Bette Davis, Bonita Granville, Claude Rains

In this 1942 melodrama, founded on the novel by Olivia Higgins Prouty (who also wrote the novel on which Stella Dallas was based), Bette Davis stars as Charlotte Vale, a dowdy, repressed woman...( read more  read more... ) who, overwhelmed by her domineering mother, is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She finds help at a sanitarium from a kind psychiatrist (Claude Rains), who turns her into a beautiful, confident woman. As a new person, she takes a pleasure cruise, where she meets Jerry (Paul Henreid), an architect trapped in an unhappy marriage, saddled with a troubled daughter. The two fall in love, but, of course, the romance is doomed. Yet their paths cross on occasion, and, despite their feelings, Charlotte finds satisfaction in helping Jerry's depressed child. The film will seem familiar to new viewers--the campy style was the pattern for many tearjerkers to come, and its most famous line has been oft repeated ("Don't ask for the moon--we have the stars"). But the heartstrings are tugged, and as Paul Henreid chivalrously lights two cigarettes and hands one over to the doleful-eyed Davis, pull out the box of tissues--you're gonna need 'em. --Jenny Brown

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90% liked it

6,162 ratings

Unrated, 117 min.

Directed by: Irving Rapper

Release Date: October 22, 1942

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DVD Release Date: November 13, 2001

Stats: 489 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (489)


  • February 17, 2008
    A terrific melodrama, the potentially trashy pitfalls of which are neatly sidestepped by way of classy production values and sensitive performances, not least from Bette Davis at her very best. She plays a highly-strung, ugly-duckling spinster who, cured of her neuroses by a psyc...( read more)hiatrist and newly preened, falls for a man trapped in a loveless marriage. Davis is ably supported by Claude Rains, Paul Henreid and Gladys Cooper, as her psychiatrist, her lover and her formidable mother, respectively. A reminder of a more innocent time, when the lighting of two cigarettes could be an intimate, romantic, almost sexual gesture, rather than just a catalyst for litigation and lynch-mobs.
  • February 4, 2008
    I cannot imagine how it is that I've never seen this. A masterful performance of the phoenix-like Charlotte Vale character by the beautiful and very canny Bette Davis. I can see why she fought to get this plum part. Davis so inhabits this role that it is hard to tell where she...( read more) ends and Charlotte begins. Her wholehearted identification with her character is almost scary, especially since having to deal with mental illness is such a large part of Charlotte's life.

    I've never been a great fan of Paul Henreid, but his chemistry with Davis in the playing out of this seemingly impossible love match is intelligent and very true-to-life. A hearteningly literate and believable script no doubt helps this along.

    Gladys Cooper is most extraordinary as Davis' domineering mother. She is Oscar nomination worthy to be sure.

  • November 17, 2007
    didn't do much for me. claude rains was the best actor & his parts were small as well as inconsequential. it was very slow & i found it boring. it was a story full of emotion, but when you've seen one of these plain type efforts you've seen 'em all. it wasn't exactly par with bri...( read more)ef encounters standards. it's probably just not my pint glass of whisky/cup of tea
  • June 5, 2006
    "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars.". Great Classic The strenght of the film lies both in the great love story and in the troubled childhood relationship with her mother and similar child.
  • September 9, 2009
    One of Bette's finest.
  • October 21, 2009
    another superb performance by bette davis
  • October 14, 2009
    Bette Davis really makes this film. In the period this movie was made, it was risky to allow yourself to look ugly and unattractive. I love the emotion in this film, and how relatable the main character is. The love story has been done many times, but it?s the realistic unique...( read more)ness the characters have that makes this movie unlike others. However, the famous ?Don't ask for the moon--we have the stars" quote was so incredibly cheesy, in my opinion.
  • September 6, 2009
    Really beautiful and touching story.
  • August 14, 2009
    I just love this movie!
  • August 7, 2009
    fantastic film. tour-de-force performances from Bette Davis and Gladys Cooper. a very well-written story with romance, psychological drama, comedy, and poignant feel-good moments. also some very interesting and well-done directional choices from the lesser known Irving Rapper....( read more) an overall engaging and solidly entertaining movie.

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Now, Voyager Trivia


  • What movie has the following quote "Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. "  Answer »
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