Mr. Skeffington (1944)

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

Elizabeth von Arnim (novel)
Julius J. Epstein (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 May 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

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 and predictable complications result.

Plot Keywords:

Narcissism | 1910s | Loveless Marriage | Upper Class | 1920s

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars.

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Fanny Trellis
Claude Rains	...	Job Skeffington
Walter Abel	...	George Trellis
George Coulouris	...	Doctor Byles
Richard Waring	...	Trippy Trellis
Marjorie Riordan	...	Frances Rachel Trellis aka Young Fanny
Robert Shayne	...	MacMahon
John Alexander	...	Jim Conderley
Jerome Cowan	...	Edward Morrison
Johnny Mitchell	...	Johnny Mitchell
Dorothy Peterson	...	Manby
Peter Whitney	...	Chester Forbish
Bill Kennedy	...	Bill Thatcher
Tom Stevenson	...	Reverend Miles Hyslup
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Soames, first butler to Fanny

Runtime:

145 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:7 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved | UK:U (re-rating) (2005) | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Bette Davis was not the first choice for the role of Fanny. The part was first offered first to Merle Oberon and then to Hedy Lamarr who both turned it down.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Job trips and falls, he drops his cane down by his feet. When he retrieves the cane, it is six paces forward to pick it up.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Jim Conderley: Good evening, Soames!
Soames: Good evening, Mr. Conderley.
Jim Conderley: Afraid I'm a little early, aren't I?
Soames: Miss Trellis wasn't expecting anyone till 8 o'clock.
Jim Conderley: Well, I thought I'd come a little ahead of time; have a little chat with Miss Fanny.
Soames: Sorry, sir; she's still dressing.
Jim Conderley: All right, I'll wait.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "M*A*S*H: It Happened One Night (#4.3)" (1975)

Soundtrack:

Someone to Watch Over Me

Elizabeth's novel comes to the screen

'Mr Skeffington', by Elizabeth, came to the screen in 1944 with Claude Rains in the title role, Bette Davis as Fanny, Richard Waring as Trippy, Jerome Cowan as Edward, and others.

An absorbing and entertaining novel could only be buoyed up by the playing of Bette Davis as the self-absorbed Miss Trellis, who has no knowledge of the real world as it affects her friends and her family. Trippy's money problems mean as little to her as the attentions of her tribe of young men. Fanny losing her beauty would be her greatest calamity ...

As Job Skeffington, Trippy's understanding boss, Claude Rains adds a touch of dryness and dignity to the role. The teaming between Rains and Davis gives plenty of zip to the film and makes the whole thing hugely enjoyable - there is a tragic undercurrent to this story that both actors could carry off completely.

'Mr Skeffington' is excellent and one of those great 1940s wallows they just don't make anymore [sigh].