The Little Foxes (1941)

The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the deep South at the turn of the twentieth century.

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Lillian Hellman (by), Lillian Hellman (screen play)

Stars:

Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright

Nominated for 9 Oscars. Another 3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bette Davis	...	Regina Giddens
Herbert Marshall	...	Horace Giddens
Teresa Wright	...	Alexandra Giddens
Richard Carlson	...	David Hewitt
Dan Duryea	...	Leo Hubbard
Patricia Collinge	...	Birdie Hubbard
Charles Dingle	...	Ben Hubbard
Carl Benton Reid	...	Oscar Hubbard
Jessica Grayson	...	Addie (as Jessie Grayson)
John Marriott	...	Cal
Russell Hicks	...	William Marshall
Lucien Littlefield	...	Manders
Virginia Brissac	...	Mrs. Hewitt
Terry Nibert	...	Julia
Henry 'Hot Shot' Thomas	...	Harold

Storyline

The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the deep South at the turn of the 20th century. Regina Giddens née Hubbard has her daughter under her thumb. Mrs Giddens is estranged from her husband, who is convalescing in Baltimore and suffers from a terminal illness. But she needs him home, and will manipulate her daughter to help bring him back. She has a sneaky business deal that she's cooking up with her two elder brothers, Oscar and Ben. Oscar has a flighty, unhappy wife and a dishonest worm of a son. Will the daughter have to marry this contemptible cousin? Who will she grow up to be - her mother or her aunt? Or can she escape the fate of both?

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Plot Keywords:

greed | based on play | f rated | jealousy | stealing | 

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Taglines:

...the film version of the stage hit, as the ruthless beauty whose ambition spelt the doom of three men

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Features Patricia Collinge's only Oscar nominated performance.

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Goofs

When Regina returns home to find Horace in her part of the house, she clearly takes her left glove off before walking towards the staircase. Seconds later, after Horace tells her about the investment in the cotton mill, she turns around at the bottom of the staircase and takes her left glove off again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alexandra Giddens: [while riding into town] Good mornin' Harold.
Harold: [looking up from shining the sign that reads 'The Planters Trust Company / Horace Giddens / President'] Mornin' miss Ann. What does your papa write to from Baltimore?
Alexandra Giddens: He writes that he feels better Harold.
Harold: Dat's good. Write him my greetins and tell him don't worry 'bout da brass - I'm keepin' his name fine and clean.
Alexandra Giddens: Thanks, I will.
Harold: Mm-mmm, those crabs'll make fine eatins Addie.
Addie: They bettah, we got high-toe company for dinner tonight.
Harold: Yum, bye ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: "Take us the foxes, The little foxes, that spoil the vines:

For our vines have tender grapes." The Song of Solomon 2:15

Little foxes have lived in all times, in all places. This family happened to live in the deep South in the year 1900.

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Connections

Featured in Five Came Back: The Price of Victory (2017)

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Soundtracks

Never Too Weary to Pray
(1941) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson
Sung off-screen by an unidentified group during the opening and closing credits

User Reviews

A fine coming-of-age drama with an instructive moral struggle at its center—but we remember Bette Davis

The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the deep South at the turn of the 20th century. Regina Giddens née Hubbard (Bette Davis) has her daughter (Teresa Wright) under her thumb. Mrs. Giddens is estranged from her husband (Herbert Marshall), who lives in Chicago and suffers from a terminal illness. But she needs him home, and will manipulate her daughter to help bring him back. She has a sneaky business deal that she's cooking up with her two elder brothers, Oscar and Ben (Carl Benton Reid and Charles Dingle). Oscar has a flighty, unhappy wife (Patricia Collinge) and a dishonest worm of a son (Dan Duryea). Will the daughter have to marry this contemptible cousin? Who will she grow up to be—her mother or her aunt? Or can she escape the fate of both?

This is the daughter's coming-of-age story, and Teresa Wright gives a good performance. But the commanding role is, of course, Bette Davis's; she dominates our memory of the film, with her fiery but subtle portrait of an evil woman. Collinge as Aunt Birdie gives a performance equal in merit to Davis's. She gives this woman a crushed soul and breaks our hearts. Marshall, with his fine voice and dignified manners, is typically appealing, understated yet impressive. Duryea is enjoyably hissable.

Gregg Toland's deep-focus, black-and-white photography is intensely satisfying throughout, no more so than in all those shots of people walking up the staircase, with the camera at the top of the stairs. The director, William Wyler, demonstrates his usual ability to bring cinematic life to stage plays. Lillian Hellman has adapted her own play, which is too heavy-handed in its leftist sentiments about money and power; but her points about greedy, selfish people are nevertheless well taken. This is a fine drama, with an instructive moral struggle at its center.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 August 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Little Foxes

Filming Locations:

Belle Helene Plantation, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min (copyright length)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1