The Old Maid
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Old Maid | |
|---|---|
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| 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 January 31, 1945 |
| Running time | 95 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie 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). Delia and Clem Spender (George Brent) were engaged, when he goes away for two years. He returns to find Delia about to marry a wealthy man named Joe Ralston (Jerome Cowan). Delia rejects Clem and goes forward with her wedding, and Charlotte comforts Clem as she has always loved him. He returns to fighting in the war, after promising to marry Charlotte upon his return, but is killed. Charlotte discovers that she is pregnant with his child and to avoid the shame of unmarried motherhood, feigns illness and flees to the West to give birth to her baby, a girl she names Tina, short of Clementina.
After the war, Charlotte returns to Philadelphia and opens an orphanage. By this time, Delia has two children with her husband Joe, and Charlotte becomes engaged to Joe's brother Jim. On her wedding day, Charlotte reveals to Delia that one of the children in the orphanage is her own illegitimate daughter, Tina. Delia prevents Jim Ralston from marrying Charlotte by telling him that she is in poor health. Charlotte initially thinks he didn't marry her because Delia told him about her illegitimate child, but later finds out the lie that Delia had told Jim. This act causes an estrangement between the cousins, but when Joe is killed in an accident, Delia asks Charlotte and Tina move in with her 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 calls her "Mummy," while she calls Charlotte her aunt.
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 resent 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. The resentment between the cousins reached its peak, when Charlotte bitterly states to Delia, that both Clem and Tina have always loved Delia than they did Charlotte. Delia tells Tina that Charlotte had made a sacrifice by giving up on marrying, because her husband-to-be didn't want to raise Tina. So per Delia's instructions, Tina should kiss Charlotte last when she is about to depart with her new husband.
After the wedding, Tina, following Delia's instructions, kisses Charlotte last when she leaves with her husband. Touched by this act, she is finally happy. She takes her cousin Delia's hand and both of them go inside the house, no longer as adversaries.
