Jezebel

"Half angel, half siren, all woman."

1938 1h 43m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 226

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1850s Louisiana, the willfulness of a tempestuous Southern belle threatens to destroy all who care for her.

“Half angel, half siren, all woman.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Bette Davis
Julie Marsden
Henry Fonda
Preston Dillard
George Brent
Buck Cantrell
Margaret Lindsay
Amy Bradford Dillard
Donald Crisp
Dr. Livingstone
Fay Bainter
Aunt Belle Massey
Richard Cromwell
Ted Dillard
Henry O'Neill
General Theopholus Bogardus

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William Wyler
Writers: Abem Finkel, Clements Ripley, Robert Buckner
Languages: English, French
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

88 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William Wyler, shot by Ernest Haller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Warren Low shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bette Davis and Henry Fonda and George Brent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Half angel, half siren, all woman.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Wyler directs. Ernest Haller behind the camera. Max Steiner scores. Warren Low cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
288 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
4Directed by William Wyler, shot by Ernest Haller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Max Steiner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Warren Low shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bette Davis and Henry Fonda and George Brent carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Half angel, half siren, all woman.".
9IMDB entry: tt0030287 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "love of one's life", "southern usa", "self-destruction", "new orleans, louisiana".

The technical file

Cinematography: Ernest Haller
Original score: Max Steiner
Editing: Warren Low
Costume design: Orry-Kelly
Makeup / hair: Margaret Donovan
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,250,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Jezebel (1938)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

William Wyler

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-10-09
★ 6/10
This starts off really strongly with the arrival, on horseback, of the feisty "Miss Julie" (Bette Davis). She is the rather proud orphaned daughter of a wealthy southern family whom everyone wants to know and be seen with - even if she is a bit of a pain in the neck. It's "Dill" (a rather charmless Henry Fonda) who is the front runner for her rather vain affections but he is no push-over. Her desire to inappropriately wear a red gown to a formal ball initially elicits his reluctant support as he escorts her, but then the ensuing fallout ensures he flees leaving her alone and determined - to get him back. The onset of the plague forces her to flee to their plantation and he ends up there too - but with a significant complication. With her normally ordered life all askew, "Miss Julie" has to think, perhaps for the first time, not just about herself. I'm afraid, though that this film was just bit too much of a soap for me. Though Davis has loads of beans at the outset, the story rather manoeuvres us into a rather predictably sentimental cul-de-sac that's slightly cluttered up by the rather obnoxiously cocky "Buck" (George Brent). Donald Crisp and Spring Byington provide a bit of ballast now and again, but I just found this all rather disappointingly flighty and thin. A frustrated love story, yes - but I just needed much more of our original "Jezebel" and less of what her character became. I saw this very recently on a big screen and it is still, despite my reservations, a fine example of thoroughly well presented and opulent cinema with a star who very much owns the screen.

Production companies