Mr. Skeffington

1944
Approved
2h 26m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

6.9K

YOUR RATING

Theatrical Trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures

Play trailer2:49

1 Video

26 Photos

Drama Romance

Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis enters into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge.Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis enters into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge.Popular and beautiful Fanny Trellis enters into a loveless marriage with an older man, Jewish banker Job Skeffington, in order to save her beloved brother Trippy from an embezzlement charge.

Director
- Vincent Sherman
Writers
- Julius J. Epstein
- Elizabeth von Arnim
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

6.9K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Vincent Sherman
Writers
- Julius J. Epstein
- Elizabeth von Arnim
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 2:49

Mr. Skeffington

Photos26

+ 19

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
At the time, most Warner Brothers "A" features had a 30-day shooting schedule. This film took 110 days. When Jack L. Warner sent Julius J. Epstein and Julius J. Epstein a note inquiring why the picture was behind schedule, their tersely humorous reply was "Bette Davis is a slow director."

Goofs
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
Job Skeffington: [to Fanny, when she reprimands him for being unfaithful] You mustn't be too harsh on my secretaries. They were always very understanding when I came to the office after a hard day at home.

Alternate versions
Some prints of "Mr. Skeffington" run 127 minutes. The film was cut from 146 minutes immediately after its world premiere run in New York City in 1944, and the cut footage was considered "lost" until the 1988 home video release from MGM/UA restored the film to its original length.

Connections
Featured in Hollywood: The Great Stars (1963)

Soundtracks
Moonlight Bay
(1912) (uncredited)
Music by Percy Wenrich
Played on board the ship

User reviews114

Review

Featured review

9/10

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.