Description:
Dark Victory, released in 1939, was a daring movie for its time. it depicted its heroine, Bette Davis, dying of a brain tumor. The film blended romance and realism so successfully that it is still a model for movies about death and dying today.
Bette Davis drew upon every mood she had ever expressed--insouciance, impatience, anger, passion, acquiescence. She worked hard at the role, reveling in a story that, according to her account, she had actively campaigned for. She also benefited greatly by the professional talents of director Edmund Goulding and screenwriter Casey Robinson and a supporting cast that included Humphrey Bogart.
Brief description:
Tino Balio is professor emeritus of film in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former director of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. He is author of United Artists, Volume 1, 1919-1950 and Volume 2, 1951-1978 as well as Grand Design: Hollywood as Modern Business Enterprise, 1930-1939. He is editor of The American Film Industry and Hollywood in the Age of Television.