Suffering in mink takes a human turn as Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis), the unwillingly sheltered adult child of Boston society matron Mrs. Henry Vale (played with iron menace by Gladys Cooper) embarks on a quest to establish a confident independence. Or is it an independent confidence? Aided by the wise and kindly Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains) following a nervous breakdown, Charlotte has only to overcome her sense of obligation to the world and define her own happiness. Was there ever a more favorable portrayal of therapy? If so, this must predate them all–and it is all the more remarkable for the chauffeur-and-chandelier backdrop of its inhabitants.  

Dave and Jeremy marvel at this lost world of fictional high society, and at how easily Bette Davis conveys the inner journey of a character who transcends that world, transformed by her willingness to “be interested in everything,” as Dr. Jacquith instructs her, while at the same time learning to say no when it counts. Could any other actress nail scene after scene with as much self-possession as Davis does when Charlotte resists pressure to return to her old, unhappy life? The love interest here is played by Paul Henreid, gentle instigator of our hero’s romantic agency, whose own self-determining arc mirrors Charlotte’s just enough to put her nuanced star turn in brilliant relief. Join Dave and Jeremy for a celebration of a late-blooming camellia in this episode where we set sail with Warner Brothers’ 1942 production of NOW, VOYAGER.

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We’ll be back next month with Jeremy’s reply.

Music by Jeremy Donald.

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