FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Executscan Expected more

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

sinful-2 The story is about a dominating self made man that rules the family and fortune brutally and the other family members on their own way trying to get their share of the fortune. The Father made his fortune during the civil war selling at high prices and therefore the family is disliked of the whole local community. Besides that there are some love stories that have influence on the story.When I watched this movie I could not complain about the acting which seemed fine from everyone.I just have to say that I did not find any of the people likable or interesting enough for the movie to entertain me. I would say there are far better dramas out there.

kidboots Lillian Hellman's play "The Little Foxes" was the sensation of Broadway's 1939 season and starring Tallulah Bankhead, it ran for 410 performances. It was later made into a magnificent film that picked up 9 Oscar nominations. In 1946 Lillian Helman directed "Another Part of the Forest" - a prequel, showing how Regina, Benjamin and Oscar inherited their evil and immoral ways from their father. Patricia Neal made her Broadway debut as Regina and won a Tony award for Best Performance. When a film was made in 1948, Ann Blyth, who a couple of years before had created a sensation as Veda, Mildred Pierce's venal daughter, was given the role of Regina. Ann had had musical training and started out in a few forgettable low budget musicals. After "Mildred Pierce" she was heralded as a major find and you would have thought she would have been one of the big stars of the 50s - but you would have been wrong. After superb performances in "Another Part of the Forest" and "Our Very Own" she became trapped in a series of leaden musicals ("Rose Marie", "The Student Prince") and she was never again given a role worthy of her talents.Marcus Hubbard (Frederic March) has always been rotten to the core. Although born into poverty, he was self educated but made his fortune as a war profiteer by exploiting his fellow "Southerners" during the Civil War by selling salt to them at an over inflated price of $8 a small bag. That is why his son Oscar (Dan Duryea) is not welcome at the Veteran's Day Parade and why Lavinia (Florence Eldridge) Marcus's long suffering wife will not use salt on that particular day. There is also a secret scandal that is only hinted at, until being revealed at the end of the film it changes the dynamics of the family. Benjamin (Edmond O'Brien) is the only member of the family who treats his mother with any type of kindness but he is also self serving. After a depressing family luncheon when only the servants remember Lavinia's birthday, Benjamin reminds Regina that papa's unhealthy fondness for her will force her to spend the rest of her life looking after him and suggests she should pay more attention to besotted Horace Giddens if she wants to escape. Horace, who was played in the earlier film by Herbert Marshall, is never seen in this film, only talked about.Oscar is infatuated with local can can dancer Laurette (Dona Drake). Her character is worthy of the Hubbards - she will have nothing to do with Oscar unless he gets money from his father. When he finds her flirting with a patron, he and some friends don "night rider" sheets and badly beat him up. The other family of note in the town are the Bagtrys, who have been made penniless, trying to grow cotton on their plantation. Regina is in love with Ben Bagtry (John Dall) but it is clear he doesn't care for her family's ways. Birdie (Betsy Blair) is a faded Southern belle who is desperate to return the plantation to it's former glory. By the end of the film the stage is set for "The Little Foxes" - Marcus is a broken man, Lavinia is going to return to her childhood home and Benjamin, Regina and Oscar are facing their future with steely ruthlessness. The characterisations of the three siblings are spot on - you can see the traits that are in their characters in "The Little Foxes", here in embryo. Betsy Blair who was a standout in "Marty" showed how talented she was in this movie. Her "Birdie" is heartbreaking and a tribute to Patricia Collinge.Highly, Highly Recommended.

byoolives If you think that the Hubbard's of "The Little Foxes" were decadent , then you will see that they have mellowed , compared to this fantastic prequel , also written by the wonderful Lillian Hellman. The cast works extremely well together . This is the only movie that i know of where Fredrich March plays a villain (Jekyll and Hyde doesn't count) and does he do it to the limit . During a night of musical entertainment in is home, he cruelly insults and humiliates one of his guests, his son's (Duryea) girlfriend, by insinuating that her father played Mozart on a little drum. The girl had said that her father played a little drum and at Duryea's insistence drew attention to Mozart in an attempt to please patriarch Hubbard. The humiliation comes complete with facial disdain and tone of voice that only the cruelest of men could provide . The rest of the family with the exception of Hubbard's wife played by the real Mrs.March (Florence Eldridge) is each in their own way a monster . Edmond O'Brien is wonderful as the "chip off the old block" son , and Dan Dureyea is a great contrast as the half fool and half idiot other son. Ann Blyth who plays daughter Regina is captivating as the only one in the world to whom patriarch Hubbard shows any affection . To state any more of this father daughter relationship would reveal to much of the story in the event you are privileged to see this magnificent film . This film is just one of those cases when a chemistry between the cast was achieved , and the result is riveting . This chemistry is in no small way attributable to the great March , who was able to weave a similar magic in "The Best Years Of Our Lives" . Unfortunately my attempts at seeing this movie again , have failed . It seems as though it has disappeared and if it has , it is a shame . This film is a horror story , where the monsters are human beings . They wear no gruesome masks (exept in one Klu Klux Clan scene) or torment anyone Freddy Kruger style . Their horror and ours , is in men and women's souls .

RanchoTuVu Destined for the stage, but somehow ingeniously made into a movie, this heavy drama about an ostracized family and there internal implosion gets better with each passing minute all the way up to its smashing ending. The superb cast includes an impressive list of names, but even the lesser roles (Dona Drake in particular) contribute significantly, while the story is nearly flawlessly presented, with a few touches that take advantage of the cinematic medium, especially a terrifically edited sequence with Drake doing a Can-Can in a dancehall while out in the woods the KKK is beating a carpetbagger senseless. But what gets the most attention is the constant state of maneuvering between three siblings for the father's favor and his money, and the father's utter disdain, brilliantly portrayed by Frederic March, for his two sons, the hardworking Edmond O'Brien and his lazy younger brother played by Dan Duryea. What stands out is the consistent level of fascination and intensity that the film maintains from start to finish, and the fact that it (this film) seems all but lost today.