Bette Davis has such a brilliant range that she can play the martyr as well as she can play the bitch. (Although watching her play the bitch is so much more fun.) She plays the martyr in The Old Maid to the point where you want to take her by the shoulders and shake her, until you realize what era these characters are in.
The Old Maid is the tale of Charlotte, a woman who falls in love with Clem, who has just been jilted by Delia, her cousin. Clem goes off to battle soon after, but not before trysting with Charlotte, producing a child out of wedlock. (Gasp!) Charlotte opens an orphanage and deposits their child in it so she can look after her, but later moves in with her newly widowed cousin after she founds out the true identity of the child, Tina. Tina is later adopted by Delia, and Charlotte is forced to watch her grow up under the pretense that she is Tina's aunt.
Davis is good at what she does this is a part that could have been played by anyone, but she did a great job portraying the long-suffering Charlotte. The Old Maid is a good piece of melodrama, if not typical of the genre.
--Shel
The Old Maid is the tale of Charlotte, a woman who falls in love with Clem, who has just been jilted by Delia, her cousin. Clem goes off to battle soon after, but not before trysting with Charlotte, producing a child out of wedlock. (Gasp!) Charlotte opens an orphanage and deposits their child in it so she can look after her, but later moves in with her newly widowed cousin after she founds out the true identity of the child, Tina. Tina is later adopted by Delia, and Charlotte is forced to watch her grow up under the pretense that she is Tina's aunt.
Davis is good at what she does this is a part that could have been played by anyone, but she did a great job portraying the long-suffering Charlotte. The Old Maid is a good piece of melodrama, if not typical of the genre.
--Shel