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IMDbPro

Mr. Skeffington

  • 19441944
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 26m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
Theatrical Trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures
Play trailer2:49
1 Video
31 Photos
DramaMusicRomance
Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement char... Read allPopular and beautiful Fanny Trellis is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge.Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis is forced into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
    • Vincent Sherman
    • Julius J. Epstein(screen play)
    • Philip G. Epstein(screen play)
    • Elizabeth von Arnim(from a story by)
  • Stars
    • Bette Davis
    • Claude Rains
    • Walter Abel
    • Vincent Sherman
    • Julius J. Epstein(screen play)
    • Philip G. Epstein(screen play)
    • Elizabeth von Arnim(from a story by)
  • Stars
    • Bette Davis
    • Claude Rains
    • Walter Abel
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 107User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars

    Videos1

    Mr. Skeffington
    Trailer 2:49
    Watch Mr. Skeffington

    Photos31

    Bette Davis and Claude Rains in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis, John Alexander, Jerome Cowan, and Peter Whitney in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis and Johnny Mitchell in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis and Claude Rains in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis and Robert Shayne in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis and Marjorie Riordan in Mr. Skeffington (1944)
    Bette Davis and Claude Rains in Mr. Skeffington (1944)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bette Davis
    Bette Davis
    • Fanny Trellis Skeffington
    Claude Rains
    Claude Rains
    • Job Skeffington
    Walter Abel
    Walter Abel
    • George Trellis
    George Coulouris
    George Coulouris
    • Doctor Byles
    Richard Waring
    Richard Waring
    • Trippy Trellis
    Marjorie Riordan
    • Fanny, Jr.
    Robert Shayne
    Robert Shayne
    • MacMahon
    John Alexander
    John Alexander
    • Jim Conderley
    Jerome Cowan
    Jerome Cowan
    • Edward Morrison
    Johnny Mitchell
    Johnny Mitchell
    • Johnny Mitchell
    Dorothy Peterson
    Dorothy Peterson
    • Manby
    Peter Whitney
    Peter Whitney
    • Chester Forbish
    Bill Kennedy
    Bill Kennedy
    • Bill Thatcher
    Ann Codee
    Ann Codee
    • French Modiste
    • (scenes deleted)
    Antonio Filauri
    • Modiste
    • (scenes deleted)
    Fred Aldrich
    Fred Aldrich
    • Speakeasy Bouncer
    • (uncredited)
    Sylvia Arslan
    • Fanny at Age 10
    • (uncredited)
    Sam Ash
    Sam Ash
    • Minor Role
    • (uncredited)
      • Vincent Sherman
      • Julius J. Epstein(screen play)
      • Philip G. Epstein(screen play)
      • Elizabeth von Arnim(from a story by)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      At the time, most Warner Brothers "A" features had a 30-day shooting schedule. This film took 110 days. When Jack L. Warner sent (Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein) a note inquiring why the picture was behind schedule, their tersely humorous reply was, "Bette Davis is a slow director."
    • Goofs
      As a measure of the progression of time, a newspaper headline flashes President Warren G. Harding's Washington Disarmament Conference of 1921-22, and stock footage shows the U.S. Capitol Dome with 1940s-era taxicabs pouring up Pennsylvania Avenue.
    • Quotes

      Job Skeffington: [to Fanny, when she reprimands him for being unfaithful] You mustn't be too harsh on my secretaries. They were always very understanding when I came to the office after a hard day at home.

    • Alternate versions
      Some prints of "Mr. Skeffington" run 127 minutes. The film was cut from 146 minutes immediately after its world premiere run in New York City in 1944, and the cut footage was considered "lost" until the 1988 home video release from MGM/UA restored the film to its original length.
    • Connections
      Featured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)
    • Soundtracks
      Moonlight Bay
      (1912) (uncredited)

      Music by Percy Wenrich

      Played on board the ship

    User reviews107

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    . . . And for Bette Davis' 8th Oscar Nomination, Fanny Skeffington
    It's the 1920's, in New York, when Fanny Trellis (Bette Davis) marries into a loveless marriage--to one of many gentlemen friends of hers, Job Skeffington (Claude Rains), an older, well-off, Jewish banker. Why would the most beautiful, seductive & most sought after lady in town do such a thing? To rescue her little brother, Trippy (Richard Waring), from an embezzlement trial. Yes, for Mr. Skeffington's money; but, not for herself.

    While she's married, the flamboyant & beautiful seducer of many men suitors is proposed to over & over again. There's no secrecy about it as, one by one, man after man leaves Fanny's upstairs bedroom frustrated & dejected after proposing to the married woman & being repeatedly denied. As Mr. Skeffington shows each of them in & out of his (& her) home's front door, sometimes even drinking with them while they wait in line to propose to his gorgeous wife, he shows remarkable restraint, the utmost patience & total self-confidence. This is Claude Rains, the consummate gentleman.

    Because of Fanny's seductive beauty power & the scenes with male suitors who keep calling upon her after she's married, the movie is a melo-comedy. Subtly so. However, towards the end, as age & illness become central elements in the Skeffington's marriage, you'll learn why it's also a fabulous romance perfectly portrayed by Davis & Rains: a tear-jerker. Rains is one of the few actors from whom Davis couldn't steal the show! He held his own in "Now, Voyager" (1942) as Dr. Jaquith, the instrumental clever psychiatrist who brought the immortalized Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) out of her (s)mothered shell. As Mr. Skeffington, Claude Rains holds his own lead quite admirably well & for it was nominated to receive the 1945 Oscar as Best Supporting Actor. Davis & Rains make quite a marvelous on screen pair. Both of their voices, accents & speech patterns are classy & mesmerizing in this movie.
    helpful•43
    10
    • semioticz
    • Oct 18, 2007

    FAQ1

    • PORTRAIT?

    Details

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    • Release date
      • August 12, 1944 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 26 minutes
      • Black and White

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