The Old Maid
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| The Old Maid | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Edmund Goulding |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis Henry Blanke |
| Written by | Casey Robinson |
| Starring | Bette Davis Miriam Hopkins George Brent Donald Crisp |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Tony Gaudio |
| Editing by | George Amy |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  August 16, 1939 (premiere)September 2 (wide)  January 10, 1940 March 26 November 17 November 31, 1945 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | U.S.A. |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Old Maid is a 1939 romantic drama film, produced by Warner Brothers.
It was directed by Edmund Goulding, and stars Bette Davis, Miriam Hopkins, George Brent, Donald Crisp, Jane Bryan, James Stephenson, Jerome Cowan, William Lundigan and Louise Fazenda.
The musical score was composed by Max Steiner and the film feautured costumes by Orry-Kelly.
Based on an Edith Wharton novel it was adapted into a Pulitzer Prize winning play by Zoe Akins which was performed on Broadway in 1935 with Judith Anderson and Helen Menken. The screenplay was adapted by Casey Robinson. Anderson and Menken recreated their roles for a 1946 radio adaption of the play for the Theatre Guild radio program.
Set during the American Civil War, The Old Maid tells the story of two women, Charlotte Lovell (Bette Davis) and her cousin Delia (Miriam Hopkins). After Delia breaks off her engagement to Clem Spender (George Brent), Charlotte comforts him. He returns to fighting in the war, after promising to marry her upon his return, but is killed. Charlotte discovers that she is pregnant and to avoid the shame of unmarried motherhood, feigns illness and flees to Arizona to give birth to her baby, a girl she names Tina.
After the war, Charlotte returns to Philadelphia and opens an orphanage. By this time, Delia has married Joe Ralston (Jerome Cowan) and Charlotte becomes engaged to Joe's brother Jim. Delia discovers that one of the children in the orphanage is Charlotte's illegitimate daughter, Tim, and to prevent her marrying Jim Ralston, she tells him that Charlotte is in poor health. This act causes an estrangement between the cousins, but when Joe is killed in an accident, Charlotte and Tina move in with Delia and her children. Tina, unaware that Charlotte is her mother and believing herself to be an orphan, assumes the role of one of Delia's daughters, and as Delia is a respectable widow, it is decided that she should be considered as Tina's mother.
Years pass, and Tina grows into a young woman (Jane Bryan) who hopes to marry the wealthy Lanning Halsey (William Lundigan), however the match is made difficult by the stigma associated with Tina as an orphan. Still unaware that Charlotte is her mother, she begins to resents what she considers her interference in her life, and when Delia offers to formally adopt Tina, Tina accepts. Charlotte agrees reluctantly but intends to tell Tina the truth before the wedding, but finds herself unable to.
After the wedding, Tina, who regards Charlotte as her old maiden aunt, leaves to start her life with her husband. Charlotte realizes that the only way she will continue to see Tina is in her role as aunt, and that to do so she will need to remain with Delia. The film concludes with the cousins resolved to remain together, although each bitterly resents the other.
