Mr Skeffington Details

In this vintage Warner Bros melodrama, a narcissistic, selfish, faithless and rich society woman marries a loyal, dignified and adoring businessman to protect her feckless brother's reputation, and treats him like dirt. Retribution arrives when diphtheria ravages her looks, redemption when he returns blind from a Nazi concentration camp. It's well directed by Vincent Sherman in opulent sets, and contains fabulous performances from the Oscar-nominated Bette Davis and Claude Rains, who are both at the height of their powers. Against a Franz Waxman score that emphasises the drama, Davis delivers a synthesis of the vain bitch roles she made uniquely her own; Rains, dignified and sincere, is the perfect foil. The plot, spanning the years from 1914 to 1940, is archetypal drivel, yet absolutely irresistible.

Take a large stock of hankies with you: this monumental soaper drips interminably on. It's a simple tale of a vain... read more on Time Out