Die Ehrgeizige

Classy slice of soap opera. Little b&w's like this, even with a big name star, were about to be phased out by TV and big screen Technicolor. The movie's basically a vehicle for Davis's formidable talents, but in the process manages a few poignant moments. I like the flashback format since it counter-poses David (Sullivan) and Joyce's (Davis) early, happy years of struggle with the wealthy snob that Joyce becomes. Of course, actress Davis is much better at being shrewish than being wifely restrained. But her early restraint hides a deeper nature as she schemes to bring about David's law office success. As a result, we can believe how Joyce will later exploit David's wealth.

Bernhardt directs with smoothness and assurance. Clearly, he's at home with the shadings of social class and wounded emotion. Those catty sessions between upper-class women are particularly well done. Still, when I think dutiful husband, I don't think Barry Sullivan. With his edgy features, he looks more at home with a Colt.45 and a growl, (The Gangster, {1947}). Nonetheless, he's properly reserved here allowing Davis to dominate. David is, however, pretty hard to believe as being the meekly nice guy he turns out to be, which may be the movie's major flaw. Still, the ending manages an element of uncertainty, which I guess was still enough to satisfy Code watchdogs. Watch too for bobby-soxer Betty Lynn (Martha) 10-years away from Mayberry and Don Knotts.

I guess many folks would call this a woman's picture, so it's not for all tastes. Nonetheless, the 90-minutes amounts to a solid example of how Hollywood could polish up even the most shopworn kind of plot. Kudoes to RKO.

"Payment on Demand" begins when David tells Joyce that he wants a divorce. In flashbacks we see how the couple came from humble beginnings and worked their way into affluence. David started from being a lawyer with no clients and worked his way up to being vice president of his best client, a steel company. Joyce was always preoccupied with security, money and status; she is a selfish, manipulative social climber and we can readily see why David wants out. As always, Bette Davis plays the bitch with consummate skill.

What follows shows the old-style divorce process at its worst and chronicles Joyce's life as a single woman. While this part is very well written, it is dated. We learn that an older single woman has no life (other than having to pay younger men to sleep with them) and you're always better off with a man.

While the themes of this film may seem pretty conventional by today's standards, they were anything but in 1951. Divorce was a subject literally ruled off the screen by the very Catholic-oriented Hays Code. Aside from frothy romantic comedies like "The Awful Truth," people just didn't get divorced because they were fed up with their spouses. Nor do films of that Hays era (from 1934 until 1968) ever delve into the actual process of contested divorce (such as the negotiations about property settlements). This film does all that. While the ending may seem disappointing (and was probably a concession to the censors), the rest of the film is excellent and way ahead of its time.

In Payment On Demand Bette Davis gets the shock of her life when husband Barry Sullivan asks her for a divorce. They seem to be the perfect couple with two daughters both about to leave the nest. They are a social success in their small town, something that Bette has striven very hard for. Possibly too hard.

If it is true that RKO held up Payment On Demand to see how All About Eve would fair, they needn't have worried. Bette under the direction of Curtis Bernhardt whom she knew and worked with in her days at Warner Brothers gave her just the right direction for a spirited performance. Before All About Eve she had left Warner Brothers under a cloud with the stinker Beyond The Forest fresh in everyone's mind.

It takes her the whole film to realize how much she's alienated her attorney husband Sullivan. They're a great social success, but he's lost friends in the process. Particularly Kent Taylor, a young attorney who Sullivan started out in practice with. You have to see how Davis in her helpful way accomplishes that.

In the supporting cast singled out should be stage great Jane Cowl as Bette's mentor and friend who has gone down a path that she foresees for Davis. Also John Sutton who plays a shipboard lounge lizard that Davis pulls back from. A timely telegram from one of her daughters helps.

Though the order they were made was reversed, Payment On Demand proved to be an excellent followup film to All About Eve. Bette Davis was definitely back on top.

Bette Davis works her usual magic with a colorless role as a wealthy society matron whose miserable husband wants her to give him a divorce. Film's best moments are the flashbacks to the couple's happier times, which are filmed in a dreamy, surreal manner. Jane Cowl gives an outstanding supporting performance as an elderly woman attracted to gigolos, but the centerpiece here is Davis, and she's magnetic as always. Filmed just before "All About Eve"--but released afterward--the picture benefits greatly from the shadowy cinematography, but the pacing plods a bit. Not a bad melodrama, but one that is never mentioned when film-historians revisit Davis' illustrious career. ** from ****

I just saw Payment on Demand for the first time last night. An excellent Bette Davis vehicle! As you all know, this movie was made before All About Eve (though it was released after) and the first movie she made after leaving Warners in 1949. The role and the movie is vintage Bette, a return to form you might say after the three flops she made with Warners in 48 and 49. The quality of the movie is perfectly good. Even though it is not "restored" the picture quality is just fine, especially if you own a Blue Ray player. Curtis B. does a great job directing and the flashback scenes are wonderful. Bette is very good in this role. She looks amazing in the flashback scenes and the Edith Head wardrobe is fabulous. For me, Payment on Demand is the Bette Davis Holy Grail since it has never before been released and almost never shown on TV. It is worth the price of the DVD or download.