Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

If there is any film as large a collection of miscreants, I don't know what it is. The family has gained their fortune on the backs of people who have no choices in life. They pay terrible wages and don't care what happens to their workers. Now, money is needed (needed is an operative word) to start up another mill and exploit more people. Bette Davis is despicable and is writing for her husband to die so she can continue this project. He is quite ill and the "little foxes" are surrounding him, just waiting, licking their chops. Some have already committed what could be called crimes. This is a hard movie to watch because we have little to root for. The poor man who is dying is the one sympathetic character, and he is relatively powerless. Lillian Hellman's stage plays are pretty cynical. Think back to "The Children's Hour" to get another taste of the darkness of the soul.

A conniving woman (Bette Davis) and her loathsome brothers try to force her estranged dying husband (Herbert Marshall) into a business scheme that will exploit the poor people of their town. A tale of greed and corruption in the Deep South at the turn of the last century. Lillian Hellman adapted her own stage play. Well directed by William Wyler. Bette naturally owns the movie. Also fine performances from Herbert Marshall and Teresa Wright. Nice support, particularly from Charles Dingle and Patricia Collinge. Not a lot of likable characters in this one. It's a powerful drama, well crafted for sure, but you'll probably need antidepressants after.

This film goes on for nearly two hours. Thankfully, I didn't suffer that long and had it out of the DVD player after 30 minutes. It was still 30 minutes of complete disinterest, though. By all means, watch it if you need a Bette Davis fix. Dan Duryea pops up in a rather drippy kind of role while Teresa Wright is so saccharine that it makes you want to vomit. And the amount of black people polishing, cleaning and shining things is hilarious. So, after 30 minutes of this trash I fast forwarded to the end to see if there was light at the end of the tunnel. From what I could see, there isn't. Someone gets sick. Oh my! The drama! This film has left the building.

Incomparable in the cinematography, the lighting effects, the close-ups, the work of a true master. It's hard to imagine how long ago this film was made, yet has managed to keep its integrity. Intelligent, sardonic, with a brilliant performance by Bette Davis, I for one consider this one of the greatest films ever made.I think that Herbert Marshall underplayed his role to give more stage to Ms. Davis, which may not have been his choosing. He didn't seem to be as sick as he was supposed to be, and seemed distant at times, as if acknowledging to be second fiddle. Even so, as a drama, as a story about a dysfunctional wealthy family, no cast today could outshine this one. Could any actress have done better to capture the moment when she refuses to give him his medicine as he lay on the staircase begging, and the close-up of her eyes, dark and cold, yet uncertain. Amazing.