Jezebel was so influential that it created a stereotype that persists to this day. The sassy Southern woman who will destroy herself just to get a boy to like her. What was true in 1852 wasn’t true in any era after that. Yet, somehow Davis’ performance pushed that image deep into the cultural landscape. So deep that it persists years and years after the initial infiltration.
Bette Davis slides into this role with a divine grace. Henry Fonda is great as the male lead, but damn if Davis doesn’t just eat the scenery. Whether it’s forcibly taking herself from society, risking yellow fever or getting her familiars to shoot people to death; life is a ball for our Jezebel.
Warner Archive comes with a ton of special features. You get a commentary, vintage shorts, cartoons, featurettes and a trailer. The special features make me love how Warner Brothers treats their classic films. The A/V Quality really pops. The screenshot comes from the included trailer, so don’t take that as an assessment of the actual Blu-ray transfer. I’d recommend a purchase of Jezebel.
Jezebel hits Blu-ray on August 27th
