Mr. Skeffington (1944)

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

Julius J. Epstein (screenplay) &
Philip G. Epstein (screenplay) ...
(more)

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:

Embezzlement | Suitor | Loveless Marriage | Jewish | Brother Sister Relationship

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Aldrich	...	Speakeasy Bouncer (uncredited)
Sylvia Arslan	...	Fanny (at age 10) (uncredited)
Janet Barrett	...	Witness (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley	...	Rector (uncredited)
Georgia Caine	...	Mrs. Newton (uncredited)
Wallis Clark	...	Clubman (uncredited)
Ann Codee	...	French Modiste (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Joe Devlin	...	Boat Employee (uncredited)
Ann Doran	...	Maria, a nursemaid (uncredited)
Helen Eby-Rock	...	Woman in Cafe (uncredited)
Richard Erdman	...	Western Union Boy (uncredited)
Edward Fielding	...	Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Mary Field	...	Mrs. Penelope Hyslup (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Mrs. Thatcher (uncredited)
William Forrest	...	Clinton, second butler to Fanny (uncredited)
Jack George	...	Henri (uncredited)
Sol Gorss	...	Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Casey, an employee (uncredited)
Hans Herbert	...	(uncredited)
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Soames, the Trellis's first butler (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Man in Skeffington's Office (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Cop in Speakeasy Raid (uncredited)
Andrea King	...	Dr. Byles' Nurse (uncredited)
Isabel La Mal	...	Woman in Cafe (uncredited)
Vera Lewis	...	Wife of Justice of the Peace (uncredited)
Michael Mark	...	Fanny's beautician (uncredited)
Matt McHugh	...	Drunk (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Edmund Mortimer	...	Nightclub Extra (uncredited)
Jack Mower	...	Man in Skeffington's Office (uncredited)
Dagmar Oakland	...	Woman (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Perry Lanks (uncredited)
Frances Sage	...	Skeffington's first secretary (uncredited)
Erskine Sanford	...	Dr. Fawcette (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	One of Fanny's Admirers (uncredited)
Will Stanton	...	Sid Lapham, Drunk (uncredited)
Lelah Tyler	...	Mrs. Forbish (uncredited)
Minerva Urecal	...	Woman in beauty shop (uncredited)
John Vosper	...	Artist (uncredited)
Regina Wallace	...	Mrs. Audrey Newton Conderley (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Henri's Assistant Beautician (uncredited)
Crane Whitley	...	Louis, the speakasy owner (uncredited)

Directed by
Vincent Sherman

Writing credits
Julius J. Epstein		(screenplay) &
Philip G. Epstein		(screenplay)
Elizabeth von Arnim		(story) (as Elizabeth)

Produced by
Julius J. Epstein	....	producer
Philip G. Epstein	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman
Paul Dessau		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Ernest Haller		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Dawson

Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas		(as Robert Haas)

Set Decoration by
Fred M. MacLean

Costume Design by
Orry-Kelly		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist
Margaret Donovan	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Kissell	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Robert B. Lee	....	sound

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Leonid Raab	....	orchestral arranger

Other crew
James Leicester	....	montages

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros.-First National Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1944) (USA) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

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 | Australia:G | Australia:PG (Cable TV rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #9762) | 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:

Factual errors: The image of the battleship turning over in the newsreel scene is that of the Viribus Unitus, which sunk during the closing days of World War One, rather than before America's entry into the war, as discussed in the newsreel

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:

Featured in Mr. Skeffington: A Picture of Strength (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

It Had to Be You

Excellent Warner Brothers meller!

"Mr. Skeffington" is one of the great Hollywood melodramas. Bette Davis has the showy role in this epic story of a troubled relationship, but it's Claude Rains as her Jewish husband who jerks the tears. Bette is all mannerisms and makeup - and there's nothing wrong with that! - but Rains gives a subtle, weighty performance that anchors the movie.

This is Warner Brothers at its most elegant. The Franz Waxman score is superb and the way he punctuates Bette's eye-blinking is hilarious.

The magnificent singer/actress Dolores Gray made her first film appearance in this film as a 1920s speakeasy chanteuse. Bette acknowledges what a beautiful voice she has in a moment that hasn't really anything to do with the scene, but the divine Dolores deserves the comment. In case you don't know who she is, check out her own film career 10 years later in her MGM films such as "It's Always Fair Weather."

Bette's aging makeup presages her work in "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?"

You won't want to miss "Mr. Skeffington." Bette's flamboyance and Rains' gravitas make this film totally enjoyable.