Mr. Skeffington

US (1944): Romance/Drama

This popular Warners melodrama has Betty Davis as a society beauty who marries to prevent her brother from being arrested for embezzlement. She never forgives Claude Rains, her banker husband, and they divorce. When their daughter flees her and she contracts a withering case of diphtheria, Davis learns that Rains has survived a concentration camp and is blind and poor. The onetime beauty returns to the onetime rich man. A strong script and two star performances, which garnered Academy Award^® nominations. Davis and Rains starred opposite each other four times in seven years (1939-1946). This was their third film together, the others being Juarez (1939); Now, Voyager (1942); and Deception (1946). Franz Waxman's score for Mr. Skeffington was called by one critic "the best [Richard] Strauss score not written by Strauss." The score features some unusual early electronic instruments, including an electric violin and a novachord. Directed by Vincent Sherman. Cast includes Walter Abel, George Coulouris, Richard Waring and Marjorie Riordan. (amctv.com)

 Use this link to view the original theatrical trailer for Mr. Skeffington on TCM.com.

2 nominations