both Davis and Hopkins turn in excellent performances as both really sink their teeth into the roles. The aging make up effects really don't work but I'm curious if this was because neither actress wanted to be buried under all the make up. George Brent is impressive in his small role as is Donald Crisp as the caring doctor. Considering what all 1939 had going for it, it's easy to see why this film has been overlooked but it's certainly worth checking out and deserve a new group of fans.