Review of Mr. Skeffington

I have a new theory about Bette Davis movies. When she speaks in that low, husky, smoke-induced voice register, I love the movie (All About Eve, The Letter, All This and Heaven Too). When she speaks in her high voice register (Of Human Bondage, Mr. Skeffington) I grow weary of her character and start to dislike the whole film as a result. I'll try out my theory on some more Davis films, but for now, it works. I watched this because I knew she had been Oscar-nominated for it. But I'm not so sure what Hollywood must have been thinking. It's another example of rewarding the high-minded nature of a film's subject matter rather than the actual merit of the subject's handling. Her character is so unlikeable throughout the movie that when in the final scene she is reciting her husband's mantra that no woman is so beautiful as when she is loved, you can't help but want to scream at the screen, "Oh yea, how about when she tries to love in return." Yes, this is pure soap, but it's not helped any by Bette's squeaky high voice. Sorry I sat through this one.