Search - Jezebel on DVD

Content Advisory: Adult Situations Movie Release: 1938 DVD Release: 10/01/1997 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English, Spanish Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 43 mins Studio: MGM Members Wishing: 13 Genres: Drama, Romantic Drama, Period Film See Also: Jezebel, Jezebel

In 1938, Jezebel was widely regarded as Warner Bros.' "compensation" to Bette Davis for her losing the opportunity to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind. Resemblances between the two properties are inescapable: Jezebel heroine Julie Marsden (Davis) is a headstrong Southern belle not unlike Scarlett (Julie lives in New Orleans rather than Georgia); she loves fiancé Preston Dillard (played by Henry Fonda) but loses him when she makes a public spectacle of herself (to provoke envy in him) by wearing an inappropriate red dress at a ball, just as Scarlett O'Hara brazenly danced with Rhett Butler while still garbed in widow's weeds. There are several other similarities between the works, but it is important to note that Jezebel is set in the 1850s, several years before Gone With the Wind's Civil War milieu; and we must observe that, unlike Scarlett O'Hara, Julie Marsden is humbled by her experiences and ends up giving of her time, energy, and health during a deadly yellow jack outbreak. Bette Davis won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Julie; an additional Oscar went to Fay Bainter for her portrayal of the remonstrative Aunt Belle (she's the one who labels Julie a "jezebel" at a crucial plot point). The offscreen intrigues of Jezebel, including Bette Davis' romantic attachment to director William Wyler and co-star George Brent, have been fully documented elsewhere. Jezebel was based on an old and oft-produced play by Owen Davis Sr. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Bette Davis - Julie Marsden
Henry Fonda - Preston Dillard
George Brent - Buck Cantrell
Margaret Lindsay - Amy Bradford Dillard
Donald Crisp - Dr. Livingstons
Fay Bainter - Aunt Belle Bogardus

Screen legend Bette Davis ignites the screen with passion in her Academy Award-winning role as the vengeful and arrogant beauty in the red dress in Jezebel, arriving on DVD from MGM. Presented as filmed in standard, 1.33:1 full-screen, audio is offered in closed-captioned English Dolby Digital Mono and Spanish Dolby Digital Mono with optional English, Spanish, and French subtitles. Also included is a theatrical trailer. The story behind this role -- Davis' compensation for losing the role of Scarlett O' Hara in Gone With the Wind -- is legendary. Return to the legend with this release of a striking and beautiful film. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide