There’s so much to love here, visually it’s a delightful feast of beautiful sets and costumes brought to life through some of the most lavish looking technicolor I’ve ever seen, the script produces some solid moments through quick back and forth dialogue and the performers take advantage of that with Bette giving one of the most impressive performances in her career and my introduction to Errol Flynn already showing me why he’s got so many fans out there. Unfortunately though with all that was done amazingly here there are some issues that keep it down, I didn’t get much from the romance itself which when compared to something similar like Alexander Korda’s Lady Hamilton is a bit of a letdown as I was really looking forward to it. I don’t think that’s on the fault of Davis or Flynn even if they reportedly hated each other during filming as their chemistry was actually pretty good, and even though I like the script for the most part I think it struggled with the romance beats which is ultimately what I think led me to not enjoying it. The story is also just too long, there was a specific moment with 16 minutes left that I thought it should’ve ended at and if it had I honestly might’ve considered a 3.5, sadly the final 15 minutes don’t provide anything more thematically for either of the main characters or the story in general that we didn’t already get previously. There are also some pretty dull stretches around the halfway point, once we got to Essex’s time in Ireland I was fully back into it but it was definitely losing me a bit in the second act. Like I said in the beginning though there’s plenty to marvel at and even with the stunning colors, beautiful sets, and cinematography I’m most in awe of Bette Davis here who’s fantastic at every turn. I’m having a little Bette Davis theme day today, I watched It’s Love I’m After earlier and I’ll be watching The Little Foxes and Jezebel after this tonight and even if I prefer all of those movies to this (i suspect i will but you never know) I’d be shocked if I see better acting from her tonight, really great stuff and I’m shocked it didn’t even earn her a nomination let alone a win. Another part of this I loved was Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s score, a big reason why I keep coming back to the historical romance drama is the operatic score that typically comes with them and Korngold’s work here is no exception and I’m very happy that piece of this delivered along with the visuals and acting. In the end it’s a beautifully made historical drama that could’ve benefitted from a more convincing romance story and a better narrative overall, I still appreciate it for what it is though and it’s one that I could absolutely see myself coming back to someday for Bette Davis alone.

There’s so much to love here, visually it’s a delightful feast of beautiful sets and costumes brought to life through some of the most lavish looking technicolor I’ve ever seen, the script produces some solid moments through quick back and forth dialogue and the performers take advantage of that with Bette giving one of the most impressive performances in her career and my introduction to Errol Flynn already showing me why he’s got so many fans out there. Unfortunately though with all that was done amazingly here there are some issues that keep it down, I didn’t get much from the romance itself which when compared to something similar like Alexander Korda’s Lady Hamilton is a bit of a letdown as I was really looking forward to it. I don’t think that’s on the fault of Davis or Flynn even if they reportedly hated each other during filming as their chemistry was actually pretty good, and even though I like the script for the most part I think it struggled with the romance beats which is ultimately what I think led me to not enjoying it. The story is also just too long, there was a specific moment with 16 minutes left that I thought it should’ve ended at and if it had I honestly might’ve considered a 3.5, sadly the final 15 minutes don’t provide anything more thematically for either of the main characters or the story in general that we didn’t already get previously. There are also some pretty dull stretches around the halfway point, once we got to Essex’s time in Ireland I was fully back into it but it was definitely losing me a bit in the second act. Like I said in the beginning though there’s plenty to marvel at and even with the stunning colors, beautiful sets, and cinematography I’m most in awe of Bette Davis here who’s fantastic at every turn. I’m having a little Bette Davis theme day today, I watched It’s Love I’m After earlier and I’ll be watching The Little Foxes and Jezebel after this tonight and even if I prefer all of those movies to this (i suspect i will but you never know) I’d be shocked if I see better acting from her tonight, really great stuff and I’m shocked it didn’t even earn her a nomination let alone a win. Another part of this I loved was Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s score, a big reason why I keep coming back to the historical romance drama is the operatic score that typically comes with them and Korngold’s work here is no exception and I’m very happy that piece of this delivered along with the visuals and acting. In the end it’s a beautifully made historical drama that could’ve benefitted from a more convincing romance story and a better narrative overall, I still appreciate it for what it is though and it’s one that I could absolutely see myself coming back to someday for Bette Davis alone.

"I'm only a woman. Must I carry the weight, the agony of the world... alone?"
✧･ﾟ: ┈♛┈･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ

Bette Davis softly kissing Olivia de Havilland on the cheek is very important to me.
Also my new favourite sub-genre is Errol Flynn in tights. Look it up.

Movie 4/4 of watching every picture that both Olivia and Bette starred in together. From **1937 to 1964**, is how long these two incredible forces spanned their friendship on screen together. I love these two dearly and getting to see the ebbs and flows of their talent through just 4 films was so entertaining and amusing, I'm quite fascinated by the the general concept of time and how different people can change in a few years, but also how much they could be the same. With that, you really get to see these two blossom and become more confident in their work. Which for them I think that meant leaning into a tone of film that pushed the boundaries and have more dramatic/psychological elements to it. As they start off by doing 2 quite light movies then they go and hit a deeper level. This doesn't just go for Olivia and Bette as a duo, but also individually as performers during the time where I feel like choosing to play those characters who were mentally insane was kind of unheard of and definitely quite alien– being an top billed actress in the 1940's-wise.

Here is a ranking of the Olivia and Bette cinematic universe:
1. Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
2. It's Love I'm After (1937)
3. In This Our Life (1942)
4. The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939)

• Bette Davis & Olivia de Havilland list

"I'm only a woman. Must I carry the weight, the agony of the world... alone?"
✧･ﾟ: ┈♛┈･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ

Bette Davis softly kissing Olivia de Havilland on the cheek is very important to me.
Also my new favourite sub-genre is Errol Flynn in tights. Look it up.

Movie 4/4 of watching every picture that both Olivia and Bette starred in together. From **1937 to 1964**, is how long these two incredible forces spanned their friendship on screen together. I love these two dearly and getting to see the ebbs and flows of their talent through just 4 films was so entertaining and amusing, I'm quite fascinated by the the general concept of time and how different people can change in a few years, but also how much they could be the same. With that, you really get to see these two blossom and become more confident in their work. Which for them I think that meant leaning into a tone of film that pushed the boundaries and have more dramatic/psychological elements to it. As they start off by doing 2 quite light movies then they go and hit a deeper level. This doesn't just go for Olivia and Bette as a duo, but also individually as performers during the time where I feel like choosing to play those characters who were mentally insane was kind of unheard of and definitely quite alien– being an top billed actress in the 1940's-wise.

Here is a ranking of the Olivia and Bette cinematic universe:
1. Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)
2. It's Love I'm After (1937)
3. In This Our Life (1942)
4. The Private Lives Of Elizabeth And Essex (1939)

• Bette Davis & Olivia de Havilland list

Bette Davis what a performance omfg

Also why is this the second movie in a row that Errol dies at the end lol

Bette Davis what a performance omfg

Also why is this the second movie in a row that Errol dies at the end lol

I liked it and found it to be entertaining but the decisions some of the characters made were beyond me

I liked it and found it to be entertaining but the decisions some of the characters made were beyond me

I really hate how hot Errol Flynn is in this considering everything I know about him from that tell-all book I got from that used bookstore in New Jersey

I really hate how hot Errol Flynn is in this considering everything I know about him from that tell-all book I got from that used bookstore in New Jersey