ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO (1940)

Bette Davis played so many strong-willed, self-destructive characters that her fans often clamored for her to play someone kinder. They got their wish with this sumptuous adaptation of Rachel Field’s 1938 best-seller. As the young governess to four children of an unhappily married duke (Charles Boyer) and his mentally unstable wife (Barbara O’Neil), she is subtle and sympathetic. She brings stability and warmth to the troubled children, but when she and the duke fall in love, his wife becomes even more volatile. Warner Bros. viewed this film as their Gone with the Wind, and went all out with the production, building sixty-seven sets and giving Bette Davis thirty-seven elaborate 19th-century costumes. For once, they gave her a leading man who was as popular as she was, paying Boyer’s considerable freelance fee. They even cast Scarlett O’Hara’s mother (O’Neil) as the neurotic duchess. The result was a romantic feast that picked up three Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for O’Neil.

d. Anatole Litvak, 144m, 35mm

Courtesy of Park Circus and Warner Brothers Classics.