Jezebel
1938 · Movie · NR · 103 min · ★ 7.0 · 89% critics
In 1850s Louisiana, a headstrong Southern belle’s stubborn streak threatens the people around her. After scandal and heartbreak upend her life, she scrambles to make things right as a dangerous outbreak forces hard choices and changed priorities for all involved.
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Details
- Years
- 1938
- Release date
- 1938-03-26
- Language
- English
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 103 min
- Critic score
- 89/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (221 votes)
- Budget
- $1,250,000
About
You’ll likely enjoy Jezebel if you love classic, star-driven melodramas with fiery social tension and a bold, stubborn heroine like Bette Davis; Not for you if you want a tightly logical story, or if you dislike soap-opera sentimentality.
Pros: Bette Davis standout; lavish old-Hollywood style; strong drama tension | Cons: soapy, sentimental turn; thin character depth; uneven logic
Themes
- love of one's life
- southern usa
- self-destruction
- new orleans, louisiana
- louisiana
- yellow fever
- female protagonist
- epidemic
- pride
- vanity
- southern belle
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actress · 1939
- Academy Award — Best Actress · 1939
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- Academy Award — Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment · 1939 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Picture · 1939 · nominated
Show all 8 awards →
- Academy Award — Best Actress · 1939 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Cinematography · 1939 · nominated
- Academy Award — Best Supporting Actress · 1939 · nominated
Cast & crew
Bette Davis
as Julie Marsden
Henry Fonda
as Preston Dillard
George Brent
as Buck Cantrell
Margaret Lindsay
as Amy Bradford Dillard
Donald Crisp
as Dr. Livingstone
Fay Bainter
as Aunt Belle Massey
Richard Cromwell
as Ted Dillard
Henry O'Neill
as General Theopholus Bogardus
Spring Byington
as Mrs. Kendrick
John Litel
as Jean La Cour
Directed by William Wyler