The Little Foxes (1941)
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100% of critics liked it
(14 reviews) -
85% of users liked it
(3,292 ratings)
Playwright Lillian Hellman first wrote of the horrible Hubbard family in her 1939 play The Little Foxes. In this lavish 1941 film version, Bette Davis takes over for Broadway's Tallulah Bankhead in the role of conniving turn-of-the-century Southern aristocrat Regina Hubbard Giddens. Regina's… More Playwright Lillian Hellman first wrote of the horrible Hubbard family in her 1939 play The Little Foxes. In this lavish 1941 film version, Bette Davis takes over for Broadway's Tallulah Bankhead in the role of conniving turn-of-the-century Southern aristocrat Regina Hubbard Giddens. Regina's equally odious brothers (Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid) want her to lend them 75,000 dollars to help build a cotton mill. To do this, she must make peace with her long-estranged husband, Horace (Herbert Marshall) -- and failing that, she tries to arrange a wealthy marriage between her daughter, Alexandra (Teresa Wright), and her slimy nephew Leo (Dan Duryea). Horace refuses to give Regina the money, whereupon Leo is pressured by his father (Reid) to steal bonds from the family business. Regina uses this information as a means of blackmailing her brothers for a share in the new mill. In retaliation, Horace claims that he gave Leo the bonds as a loan, thereby cutting Regina out of the deal. When Horace suffers a heart attack, Regina makes no effort to give him his medicine, and he dies without revealing his willingness to loan the money to Leo. Regina is thus still able to strongarm her brothers into giving her a piece of the mill -- but the price for her evil machinations is the loss of her daughter's love and respect. The Little Foxes caused a censorship stir in 1941; by refusing to give Horace his medicine, Regina technically gets away with murder. However, the censors decided that Regina was punished enough when her daughter left her to marry an honest newspaperman (Richard Carlson). Given the usual Tiffany treatment by producer Sam Goldwyn, The Little Foxes was a success; several years later, Lillian Hellman wrote a "prequel" to The Little Foxes, titled Another Part of the Forest. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- William Wyler
- Written By
- Lillian Hellman, Arthur Kober, Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell
- Genres
- Drama, Classics
- In Theaters
- Aug 21, 1941 Limited
- On DVD
- Sep 18, 2001
- Studio
- RKO
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
When viewed today, the hysterical melodrama seems creaky.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Significantly (and surprisingly) the nasty tone of Hellman's morality drama about corruption and greed in a Southern clan remained intact, allowing Bette Davis (in a role that Bankhead originated on stage) to shine as the amoral and immoral matriarch
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Randy Shulman, Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
One of the best films ever made.
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Matt Bailey, Not Coming to a Theater Near You
The Little Foxes is worth seeing for a number of reasons from its beautiful and innovative cinematography to the striking and mordantly witty screenplay.
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Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online
A sharp and entertaining adaptation of the Lillian Hellman play.
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Cast
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Bette Davis
as Regina Hubbard Giddens
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Herbert Marshall
as Horace Giddens
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Teresa Wright
as Alexandra Giddens
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Richard Carlson
as David Hewitt
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Patricia Collinge
as Birdie Hubbard
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Charles Dingle
as Ben Hubbard
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Dan Duryea
as Leo Hubbard
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Carl Benton Reid
as Oscar Hubbard
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Jessie Grayson
as Addie
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John Marriott
as Cal
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Russell Hicks
as William Marshall
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Lucien Littlefield
as Sam Naders
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Hooper Atchley
as Guest
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Al Bridge
as Dawson the Hotel Manager
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Virginia Brissac
as Lucy Hewitt
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Lew Kelly
as Train Companion
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Charles R. Moore
as Simon
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Henry Roquemore
as Depositor
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Kenny Washington
as Servant
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Henry Thomas
as Harold
- John Marriot