I got this as part of my Bette Davis collection and while I didn't really connect with the story, I found it to be extremely open in its depiction of the racial discrimination so prevalent at the time. For it to be mentioned, even in passing, was huge. I don't think I've seen another movie from the 40's or 50's even allude to the rampant inequality that was endemic.Spoiled but pretty Stanley Timberlake (Bette Davis) runs off on the eve of her wedding with her sister's husband, Peter (Dennis Morgan). But her partying ways and frivolous spending soon cause her to have to move back home, only to find that her sister, Roy (Olivia de Havilland), is now set to marry Stanley's former fiance, Craig (George Brent). Stanley immediately makes a play to win him back, is rebuffed, and storms off behind the wheel. She accidentally strikes a pair of pedestrians and blames the accident on Craig's legal secretary, a black man, trusting that her word will see him go to prison for the crime. Roy is the only person who believes in Perry's (Ernest Anderson) innocence and she sets out to convince Stanley to tell the truth.
There's also a vaguely creepy thread through the film concerning Stanley's relationship with her uncle. It's clear that she's his favorite niece and he lavishes attention and money on her but his behavior strays uncomfortably close to inappropriate. It's a masterful performance by Charles Coburn to make it so innocuous and yet so not. It's not surprising that a story like this would interest director John Huston, who has never shied away from uncomfortable subjects. It could have been just another silly melodrama meant to distract people from the war but it shows surprising depth and grit.
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