Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Cortechba Overrated

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

jeffhaller A really fine movie. Looks great, Fine script of a fascinating story. Boyer was never HOTTER!!!. Barbara O'Neill is brilliant and horrifying.. The story is fascinating and important. The one flaw and it is a big one is Davis. Against type? Maybe cast against type but she can't play against type. She always finds a way to be Bette Davis. The famous mannerisms were never greater minus a cigarette. The character must be vulnerable. DeHavilland? Her Sister? Maris Ouspenskya? Joan Crawford? (well, maybe not). It is not a simple character, she is strong but not a soubrette. There is little or no humor. Davis had a similar conflict in Now Voyager for which she was well suited. She must have been honored that MGM had chosen but she should have known better. Somehow the script can still evoke tears and fears. Try to ignore (though it isn't easy) the great flaw and you will have a great time.

vincentlynch-moonoi Although a fan of Bette Davis', and of old movies in general, somehow I had never seen this film. What a treat it was to finally see it.It is an extremely well done period piece. The story stems from a new French teacher who has a scandal in her past, which the are aware of. They attempt to humiliate the new teacher (Davis), but she instead tells them her story. And it's a humdinger.I've never been a particular fan of Charles Boyer, but he is excellent here as the patriarch of the family to which Bette Davis (in a bravura performance) becomes governess. The matriarch of the family is clearly mentally ill and manipulative. I couldn't place her at first, and then realized that she was Scarlett O'Hara's mother in GWTW. She (Barbara O'Neill) is excellent here, and was nominated for the best supporting actress Oscar. Harry Davenport is one of my favorite character actors, but I don't think his servant role is right for him here, though key to the story line.The setting for the scenes on All Hallow's Eve are ethereal and as spooky as you'll ever see.Although the course of the plot is somewhat predictable -- easy to guess that Boyer will kill his wife -- this is one film where the question in your mind is what specific event will lead him to do so, and that sustains the suspense. The outcome of the murder, however, surprised me! Interestingly, this is based on a true story of an event that helped lead to the 1848 Revolution in France. Read the Wikipedia summary to learn that it's possible the real life story had a different ending that we would probably think was too fantastic if it had been part of this film! It's extremely rare that I give a film a "9", but this one is well deserving. Highest recommendation!A very good summary of the real life of Bette's character can be found at findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37793248. A summary of the real Duke's life can be found on Wikipedia.

richard-1787 This movie has all sorts of weaknesses: it is at times extremely melodramatic, etc. I will leave it to others to detail all those faults.What this movie does well, and very well, is make a case for tolerance of moral difference. In the course of telling her story to her students, Bette Davis' character turns a bunch of priggish American girls into a group of compassionate young women. She shows, in other words, the power of a well-told story in developing compassion for others - just the sort of thing Warner Brothers did with its best movies. It makes a clear differentiation between France (of the 1840s, granted) and the United States and suggests very clearly that the US is, among other things, the land of such moral tolerance.Today, of course, as the US becomes ever more morally intolerant while France goes the other way that seems no little ironic. It also reminds at least this viewer that today's movie studios, lead by corporations and not individual owners, are much less committed to this sort of "movie with a message" than Warner Brothers was back in the day when it was in fact the product of Jack and Harry Warner, who had a very definite social agenda they wanted to promote.This movie is too long, it is sometimes excessively melodramatic. But it has its heart in the right place, and if you sit through it to the end, you realize that that is a place very relevant to today.Not a great movie, but a moving one.

wes-connors When students at a 19th century "School for Young Ladies" begin gossiping about the scandalous past of new French teacher Bette Davis (as as Henriette Deluzy-Desportes), she decides to tell them the whole "true story" about what really happened… In flashback, lonely Mademoiselle Davis sails from England to France, where she will apply, and be accepted, as governess to the four children of Charles Boyer and Barbara O'Neil (as the Duc and Duchesse de Praslin) - tearful June Lockhart (as Isabelle), precocious Virginia Weidler (as Louise), cute Ann Todd (as Berthe), and sickly Richard Nichols (as Reynald).Davis immediately connects with the beautiful, love-starved children, who are suffering under the apparent dissolution of their parents' marriage. Monsieur Boyer has fallen quite obviously out of love with Madame O'Neil, which has made his wife unstable. Alternately arguing and sobbing, O'Neil loves Boyer blindly, and sees Davis as a threat. As you might imagine, she is correct… Watching the restrained relationship develop between Davis and Boyer, while O'Neil becomes more and more miserable, is great fun. The story, based on Rachel Field's hit novel, succeeds in keeping the passion subdued.Magnificently mounted by the Warner Bros. studio, "All This, and Heaven Too" made the "Academy Awards" top ten, and scored additional nominations for Ernest Haller's cinematography and "Supporting Actress" (O'Neil). Davis was nominated for "Best Actress" in the more recently released "The Letter" (1940), or she would have been nominated for this performance. She was obviously on a roll, and capable of creating incredibly distinct characters. Boyer is at his best. Mr. Litvak's direction of actors and sets is smooth, staid and stately, with the "separation of bedrooms" sequence beautifully realized.********* All This, and Heaven Too (7/4/40) Anatole Litvak ~ Bette Davis, Charles Boyer, Barbara O'Neil, June Lockhart