Devotion

The story of the Bronte Family with all their problems certainly bears little resemblance to the true facts, but nevertheless Warner Brothers have made a fine entertaining film, with an excellent cast of actors headed by Olivia de Havilland as Charlotte, Ida Lupino as Emily and Nancy Coleman as Anne. Paul Henreid is in support, but Arthur Kennedy as Branwell is the standout. The mood of the time and place is very well captured and the photography and background music are superb. Not a lot of emphasis is given to the wonderful books, "Jane Eyre" and "Wuthering Heights" by Emily & Charlotte, but rather the main story revolves around the girls' love lives. This film has been panned by many critics, but I feel it deserves a far better reception than it has received - Warners had themselves to blame as they delayed its release for a couple of years simply because of the fight with Miss de Havilland - incidentally she won it!

Despite the fact that this treatment of the famous Bronte sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) and their tormented brother Branwell (Arthur Kennedy)gives their story a romantic glow (instead of the harsh reality of their life on the moors), it can be enjoyed on the level of a well-acted, sometimes overwrought romantic drama with sterling performances by Ida Lupino and Olivia de Havilland, as well as an excellent one from Arthur Kennedy as the brother who wastes his talent.

The large cast includes Sydney Greenstreet (effective as Thackeray), Victor Francen, Nancy Coleman, Ethel Griffies and Dame May Witty. It may not be an accurate biography (in fact some critics said it should have been called 'Distortion'), but thanks to fine performances and Erich Wolfgang Korngold's magnificent score, it's fascinating to watch. Particularly effective is the montage showing a horse and rider against a cloudy sky as death approaches Emily Bronte and Korngold's music mounts as he comes closer and closer. Wonderful moment of imagery.

Whatever its shortcomings, I cannot praise Erich Wolfgang Korngold's score enough. It's one of his most magnificent and stands with KINGS ROW as one of his best film scores, adding majesty and atmosphere to many of the film's most dramatic scenes.

Trivia note: DEVOTION has a strange history. It was actually filmed and finished in 1943 while de Havilland was still under contract to the studio. When she launched her famous legal battle against them for adding suspension time to the end of her contract, Jack Warner decided to punish her. He gave her third billing, kept the film off the screen for three years hoping to weaken her career, and failed to invite her to the premiere of the film when it finally did open in Hollywood.

Despite all this, Olivia not only won the case in the Supreme Court, but went on to win two Oscars after the film was released!! Proof that he was wrong all along in underestimating her.

Romanticized account of the life of the Brontes with particular emphasis of course on older sisters Charlotte and Emily. It's slow moving at times and should not be relied upon for historical accuracy but, of its kind, it's fairly well done and entertaining. Olivia de Havilland (looking very pretty) is the imperious and ambitious Charlotte, aggressively courting literary success, while Ida Lupino, as Emily, remains at home, engaging in fanciful reverie and harboring a secret passion for the local clergyman. Both offer strong, capable performances. (It's been said that de Havilland, who had been fighting with Warner Brothers over better scripts, was given third billing as punishment by studio chief Jack Warner. By the time the film was released, in 1946, she had successfully sued the studio for release from her contract and would go on to win two Oscars as Best Actress). Nancy Coleman has the thankless role of younger sister Anne, Arthur Kennedy is their dissolute brother Branwell (his self-destructiveness is never adequately explained and simply becomes tedious after a while) and Paul Henreid is the Reverend Arthur Nichols, the object of Emily's unrequited affection (a contrivance thought up by the screenwriter). With Sydney Greenstreet as the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray and Montagu Love, Ethel Griffies, Victor Francen, Odette Myrtil and Dame May Witty.

"Devotion" was filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946. This was Olivia DeHavilland's final picture with Warner Bros. Studios. She had an ongoing battle with the studio over quality scripts and was suspended several times for her refusal to work in second rate productions. She eventually won her case and had her contract "fulfilled" in court. This was the beginning of the end of the studio-contract system. Bette Davis had begun this war with Warner Bros in 1937, leaving the studio and causing a battle in court. Davis won the battle (getting superior scripts from 1938 onward) but Olivia won the war. Olivia continued as an independent into remarkable projects from the mid 1940's and onward, never to be shackled with chains to a long-term contract again. Hollywood owes her a debt of gratitude.

The literary Bronte sisters struggle to get their lives in order in the midst of a dour old house, a severe father, and moody rolling moors.

These Gothic costume dramas usually show the old studios hitting on all eight cylinders. Just check out the exterior sets here. It's obviously not the real outdoors the sisters hike along. But who cares because they're so artistically done—the crags, the waterfall, the hilly moors. They're all real eye-catchers, establishing just the right Gothic mood. Warner's production crews did a bang-up job, showing that you don't need digital to get the right effect.

Of course, I like anything with the great Ida Lupino. Here she does more of a hardened type than the soft, dreamy types of High Sierra (1941) or Deep Valley (1947). But that too is okay since her real feelings are kept below the surface, which we only detect now and again. It's fitting that the depth of those feelings finally surface in Emily's (Lupino) great romantic novel Wuthering Heights, and smoldering they are.

Speaking of romance, I really can't see the girls getting all hot and bothered over a couple of stiffs like Henreid and Francen, especially Francen who acts like someone's randy old grandfather. But you do have to hand it to Arthur Kennedy. He gets to pull out all stops as the self-destructive Branwell, managing to make a drunken scene wherever he goes. As a result and thanks to him, I'll think twice about my next beer.

All in all, it takes about 90-moody minutes for the sisters to straighten things out. But in the meantime they've given me a number of memorable scenes that have lasted for years since I first saw the movie. Yes indeed, there's a lot to be said for those old Hollywood dream factories.