Classic Film Club: The Old Maid (1939)

Our next screening, on Sunday March 9, is The Old Maid (1939), a civil war melodrama starring Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins, based on a play, which was adapted from an Edith Wharton novella. After a two-year absence, Clem Spender (George Brent) returns home intending to pick up with his former fiancée, Delia (Hopkins). But he is met at the station by Delia's cousin, Charlotte (Davis), and learns that Delia has taken up with another man. He beats a tasty retreat, finding comfort in the arms of Charlotte. Jealousy and chaos ensues. The New York Times called it dramatically vital, 'engrossing and a little terrifying' while Time magazine praised its 'brilliant performances', being impressed with the way the director had controlled a lot of off-screen tensions between the two stars.