Aus dem Dunkel des Waldes

Destined for the stage, but somehow ingeniously made into a movie, this heavy drama about an ostracized family and there internal implosion gets better with each passing minute all the way up to its smashing ending. The superb cast includes an impressive list of names, but even the lesser roles (Dona Drake in particular) contribute significantly, while the story is nearly flawlessly presented, with a few touches that take advantage of the cinematic medium, especially a terrifically edited sequence with Drake doing a Can-Can in a dancehall while out in the woods the KKK is beating a carpetbagger senseless. But what gets the most attention is the constant state of maneuvering between three siblings for the father's favor and his money, and the father's utter disdain, brilliantly portrayed by Frederic March, for his two sons, the hardworking Edmond O'Brien and his lazy younger brother played by Dan Duryea. What stands out is the consistent level of fascination and intensity that the film maintains from start to finish, and the fact that it (this film) seems all but lost today.

"Another Part of the Forest" is a prequel to "The Little Foxes" but made seven years later and it feels like an attempt to do a reprise of Wyler's classic with Ann Blyth, Edmond O'Brien and Dan Duryea trying to fill the shoes of Miss Davis, Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid. Actually O'Brien is very good and Duryea, who played the son of the character he's playing here in Wylers film, isn't bad. Only Blyth lets the side down. Their parents are a gruff Fredric March and a dotty (and excellent) Florence Eldridge.

The movie purports to show how the nasty Hubbards got to be so nasty but there really isn't anything here we haven't seen before. This is more like a remake than a prequel and under Michael Gordon's limp direction it's hard to tell if this would have been any good on the stage. What's fairly clear is that this is second-rate Hellman and Gordon does nothing to make it cinematic. Still, in its fevered bad movie kind of way it's actually quite entertaining. No family ever had so many skeletons rattling around in the cupboard and letting skeletons loose can be good fun. Of course, perhaps Hellman intented it all as a joke or maybe the humour was simply unintentional.

Another Part of the Forest tells the story of a patriarch of a very wealthy southern family & the constant powers struggles he endures within his own family.

There are some very interesting elements of this story that keeps one guessing. For starters, how did the family make their money is one. Two: why does the matriarch of the family keep herself locked away not only from the rest of the world but her family, too.

Another interesting plot is the relationship between the father & his only daughter. There are some incestuous overtones there.

I love this film. Screen writer Lillian Hellman was very good at dealing with human emotion, interaction & confrontation. For those of you that enjoyed "Little Foxes", you will enjoy this film because its the prequel to it.

This film has a very strong cast which is headed by Fredric March. All the cast members hold their own very well. Even though this film is play, it translates to the screen very well.

Now for the bummer:This film never made it to video for some odd reason. I only have it because I recorded it on cable one night. For those of you that have cable, I would check with your local listings.

If you love good drama, you won't regret it.

Even though this is a prequel to 1941's The Little Foxes, you don't have to know the original story to appreciate the back story behind the characters. In fact, I was mostly confused during the first half, trying to piece together what I remembered from the earlier movie, and once I stopped trying, the movie became much more enjoyable.

If you do know The Little Foxes, this movie shows you how Bette Davis's and Charles Dingle's characters became conniving and evil in their youth. Still living under their parents' roof, they long to break free and live their own lives, and money, power, and status threaten their journey to the top. Ann Blyth plays a young Bette Davis and Edmond O'Brien plays a young Charles Dingle. Vladimir Pozner's screenplay shows great parallels to Lillian Helman's story and characters, but even if you're not familiar with them, it's still an entertaining movie with backstabbing and double-crosses galore. As you might remember from 1941, Charles Dingle was married to the unhappy, repressed Patricia Collinge. While we do see Patricia's younger self portrayed by Betsy Blair, it's an even more interesting parallel to see the family's matriarch, Florence Eldridge, and how similar those two characters are. Fredric March plays the family patriarch, and he's extremely effective as overbearing, stubborn, and mean. A very cute tie to both versions is Dan Duryea, who plays his own father - or his own son, depending on which movie you watch first. In Another Part of the Forest, Dan plays the young, irresponsible brother recklessly in love with a can-can dancer. In The Little Foxes, he's the slimy young son who also does something reckless that affects the rest of the family.

Believe it or not, I liked Another Part of the Forest far better than The Little Foxes. The acting is splendid, and everyone tries very hard to mirror their predecessors, with the exception of Ann Blyth. Had she put on a Bette Davis impression, it would have been too comical, so instead she's a beautiful Southern belle in her own right whom audiences can imagine later turned into Bette Davis. The plot is easier to follow, and while it's still a very heavy drama, it's not as upsetting as watching Herbert Marshall in a wheelchair back in 1941. Check this one out, and think about skipping the original.

Avarice, backstabbing and conniving under a thin layer of gentility.

What an undiscovered jewel. A perfectly executed prequel to The Little Foxes. A grade A cast at the top of their game, well written and directed.