now voyager tina

Charlotte's bemoaning of her entirely-aborted life: "What man would ever look at me and say, 'I want you.'? I'm fat. My mother doesn't approve of dieting. Look at my shoes. My mother approves of sensible shoes. Look at the books on my shelves. My mother approves of good solid books. I'm my mother's well-loved daughter. I'm her companion. I am my mother's servant. My mother says! My mother. My mother! MY MOTHER!"
after running from the living room with a nervous breakdown, Charlotte was invited to attend Jaquith's Vermont sanitarium known as Cascade; before returning home, Jaquith sent his recuperated patient forth on a long ocean voyage, urged by Lisa's suggestion and a typed up Walt Whitman poem: 'Untold Want, By Life and Land Ne'er Granted, Now, Voyager, Sail Thou Forth to Seek and Find'
the first major transformation of Charlotte, seen on an ocean cruise, from a dowdy, 30-ish aging female to a vibrant beauty
during a shore trip, her introduction to handsome and suave European, Jeremiah 'Jerry' D. Durrance (Paul Henreid); while dining together on an outdoor patio, in the first of many cigarette lightings in the film, Charlotte was impressed that he graciously lit her cigarette that she held to her mouth
the sequence in Rio when Jerry and Charlotte hired a car and driver for sightseeing, but their vehicle ran off a windy, mountainous road, and the stranded couple were forced to seek overnight shelter in an abandoned cabin during a rainstorm (they kissed and presumably had sex after the fade-out); afterwards, as they began to fall in love, seen in a travelogue montage, they spent five amorous days together in Rio - sight-seeing, eating in restaurants, and dancing
the balcony scene in Rio when Jerry for the first time lit two cigarettes simultaneously and gave one to Charlotte, who confessed: "I'm immune to happiness," but then shed tears of gratitude (she admitted: "I'm such a fool, such an old fool. These are only tears of gratitude - an old maid's gratitude for the crumbs offered...")
their goodbye scene in South America at the airport - the two believed that they might never see each other again (Charlotte: "I hate goodbyes") - knowing that Jerry was lovelessly married to a dependent Isabel and wouldn't leave her; in the scene, Jerry lit two more cigarettes and passed one to Charlotte and then told her: "Would it help you to know I'll miss you every moment?" - she replied: "So will I, Jerry, so will I" before a few parting kisses
the sequence of Charlotte's return to Boston for a dramatic confrontation with her waiting, tight-lipped, tyranically-hostile, disdainful mother, who wished to reestablish control over her daughter; although changed, Charlotte was still ridiculed and victimized, but this time, she asserted her independence: "I've come home to live with you again here in the same house. But it can't be in the same way. I've been living my own life, making my own decisions for a long while now. It's impossible to go back to being treated like a child again. I don't think I'll do anything of importance that will displease you, but Mother, from now on, you must give me complete freedom, including deciding what I wear, where I sleep, what I read"
once she again encountered Jerry in Boston, Charlotte realized that she was still in love with him, although she had another suitor, attractive widower and eminent, wealthy Bostonian Elliot Livingston (John Loder) and they were engaged; however, she remained uncertain, indecisive and uncommitted to Elliot
in a sensitive scene, she met with Jerry at the Back Bay Station as he prepared to board a train, and honestly confessed: "I thought I was getting over you, Jerry"; shortly later, she broke off the engagement with Elliot, realizing that she could only be happy with someone she was passionately in love with ("You ought to marry someone who would enjoy what you enjoy. Let's not linger over it, Elliot. (Elliot: "Well, I-I suppose you'll meet somebody sometime.") No, I don't think I'll ever marry. Some women just aren't the marrying kind. But you'll meet someone. Thank you for thinking it was me. I have that on my record anyway"); after she courteously said goodbye to him, to her inner self, in voice-over, she lamented the loss of a marriage prospect as she climbed her stairs: "It's like the time when my father died. His breathing just stopped. All over. Finished. Ended forever. You fool, oh you fool! Now you'll never have a home of your own, or a man of your own, or a child of your own"
the scene of a bitter quarrel with her mother after informing her of the breakup with Elliot; her mother was cruelly incensed: "You've never done anything to make your mother proud, or to make yourself proud either. Why, I should think you'd be ashamed to be born and live all your life as Charlotte Vale. Miss Charlotte Vale"; when Charlotte disowned her mother ( If that's a mother's love, I want no part of it") - her independent actions contributed to her mother's fatal stroke and heart attack in her chair while Charlotte was on the other side of the room; afterwards, Charlotte blamed herself and suffered from deep feelings of guilt and insecurity - and experienced a relapse
at the sanitarium, Charlotte met and befriended Jerry's twelve year-old daughter Christine ("Tina") (Janis Wilson), a shy, braces-wearing, paranoid, depressed and withdrawn young girl who had been at the sanitarium for almost two weeks - a kindred spirit; Charlotte restored her own condition by identifying with and growing close to Tina, becoming her adoptive mother and therapeutic counselor
although Charlotte knew that Jerry would never leave his legal wife, Charlotte had found something far happier and more enduring in their present platonic arrangement - with his 12 year-old daughter Tina as "their" newly-restored, changed child
the final famous tearjerking scene between them, including his cool question: "Shall we just have a cigarette on it?" - symbolizing his assent that Tina would be in Charlotte's charge; again, Jerry lit two cigarettes, as Charlotte delivered the final closing line; she gratefully looked up at the night sky while Max Steiner's score swelled, realizing that she would be happy taking care of Tina - "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon...we have the stars"

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Now, Voyager

Where to watch.

Rent Now, Voyager on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Now, Voyager is a Hollywood swooner with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid in a melodrama to end all melomers.

Audience Reviews

Cast & crew.

Irving Rapper

Bette Davis

Charlotte Vale

Claude Rains

Dr. Jaquith

Paul Henreid

Jerry Durrance

Gladys Cooper

Mrs. Henry Windle Vale

Bonita Granville

Movies in Theaters

Movie news & guides, this movie is featured in the following articles., critics reviews.

“Now, Voyager”: Why the 1942 screen classic with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid will never age

“Box office dynamite—that’s ‘Now, Voyager’.” Those are the first words of Naka ‘s “Now Voyager” Variety film review, as published August 19, 1942. Continuing in the very same review: ‘Here is drama heavily steeped in the emotional tide that has swept its star, Bette Davis, to her present crest, and it’s the kind of drama that maintains Warners’ pattern for box office success. (…) It affords Miss Davis one of her superlative acting roles, that of a neurotic spinster fighting to free herself from the shackles of a tyrannical mother. (…) For Henreid, perhaps, this is his top role in American pictures; he neatly dovetails and makes believable the sometimes underplayed character of the man who finds love too late.’

The film tells the story of Boston heiress Charlotte Vale (in the beginning unglamorously portrayed by Bette Davis), a sheltered, frumpy, and middle-aged neurotic who is driven to a nervous breakdown by her domineering mother (Gladys Cooper), but with the help of a soft-spoken idealized therapist (Claude Rains), she is transformed into a modern, secure and attractive young woman. During an ocean voyage to South America, she meets a suave man, Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid), and blooms as a woman. Durrance, unhappily married to a woman he dares not to hurt, has a young daughter Tina (played by the then twelve-year-old promising juvenile actress Janis Wilson in an uncredited role). She is an emotionally depressed child victimized by the insecurity of their unsettled home. Ultimately, Charlotte Vale and Jerry Durrance end up in a platonic relationship in which she keeps Tina, who in the meantime, is in the process of recovering, while Henreid stays with his unwanted wife.

“Now, Voyager” is an unabashed first-rate soap opera—or a woman’s picture, if you wish—and as such, it’s one of the very best of its kind, thanks to Warner Bros. expertise. At the same time, the powerful drama is backed by Max Steiner’s lush and Academy Award-winning musical score which is almost as much a part of the film as the actors. Bette Davis, one of Hollywood’s queens in the 1940s, made the film’s heroine a touching, dignified, and truly believable woman.

Miss Davis was not the first choice to play the role of Charlotte Vale, though. Irene Dunne, along with Charles Boyer, her co-star in “Love Affair” (1939), were considered to be perfect for the leading roles. Producer Hal B. Wallis also offered the female lead to Norma Shearer, and although she was fond of it, she had already made up her mind to retire from the screen after George Cukor’s “Her Cardboard Lover” (1942), due to her eye problems. When Irene Dunne heard that the script had also been discussed with Norma Shearer, she declined as well, fearing that both actresses were played against each other. Then Ginger Rogers was offered the part. She liked it, but weeks passed by for her to reply, and even after Wallis sent her a wire while she was on her ranch on the Rogue River, she did not respond, so finally the part went to Bette Davis, who was eager to play it.

One of the most famous and landmark scenes of the film is when Paul Henreid lights two cigarettes simultaneously and gallantly hands one of the cigarettes to Bette Davis, thereby starting a new custom (in an era when people obviously weren’t aware of the danger of smoking). The film became highly successful: “Now, Voyager” was Warner Bros.’s fourth biggest grossing film of 1942.

Compared to the then-established two-time Academy Award-winner Bette Davis, Mr. Henreid only had a few years of experience in Hollywood. After leaving Austria in the mid-1930s, he first settled in London and then moved on to the West Coast. So, although pretty much a newcomer in Hollywood when “Now, Voyager” was made, his performance was well-received. The New York Herald Tribune wrote, ‘Paul Henreid achieves his full stature as a romantic star’ while Time praised him as ‘Hollywood’s likeliest leading man who acts like a kind and morally responsible human being.’

In his autobiography “Ladies Man” (1984), Paul Henreid remembers Bette Davis as ‘a solid master of her craft’: “I found her a delight to work with, and we got along famously. In fact, a very close friendship started between us, and she remained a dear, close friend—and always a very decent human being.” The atmosphere on the set was amiable and supportive, although Miss Davis did have problems with her co-star Bonita Granville (who played the part of Charlotte’s young niece June Vale). “She was bitchy in the film and off. I don’t remember the details, but she struck me as flighty and gossipy,” she told Boze Hadleigh in his interview book “Bette Davis Speaks” (1996).

Principal photography of “Now, Voyager” began on the Warner lot on April 7, 1942, and ended on June 23, with retakes on July 3. The film was released in the U.S. on October 31, 1942. “Casablanca,” another Hal B. Wallis production, also starring Paul Henreid and Claude Rains (a frequent performer in Wallis’ pictures), was released a few months later on January 23, 1943, and was almost shot simultaneously at Warner Bros., from May 25 until August 3. Over the years, “Casablanca” gained a more popular following than “Now, Voyager” did; in 1998, a novel entitled “As Times Goes By,” written by Michael Walsh for Warner Books, follows the characters of Rick, Ilsa, Victor (Paul Henreid), Sam, and Louis (Claude Rains) after they left Casablanca.

When originally scheduled to direct “Now, Voyager,” filmmaker Edmund Goulding wrote a treatment for the film, but he fell ill and was unable to direct the film. Michael Curtiz then was assigned as director, as soon as he had finished shooting another Wallis production called “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942) with James Cagney. Still, from the very start, it became clear that Curtiz and Bette Davis couldn’t get along. Finally, producer Hal B. Wallis decided to go with a new director, London-born Irving Rapper. “He was a pleasant, amusing Englishman. He liked Bette, and she liked him,” Wallis recalled in “Starmaker,” his 1989 mémoires . Irving Rapper was a vocal coach, dialogue director, and assistant director in the 1930s who, prior to “Now, Voyager,” had directed only three features, including “One Foot in Heaven” (1941) starring Fredric March and Martha Scott, and “The Gay Sisters” (1942) with Barbara Stanwyck. In the end, just like Bette Davis, he was not the first choice by all means, but he turned out to be the right one.

Four years later, Irving Rapper and his three leading actors from “Now, Voyager”—Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, and Claude Rains (Davis’ favorite co-star)—were reunited with the drama “Deception,” also made at Warner Bros. (this one without Hal B. Wallis). In 1964, Paul Henreid directed Bette Davis (playing twin sisters) in the crime drama “Dead Ringer,” with his daughter Monika Henreid playing a supporting role.

Irving Rapper and Bette Davis later worked together again in “The Corn Is Green” and “Another Man’s Posion’ (1951). “Irving has directed some of my best pictures,” she said in later interviews.

Author Olive Higgins Prouty wrote four novels about the wealthy Vale family in Boston (“Now, Voyager” being the third). She sold the “Voyager” rights to Wallis for $35,000 in October 1941, and made several suggestions. She preferred Technicolor to be used, with the flashbacks shown in subdued colors as if seen through a veil, and she had laid down a scheme for particular sequences. Wallis decided to go ahead and ignore them completely, but after she had seen the film in her New England home with twenty-five friends, ‘all of them applauded,’ Wallis wrote in his autobiography. She wrote him a letter, saying that ‘the plot follows very closely that of my book and the personalities of the various characters have been carefully observed and preserved.’

Finally, film director Irving Rapper, born in 1898 in London, passed away at age 101 in 1999 in Woodland Hills, California, of natural causes. Never really in the spotlights, there’s not too much written about him. Authors Charles Higham and Joel Greenberg did include him in their interview book “The Celluloid Muse: Hollywood Directors Speak” (1969), a collection of fifteen interviews with film directors who spent most of their careers working in Hollywood. In their introduction of the Irving Rapper interview, they describe his whereabouts at the time of the interview: ‘Irving Rapper’s apartment is set high in a glistening white building in the very heart of Hollywood. Only a stone’s throw from Hollywood Boulevard, with its seedy spangle of light-signs, its driven restless sixties people, and its ever-skulking hustlers, Rapper inhabits a seemingly sealed-off forties world. As so often in Hollywood, fantasy and reality seem one, so that as you enter the hall, where a super-efficient blonde announces your arrival directly from the reception desk to the host’s telephone, you could easily be in a scene from a vintage Bette Davis picture, and you half expect to see her charge stormily at any moment through the glass window doors, ready for an argument with David Brian or Bruce Bennett—those lost figures of Hollywood’s past. Chez Rapper, the atmosphere of that past exists. Comfortably plump and relaxed, with an elegant and cultivated personality, he is utterly unlike the brisk new generation of grey-suited, fiercely efficient Hollywood men. (…) Like so many Hollywood talents, he has been put firmly—and one hopes only temporarily—on the shelf by the newest generation, but looking round his apartment, you see the compensations: Chinese lampstands ‘fit for a museum,” magnificent paintings crowded tightly up of a wall, a louvered cocktail recess, an atmosphere of spacious, glossy luxury. And beyond the great windows and the penthouse balcony, the whispering traffic, the horn-bleeps and the diamond shine of an ocean of lights: Los Angeles.’

Just for the record, even though “Now, Voyager” isn’t mentioned in AFI’s list of 100 Greatest American Films of All Time, the film ranks at #23 in AFI’s 100 Greatest Love Stories of All Time, while Bette Davis’ closing line, ‘Oh, Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon… we have the stars!’ is at #46 in AFI’s Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time. In 2007, “Now, Voyager” was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.’

“Now, Voyager” (1942, trailer)

NOW, VOYAGER (1942) DIR Irving Rapper PROD Hal B. Wallis SCR Casey Robinson (novel ‘Now, Voyager’ [1941] by Olive Higgins Prouty) CAM Sol Polito MUS Max Steiner ED Warren Low CAST Bette Davis ( Charlotte Vale ), Paul Henreid ( Jerry Durrance ), Claude Rains ( Doctor Jaquith ), Gladys Cooper ( Mrs. Vale ), Bonita Granville ( June Vale ), John Loder ( Elliott Livingston ), Ilka Chase ( Lisa Vale ), Mary Wickes ( Dora Pickford ), Janis Wilson ( Tina Durrance )

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Now, Voyager

Photos & Videos

Film Details

Articles & Reviews

Brief Synopsis

Cast & crew, irving rapper, bette davis, paul henreid, claude rains, gladys cooper, bonita granville, photos & videos, technical specs.

Dowdy, thirtyish Charlotte Vale lives with her dictatorial, aristocratic mother in a Boston mansion. Fearing that Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa brings psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith to the Vale home to examine her unobtrusively. Jaquith's observations and conversation with Charlotte convince him that she is, in fact, very ill, and he recommends that she visit his sanitarium, Cascade. Away from her domineering mother, Charlotte recovers quickly, but does not feel ready to return home and accepts Lisa's proposal of a long cruise as an alternative. On board the ship, a newly chic Charlotte is introduced to Jerry Durrance, who is also traveling alone. The two spend a day sight-seeing together, during which time the married Jerry asks Charlotte to help him choose gifts for his two daughters. Charlotte is touched when Jerry thanks her with a small bottle of perfume. Subsequently, Charlotte tells Jerry about her family and her breakdown and learns from his good friends, Deb and Frank McIntyre, that Jerry is unhappily married but will never leave his family. After the ship docks in Rio de Janeiro, Jerry and Charlotte become stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain and spend the night together. Having missed her boat, Charlotte stays with Jerry in Rio for five days before flying to Buenos Aires to rejoin the cruise. Although they have fallen in love, they promise not to see each other again. Back in Boston, Charlotte's family is stunned by her transformation. Her mother, however, is determined to regain control over her daughter. Charlotte's resolve to remain independent is strengthened by the timely arrival of some camellias. Although there is no card, Charlotte knows the flowers are from Jerry because he had called her by the nickname "Camille," and, reminded of his love, she is able to forge a new relationship with her mother. Charlotte eventually becomes engaged to eligible widower Elliot Livingston. One night, at a party, Charlotte encounters Jerry, who is now working as an architect, a profession he had renounced years before in deference to his wife's wishes. His youngest daughter Tina is now seeing Dr. Jaquith for her own emotional problems. Charlotte asks Jerry not to blame himself for their affair as she gained much from knowing that he loved her. This chance encounter forces Charlotte to realize that she does not love Elliot passionately, and they break their engagement, so angering Mrs. Vale that during an argument with Charlotte, she has a heart attack and dies. Guilty and distraught, Charlotte returns to Cascade, where she meets Tina. Seeing herself in the girl, Charlotte takes charge of her, with Jaquith's tentative approval. When Tina improves enough, Charlotte takes her home to Boston. Later, Jerry and Jaquith visit the Vale home, and Jerry is delighted by the change in Tina. Charlotte warns him, however, that she is only able to keep Tina with her on condition that she and Jerry end their affair. Jerry believes that he is responsible for her decision not to marry Elliot, but Charlotte reassures him otherwise, saying that Tina is his gift to her and her way of being close to him. Jerry then asks if Charlotte is happy and she responds, "Well, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon; we have the stars."

Lee Patrick

Franklin Pangborn

Katherine Alexander

James Rennie

Mary Wickes

Michael ames.

Charles Drake

David clyde.

Frank Puglia

Janis wilson, claire du brey.

Don Douglas

Charlotte wynters, lester matthews, sheila hayward, bill edwards, isabel withers, yola d'avril, georges renavent, bill kennedy, reed hadley, elspeth dudgeon, george lessey.

Constance Purdy

Corbet morris, hilda plowright, tempe pigott, dorothy vaughan, martha acker, al alleborn, eddie allen, george becker, edward blatt, meta carpenter, phyllis clark, joseph cramer, emmett emerson, frank evans, leo f. forbstein, hugh friedhofer, robert haas, robert b. lee, rydo loshak, fred m. maclean, scotty more, harold noyes, charles o'bannon, casey robinson, marguerite royce, sherry shourds, gilbert souto, max steiner, willard van enger, perc westmore, photo collections.

Hosted Intro

Award Nominations

Best actress, best supporting actress, the essentials - now, voyager.

Pop Culture 101 - Now, Voyager

Trivia - now, voyager - trivia & fun facts about now, voyager, trivia - now, voyager - trivia & fun facts about now, voyager, the big idea - now, voyager, behind the camera - now, voyager, critics' corner - now, voyager, critics' corner - now, voyager.

No member of the Vale family has ever had a nervous breakdown. - Mrs. Henry Windle Vale

Well there's one having one now. - Dr. Jasquith

Oh Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars. - Charlotte Vale

Remember what it says in the Bible, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away." - Dr. Jasquith

How does it feel to be the Lord? - Charlotte Vale

Not so very wonderful, since the Free Will Bill was passed. Too little power. - Dr. Jasquith

I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid, mother. I'm not afraid. - Charlotte Vale

A maiden aunt is an ideal person to select presents for young girls. - Charlotte

Producer Hal B. Wallis originally wanted Irene Dunne for the lead role, but Bette Davis convinced him otherwise.

The Walt Whitman poem Bette Davis reads (just before leaving Cascades) is "The Untold Want" from Songs of Parting (just 2 lines): "The untold want by life and land ne'er granted / Now voyager sail thou forth to seek and find."

Bette Davis complained about 'Max Steiner' 's Academy Award-winning musical score, saying that it was too intrusive on her performance.

The film is remembered for the scene in which Paul Henreid places two cigarettes in his mouth, lights them, and then passes one to Bette Davis, but it wasn't an original idea - a similar exchange occurred ten years earlier between Davis and 'George Brent' in _Rich Are Always With Us, The (1932)_ .

The title of Olive Higgins Prouty's novel was taken from Walt Whitman's poem "The Untold Want." In a letter to literary agent Harold Ober included in the Warner Bros. Collection at the USC Cinema-Television Library, Prouty made the following suggestions about the novel's adaptation: "...In my novel I tell my story by the method of frequent flashbacks....It has occurred to me, however, that by employing the silent picture for the flashbacks, in combination with the talking picture, similar results can be accomplished, and with much interest to an audience because of the novelty of the technique....I am one of those who believe the silent picture had artistic potentialities which the talking picture lacks. The acting, facial expressions, every move and gesture is more significant....Of course the silent picture has 'gone out' now, but I believe it has a place, for depicting what goes on in the mind of a character...." Various contemporary sources add the following information about the production: Mary Astor was first signed as the second female lead and Norma Shearer and Irene Dunne were approached to play the role of "Charlotte." Producer Hal Wallis sent Ginger Rogers a copy of Olive Higgins Prouty's novel, hoping to interest her in the film. Juanita Quigley tested for the role of "Tina." Director Edmund Goulding wrote a treatment for the film and, at that time, was scheduled to direct; later Michael Curtiz was assigned to direct the film. Some scenes were filmed on location in Laguna Beach, CA and the Cascade scenes were filmed at Lake Arrowhead, CA. Although Frank Puglia's character is called "Giovanni" in the film, contemporary reviews, the screenplay and the CBCS list it as "Manoel." According to modern sources, Prouty had written an elaborate cigarette-lighting ceremony for her characters, which proved too awkward to complete on film. In its place, Henreid invented a romantic gesture which has since become famous. He lit two cigarettes at the same time and handed one of the cigarettes to "Charlotte." Modern feminist critics have described Now Voyager as an "initiation" or "coming of age" film in which a psychologically immature woman becomes a self-determining adult and comment favorably on the accurate depiction of the mother-daughter relationship. Although contemporary critics derided the film as contrived and melodramatic, it was Warner Bros. fourth-highest grossing film in 1942 and has enjoyed an enduring popularity. Max Steiner won an Oscar for Best Score, and both Gladys Cooper and Bette Davis were nominated for Academy Awards. The film was adapted for radio and, starring Bette Davis and Gregory Peck, was broadcast on The Lux Radio Theatre on February 11, 1946 and May 24, 1955.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States 1942

Released in United States on Video April 5, 1988

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TV Listings
Cast & Crew

Now, Voyager - Full Cast & Crew

70 Metascore
2 hr 0 mins
Drama, Comedy
Watchlist Where to Watch

A neurotic, unmarried woman chafing under a domineering mother is helped by an eminent psychiatrist, who instills self-confidence in her, which is put to the test when she falls in love with an unhappily married man. Bette Davis was nominated for Best Actress as the daughter and Gladys Cooper got a Best Supporting Actress nod as her mother. The film's title is from a line in Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."

Screenwriter

Music director, cinematographer, production company, art director, sound/sound designer, special effects.

The Blonde at the Film

A fresh look at old films.

Now, Voyager (1942)

via: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1922/Now-Voyager/#tcmarcp-145921 Unless otherwise noted, all images are my own.

Now, Voyager is one of the classic “woman’s films,” a genre popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Woman’s films, also called melodramas or even “weepies,” featured woman-centered narratives revolving around female protagonists, and dealt with “women’s issues” like motherhood, marriage, domestic life, romance, and a (un)healthy dose of self-sacrifice and martyrdom.

For those reasons, some of these films, especially the more melodramatic ones, can seem a little dated.

But they’re still worth watching, especially for the great stars who populated this genre, like Bette Davis , Barbara Stanwyck , Jane Wyman , and Joan Crawford.

Fun fact: the idea of the “woman’s film” was a hot topic in film scholarship in the 1980s, and it continues to be explored. Do these films qualify as a separate genre? Are they subversive? Patriarchal? Anti/Feminist? Repressive? Liberating? And what about the name? Is the term “woman’s film” positive or negative?

We won’t delve into that too much, but it’s worth noting the complications that accompany these films.

To the movie! It’s based on Olive Higgins Prouty’s 1941 novel of the same name. She wrote a series of four novels about the wealthy Vale family of Boston, and Now, Voyager is the third. Fun fact: Prouty’s novel Stella Dallas was adapted for the screen in 1925 and 1937, and both are quintessential entries in the woman’s film canon.

Production on this film started in April, 1942 at Warner Bros., led by producer Hal Wallis . It stars Bette Davis , who was at the height of her career after several huge hits and four consecutive Best Actress Oscar nominations.

But Davis wasn’t Wallis’ first choice to play Charlotte Vale; Irene Dunne was Wallis’ pick, but Norma Shearer was also in the running. When Dunne and Shearer became involved in other projects, Wallis thought about Ginger Rogers for the role. But Davis heard about the project, campaigned for it, and eventually was cast.

Opposite Davis is Paul Henreid , an Austrian actor whom you might know as Victor Lazslo in Casablanca (1942). Now, Voyager was Henreid’s first big role in Hollywood, and it established him as a romantic leading man.

Fun fact: Henreid was born Paul Georg Julius Freiherr von Hernried Ritter von Wassel-Waldingau, but he went by Paul von Hernried as an actor in Europe. When he emigrated to the United States and got a contract with RKO, the studio recommended that he drop the “von” and change the spelling in his last name, which is how he got to Paul Henreid.

The movie opens in a stuffy Boston mansion. A noted psychiatrist named Dr. Jaquith ( Claude Rains ) has come to visit Charlotte Vale at the request of Charlotte’s sister-in-law, Lisa (Ilka Chase). Lisa is afraid that Charlotte is about to suffer a massive nervous breakdown, but Charlotte’s mother ( Gladys Cooper ) thinks the whole thing is ridiculous. Her daughter is fine, thank you very much, and she doesn’t appreciate Dr. Jaquith’s interference.

Mrs. Vale is a scary, tyrannical woman who has run Charlotte’s life (into the ground.) She is an exaggerated, Freudian example of “Momism,” a term coined that year in Philip Wylie’s book A Generation of Vipers . Wylie nastily claims that mothers who exert too much power, and make their children too dependent upon them, turn their kids into immature, utterly dependent losers. Like Charlotte.

Mrs. Vale is terrifying, but Dr. Jaquith holds his own. She tells him that Charlotte was a “late child” who arrived years after her brothers were born, and wasn’t super “wanted.” She has not been kind nor supportive to her shy, sensitive daughter. Speaking of whom…

Charlotte is summoned from her room, where she was carving ivory boxes and smoking cigarettes on the sly. We first see her sensible, dowdy shoe on the stairs before we get a shock.

Is that really Bette Davis in that frumpy old dress, glasses, and old-fashioned hairstyle? It’s an especially effective look next to sharp Lisa in her trim suit.

Fun fact: Davis got really into this role and was extremely meticulous about her performance. She worked closely with costume designer Orry-Kelly and her hair and makeup personnel to get the right look for Charlotte.

To simulate the addition of about twenty-five pounds, Davis asked Orry-Kelly to add padding to her costumes, and besides the dowdy hairstyle, she asked makeup artist Perc Westmore to thicken her eyebrows into furry caterpillars.

Although it’s a pretty extreme alteration, what appears in the film was actually a compromise. Davis had wanted to go even further, but Wallis thought it was too grotesque and pulled things back.

We see immediately how Mrs. Vale orders Charlotte around, refuses to accept that anything might be wrong, and generally acts like a cruel, overbearing parent. Charlotte becomes more and more agitated until she leaves the room. Notice how Mrs. Vale looms large in the frame, just as she looms large in Charlotte’s life. You can watch the scene here .

Dr. Jaquith follows and asks if she might show him around the house. They end up in her room, where she shows him her ivory boxes and he sees the hidden cigarette butts in her trash can. She gets more and more upset as she explains how her mother picks out her clothes, glasses, and hair style, the books she reads, and the food she eats, exclaiming “I’m fat; my mother doesn’t approve of dieting!”

She shows Dr. Jaquith a photo album of the last trip she took, a cruise with her mother when Charlotte was twenty-years old. And…flashback!

A pretty young Charlotte fell in love with one of the ship’s officers, and they engaged in a steamy, secret romance. But then they were discovered inside a car on the ship ( Titanic , anyone?).

And despite their protestations that they wanted to get married, Mrs. Vale took charge and ended things, since the officer wasn’t suitable for a “Vale of Boston.”

And that was the last trip, and probably the last fun, that Charlotte had. Fun fact: Author Prouty suggested that the film be shot in color with the flashbacks in black and white, but Warner Bros. didn’t go for that idea.

Dr. Jaquith is deeply concerned, and he returns to the parlor to tell Mrs. Vale that Charlotte is seriously ill: “If you had deliberately and maliciously planned to destroy your daughter’s life, you couldn’t have done it more completely.” He’s a brave man.

Charlotte returns to the parlor. But things get worse when Lisa’s pretty blonde daughter June (Bonita Granville) arrives and begins teasing and mocking Charlotte.

It’s rather merciless and mean, and I’m always struck by the fact that Lisa doesn’t stop her daughter. After all, Lisa genuinely cares about Charlotte, and she has brought a famous doctor to help, and he just announced that Charlotte is very sick. So why does she let her daughter be so cruel? It’s weird.

June teases until poor Charlotte can’t take it anymore. Out comes an anguished burst:

And she runs back to her room. Mrs. Vale says, stupidly and in denial: “No member of the Vale family has ever had a nervous breakdown.” Dr. Jaquith, who has been watching it all, answers simply: “Well, there’s one having one now.”

Fun fact: In Claude Rains: An Actor’s Voice , author David Skal writes that at first, Rains wasn’t crazy about making this movie because the part of Dr. Jaquith was very small. He actually turned it down until screenwriter Casey Robinson re-wrote it, boosting the psychiatrist’s role and tailoring it to Rains. Rains was paid $5,000 a week for six weeks, though the shooting went badly over schedule and almost kept Rains from his next movie, a little film called Casablanca (115).

Next thing we know, Charlotte is at Cascades, Dr. Jaquith’s retreat/facility. She’s been there for almost three months, and Dr. Jaquith thinks that she is ready to re-enter the world. But she disagrees. Also, her eyes have somehow improved and she doesn’t wear glasses anymore.

To help her venture out into the world, Dr. Jaquith gives her a poem by Walt Whitman:

And that’s where the title comes from! Walt Whitman’s two line poem “The Untold Want.” You can watch the scene at Cascades here .

Charlotte doesn’t want to go home, so Lisa helps her arrange passage on a South American cruise to gently ease Charlotte back into the world. Fun fact: Prouty’s novel includes a Mediterranean cruise and time spent in Italy, but since WWII was raging, the film changed Charlotte’s journey to South America. There was a concerted effort made in the 1940s to court the South American audience and make that continent look great (for more, see my reviews of Bathing Beauty , Nancy Goes to Rio , and Easy to Wed ), so the alteration wasn’t a hardship.

Cut to the ship where cruise director Franklin Pangborn is making final arrangements for the day’s shore excursion.

Passengers are impatiently waiting for Charlotte to arrive so they can depart. No one has seen her yet, and they’re curious.

In a lovely repetition of the first time we saw Charlotte, it is her shoe that introduces the new Charlotte before the camera gives us a look at her face and form.

The difference is striking:

No more padded clothes, bushy eyebrows, and sensible shoes! Besides the thrill of a makeover, it’s a very poignant moment, as you can imagine Charlotte being terrified to meet people, and cautiously emerging from her cabin in her new clothes and elegant hat, self-conscious and nervous.

She sits by herself until Pangborn introduces her to a fellow traveler, Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid) and asks if Jerry could accompany her on the excursion, as they are the only lone travelers. Charlotte doesn’t have much choice in the matter, but Jerry is very nice and non-threatening. And Dr. Jaquith told her to try to “unbend” and be more open to new people and opportunities (a scene we see in a brief flashback at this very moment). So she agrees.

Here they are filming this scene:

via: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/1922/Now-Voyager/#tcmarcp-145919

Jerry and Charlotte chat and have lunch, and it’s all going nicely. There are a few odd moments, though, as when Jerry says something that is the exact opposite of what Mrs. Vale often told Charlotte. Mrs. Vale’s face appears superimposed on top of Charlotte’s in an eerie effect as she hears her mother’s voice:

Charlotte can’t believe that handsome Jerry is being so kind to her. She still feels like dumpy, awkward Charlotte despite her transformation and newfound but fragile confidence.

She catches her reflection in a window and looks surprised to find herself in this moment. You can watch the scene here .

After lunch, Jerry asks Charlotte to help him shop for presents for his wife and two daughters. Yes, alas, Jerry is married. He shows her a photograph of his wife Isabelle and two daughters when they return to the ship. Charlotte is intrigued to learn that the younger daughter, Tina, was also a “late child” who wasn’t very “wanted” by Jerry’s wife. And Tina wears glasses and thinks she is an ugly duckling. Hmm, ain’t that a coincidence!

To thank her for helping him shop that afternoon, Jerry gives Charlotte a bottle of perfume, and asks if she’d like to dine with him that evening. She rushes to her room and pulls out an evening gown with attached instructions:

Lisa and Charlotte have thought of everything to ensure an easy, stylish sailing!

Charlotte puts on the pretty white dress and embellished cape, and meets Jerry in the dining room, though she is petrified.

But he is all charm and consideration, and they have a pleasant evening, though she wants to disappear into the floor when he plucks another note off the back of her cape! (Renee is the woman who gave up her spot on the ship, and also apparently her wardrobe, for Charlotte).

Charlotte is mortified when Jerry sees the note, (can you even imagine her embarrassment? She’s already way outside of her comfort zone, she barely made it to dinner at all, and she can’t even fathom the idea of someone being kind to her!)

But Jerry is sweet about it, and, after all, it’s not the first odd thing he’s noticed about Charlotte. She calls herself a spinster aunt and acts prickly and unused to positive attention.

Plus, she admits that she is traveling under a friend’s name, and confesses that she is really Charlotte Vale. Jerry says he’d like to call her Camille, as she is something of a chameleon. He likes her. Here they are between takes:

via: http://acertaincinema.com/media-tags/now-voyager/

Eventually, as all couples must when onboard ship, they make their way outside to stand close together in the moonlight. That shimmering cape does indeed make an impression!

As they talk, Jerry picks up on some more not-so-subtle hints, which lead him to ask, tenderly:

Charlotte just shakes her head as she fights tears. She tells him that she’s been ill and maybe isn’t quite well yet, and shows him a picture of her family. He points out the “fat lady with the heavy brows and all the hair,” not realizing it’s Charlotte. She sets him straight.

And then it all makes more sense. That evening, he writes Tina a letter:

The next day, and for many days after, Jerry and Charlotte spend time together. Charlotte meets his buddies, one of whom sits beside her on deck and tells her that Jerry’s wife is a terror who makes his life miserable. But Jerry stays with her because of the kids, especially Tina. That’s good to know.

When they arrive in Rio, Jerry and Charlotte hire a car to take them up the mountain, but there is a crash. Everyone is killed.

Just kidding, everyone is fine. But the car is stuck at the bottom of the gully, so Jerry and Charlotte are forced to spend the night together in a hut. They snuggle, but just for the warmth…Charlotte is sound asleep when Jerry kisses her tenderly on the cheek and wraps her more firmly in his arms. It’s very sweet and romantic. He’s in love with her.

The next morning, Charlotte has a choice to make. Jerry is staying in Rio on business, but Charlotte was supposed to continue to Buenos Aires, though she missed the boat because of the car accident. Now, she can either catch a plane to Buenos Aires that day or wait to catch the flight in five days, which would enable her to spend that time with Jerry.

Obviously, she decides to spend some extra time in Rio. She’s no dummy.

They have a wonderful time together full of platonic, appropriate friendship on the surface and forbidden love just underneath. But the night before her plane leaves, Jerry climbs onto her balcony to tell her how he feels. Ready for some romantic melodrama? And a very famous cigarette lighting scene?

As composer Max Steiner ‘s love theme surges in the background, Jerry puts two cigarettes in his mouth, lights them, and hands one to Charlotte. It’s sexy but also quite perfect because remember how Charlotte used to hide her smoking? Now a handsome man who is in love with her is helping her smoke! She’s come a long way!

This cigarette lighting ritual was a sensation and became a trademark for Henreid and Davis. The two stars claimed that they came up with the routine while rehearsing, based on how Henreid and his wife lit their cigarettes. The director, Irving Rapper, claimed he invented it to cover an awkward moment in the script. And screenwriter Casey Robinson said that it was always in the screenplay, which is true–it is in early drafts.

But it goes even further back than that, as the whole thing had appeared in a scene with Ruth Chatterton and George Brent in The Rich Are Always With Us (1932), which was one of Davis’ first films at Warner Bros.! So it’s got a complicated history, but it became indelibly linked to this film and these stars.

Meanwhile, things get real with a passionate declaration from Jerry and stunned tears from Charlotte:

You might wish Charlotte would just kiss him or something rather than play the “old maid” and “crumbs” card, but she’s still slightly stuck in old Charlotte mode.

As tears fill her eyes, she tells him “You see, no one ever called me darling before!” And they kiss, finally. And we all tear up.

But their love for each other doesn’t trump his (horrible) marriage, so they decide it’s better if they part and try to move on.

The next day Jerry accompanies Charlotte to the airport. They gaze in each other’s eyes, and Jerry does the cigarette thing again:

Now Voyager Henreid Davis airport goodbye

Then off she flies to catch her ship. Sigh.

Guess what? We’re barely halfway through! But things speed up. Cut to the dock in New York where Lisa and June wait for Charlotte. They’re shocked, shocked! to see chic, popular Charlotte stroll down the gangplank. It’s a great rhyme with the first gangplank scene at the beginning of her cruise. That time she was insecure and self-conscious, but now she owns that stroll!

June is shocked to see her spinster aunt surrounded by adoring men carrying her bags, and she’s even more disoriented when Charlotte dishes out some teasing of her own.

Fun fact: Bonita Granville played Nancy Drew in four films in 1938-1939. Another fun fact: Davis later said that Granville was the only actor who was rude to her when they were making this movie. Which is pretty ironic, and pretty stupid on Granville’s part.

Everyone is trying to catch up with Charlotte to say goodbye, and the cruise director even has this surprising news.

If June and Lisa didn’t see it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it! You can watch Charlotte’s triumphant arrival here .

Things don’t go as smoothly when Charlotte gets home, though. Her mother liked having submissive Charlotte at her beck and call, and she isn’t happy about confident, self-assured Charlotte. She even threatens to cut her off if Charlotte refuses to abide by her rules. You can watch the scene here .

Charlotte is deflated after her chat with her monstrous mother. How can she maintain her newfound mental health and habits if her mother insists on treating her as she always has? Just when she really, really needs a boost, one arrives in a plain box. Inside is a trio of glorious camellias (a reference to her pet name Camille) from Jerry. And Charlotte is reminded that she is loved and wanted.

She pins the camellias to her new black dress and goes to set some new rules with her mother. Their conversation is tense but Charlotte holds her own. Then Mrs. Vale falls down the stairs and hurts her ankle, leaving Charlotte to play hostess at a dinner party for her family.

Charlotte’s brothers are shocked to see their sister:

But she rolls with their utter confusion, flitting about like the charming, confident woman she has become. She even dares to light a fire in the parlor’s fireplace, something her mother has never allowed. Go, symbolism, go! The camera even lingers on the flickering flames in the long dormant fireplace to make sure we get it.

After the party, Charlotte and her mother reach an uneasy truce.

But Charlotte and Dora ( Mary Wickes ) her mother’s nurse, are fast friends. Dora intuitively senses what’s going on, and she is absolutely on Charlotte’s side.

With Dora’s help, Charlotte and her mother maintain a fragile equilibrium over the next months. It’s assisted by Charlotte’s budding relationship with eligible widower Elliot Livingston ( John Loder , who also plays Bette Davis’ love interest in Old Acquaintance ).

Elliot is a major catch, and Mrs. Vale really wants Charlotte to land him. And Charlotte is into it. They even get engaged!

But she still wears Jerry’s camellias, and leaves the roses that Elliot sends her at home.

It’s all going pretty well for Miss Vale, but that can’t last. We need more melodrama! So at a party one evening, guess who Charlotte sees across the room?

She and Jerry chat as though they are the merest of acquaintances, but they’re still in love, darn it. You can watch the scene here.

To his credit, when Jerry learns of Charlotte’s engagement, he cancels their late-night rendezvous and takes a train out of town. He doesn’t want to mess up Charlotte’s life. But she runs to the train station to catch him before he goes. Every melodrama needs an intense parting scene at a train station!

When Jerry says he feels bad for saddling Charlotte with an impossible love, Charlotte jumps in with all the reasons that she doesn’t regret her love for Jerry:

She continues:

On that very first day, a little bottle of perfume made me feel important. You were my first friend, and then when you fell in love with me, I was so proud. And when I came home I needed something to make me feel proud. And your camellias arrived, and I knew you were thinking about me. Oh, I could have walked into a den of lions. Matter of fact, I did, and the lions didn’t hurt me.

It’s brilliantly delivered in Davis’ intense way–magic!

Then Jerry boards his train, and Charlotte watches him go, mascara smudged and camellias smooshed.

And yet the movie continues!

Charlotte realizes that she can’t marry Elliot while loving Jerry, so she breaks off their engagement. It’s about the friendliest breakup you’ll ever see.

And how interesting that Charlotte is wearing a dress reminiscent of the one she wore in her first scene of the film, though the situations are far removed.

Mrs. Vale is furious when Charlotte tells her that the engagement is off. They say some nasty things to one another, including this gem that Charlotte hurls at her mom: “I didn’t want to be born. You didn’t want me to be born. It’s been a calamity on both sides.”

And in the midst of their fight, Mrs. Vale dies. You can watch it here .

How fitting that Charlotte’s similar dresses bookmark the first and last scenes with Mrs. Vale, too.

Although Charlotte is now free and very wealthy, (she has inherited the massive Vale estate), she feels terrible guilt over her mother’s death.

So she returns to Cascades to stave off a breakdown. When she arrives, guess who she sees working on a puzzle? Why, ’tis Jerry’s daughter Tina (Janis Wilson)!

After meeting Charlotte, Jerry realized that he had to get Tina away from her mother, so he sent her to Cascades. Charlotte knows who Tina is, but Tina has no idea. Charlotte tells Tina that she can call her Camille if she’d like, and of course Tina loves that idea!

Charlotte decides to cheer up miserable Tina. They get ice cream together, and Charlotte lets Tina call her dad. She tells him that a lady named Camille is being her friend…and Jerry knows.

That night, Charlotte holds Tina as she weeps about how she’s ugly and no one likes her and no one wants her. And Charlotte decides to help Jerry’s daughter. The pair are inseparable, and under Charlotte’s care, Tina begins to blossom. At first, Dr. Jaquith isn’t sure that this is such a good idea, but Charlotte convinces him to let her be Tina’s nurse.

Charlotte even convinces Dr. Jaquith to let her take Tina away from Cascades on a big camping trip. Because that’s totally fine, liability-wise, to let one patient take another patient off into the wilderness.

Fun fact: Davis also really liked Janis Wilson, and chose her to be her daughter in Watch on the Rhine (1943).

Tina’s confidence skyrockets, and Charlotte feels fulfilled while mothering Tina. Each feels loved, plus Tina gets the mother she’s always wanted, and Charlotte gets to be the mother she always wanted. Perfect!

Oddly enough, Tina’s parents give the okay for Charlotte to take Tina back to Boston with her. She’s essentially adopted the kid, and they’re having a great time in that huge mansion, which is now filled with people and laughter.

Jerry stops by one evening to see Tina, you know, like a dad. He’s amazed at the change in his daughter:

And he still loves Charlotte. In fact, when he’s hugging Tina, he says “I love you,” while staring straight at Charlotte. Tina assumes it’s for her, and Charlotte knows it’s for her. It’s not as creepy as it sounds.

That evening, Jerry and Charlotte find a quiet room for a chat. But first, they need their cigs!

Divorce somehow remains utterly out of the question, but the two re-pledge their love to one another. They discuss what to do about Tina, and Charlotte says she wants her to stay in Boston. At first Jerry protests against Charlotte sacrificing her own life like this for Tina, but then he agrees to the plan.

He even calls Tina “our child,” as in his and Charlotte’s. He can’t divorce Isabelle but he can adopt out their daughter and create another family with Charlotte? What?

So it’s settled. Tina will stay with Charlotte, and Jerry will stop by once in a while. Which leads us to the final, famous lines spoken as Steiner’s love theme cascades beneath them:

I don’t know, I think they could reach a little higher. But that’s that, and it’s melodramatic and romantic and poignant. You can watch it here .

When the film was first released, Davis said in interviews that she thought Charlotte and Jerry would eventually get together. But years later, Davis would change her mind and say she thought Charlotte and Dr. Jaquith probably got married, and she helped him run Cascades. So lots of options.

This was Bette Davis’ biggest hit at Warner Bros., raking in $2.38 million in profit. It also did well critically, garnering Oscar nominations for Gladys Cooper, Max Steiner, and Bette Davis, giving Davis her fifth consecutive Best Actress nomination, matched only by Greer Garson. Steiner’s Best Score was the only winner, as Mrs. Miniver cleaned up that year, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Supporting Actress (Teresa Wright) and Best Actress (Greer Garson).

Fun fact: due to bad weather on location, illness, and Davis’ meticulous pace, the film ran over schedule. This forced changes in Casablanca ‘s shooting schedule, as that film was waiting on Henreid and Rains to finish Now, Voyager .

Another fun fact: this was the first of four films that Davis would make with director Irving Rapper. After Now, Voyager, Rapper directed Davis in The Corn Is Green (1945), Deception (1946) and Another Man’s Poison (1951).

Here’s the trailer –enjoy! For more, follow me on Twitter , tumblr , Pinterest , Instagram at BlondeAtTheFilm , and Facebook . You can buy this great film here . As always, thanks for reading!

Modern Screen, November 1942. via: http://archive.org/stream/modernscreen2425unse#page/n1114/mode/thumb

As for that smoking ritual…for the rest of his life, Henreid’s fans would ask him to light their cigarettes, and he used a picture of himself with two cigarettes in his mouth for the cover of his autobiography!

Davis’ fans were also forever asking if they could light her cigarettes the way Henreid did. And when Henreid directed Davis over twenty years later in Dead Ringer (1964), they re-staged the cigarette scene for promotional photos.

via: http://www.altfg.com/blog/movie/paul-henreid-two-cigarettes/

22 replies »

My favorite is the “moon and star” cigarette scene. Very sexy!

I agree! Thanks for reading!

Fabulous information on one of my favorite films!! I loved reading about the Casablanca connection and I love that Bette to make Charlotte even more unattractive. What a dame!!

Janet (Sister Celluloid)

Thanks, Janet! So glad you enjoyed my review. And I agree, Bette was quite a dame!

I love this movie too in spite of its many oddities. How is farming off your daughter better than divorce? So strange. But, of course, it makes it more romantic that they don’t get to be together…I love the idea of her getting together w/Rains. Loved him in this. What a great review. Made me like even better:)

Thank you! Rains is great in this role, and I can see Charlotte being very happy with him! Thanks for stopping by!

THANK YOU for keeping NOW VOYAGER alive for the next generation of Classic movie lovers. Well done! If you’d like some more background information, join me on facebook PAUL HENREID BEYOND VICTOR LASZLO.

I heard about now voyager back in 1975. But I didnt watch it until March of this year,’ i never thought she knew who Tina was until the phone booth scene, but maybe she did know all along . The way She treated Tina after that was really touching though. Janis Wilson did a convincly good job I thought as Tina. I always have liked Bette Davis as a actress

I think one of the most beautiful things about this movie is the relationship between Tina and Charlotte. It’s so sweet! Thanks for reading!

Just watched 2 stupid modern movies recently, Gone girl and Wedding crashers, vulgur and lewd, nothing with any depth and feeling like Now Voyager and other classics from the old days, Something is missing from movies these days

There’s something special about these old movies!

I think it’s Lovely that Charlotte sacrificed her own desires to just “take” the man she loved away from his wife and family. I think that if people today could be so selfless there would be less divorce. If I could only have lived in that era, at least I can dream like I did tonight. Thank You So Much!

Thanks for reading!

Just viewed the movie for the first time. I use to watch these classics as a little girl. Now I am tryimng to get my teenage daughter into them too. Thanks for the post, it pulled together a few questions.

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it! I hope your daughter likes these old movies!

Love your article. I’m reading the Olive Higgins Prouty novel at the moment and the cigarette scene is there too. Here’s the paragraph:

“It wasn’t until Jerry performed the simple act of lighting her cigarette when they were sipping their bitter black coffee, that Charlotte lost control of her tears for a moment. It was Jerry’s last attempt to perform one of their playful little rituals, trivial in itself, consisting merely in lighting both their cigarettes from one match and then exchanging cigarettes, a ceremony practised, Charlotte had no doubt, by many another pair experimenting with untried intimacies. Or was it one of Jerry’s original ideas? She had never read of it in a novel. As Jerry held the flame to the tip of the shaft between her lips she thought, ‘It’s for the last time in our lives,’ and the tears that had sprung to her eyes, and her throat had been so constricted that it was difficult to draw in enough air to keep the glow of the cigarette alive so as to pass it lit to Jerry.”

The book was published in 1941, so Prouty could have borrowed from the The Rich are Always with Us.

Even more interesting is a very ambiguous paragraph just before which implies that Jerry and Charlotte slept with each other at least once before the end of the cruise…

Also interesting is a very ambiguous paragraph on the previous page which implies that Jerry and Charlotte slept together before the cruise voyage ended.

Thank you! I have never read the novel and had no idea that the cigarette thing was in there! I think you’re right to read into the ambiguity surrounding their physical relationship. I think the movie tries to suggest that, too. Thanks for this comment!

I love your article on Now Voyager. In fact I watched it on TCM last week during the Bette Davis tribute. The cast is typically excellent because it’s Warner Brothers. I especially loved seeing Gladys Cooper, a wonderful actress of the Golden Age of Films. What is there not to enjoy about this film? I consider Max Steiner to be at the top of the list among the other great composers, Rosza, Storthart, Hermann,Friedhofer et al. Thank you for allowing me to share my passion for films of the golden age.

Thank you for this comment! This is a tremendous movie. I agree–Steiner is one of the greatest! Thanks for reading!

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Now, Voyager (1942)

Although financially successful, the movie was panned by some critics who thought the story contrived but it received three Academy Award nominations, winning the Best Musical Score for Max Steiner. Bette Davis lost the Best Actress Award to Greer Garson for 'Mrs Miniver and Gladys Cooper lost the Best Supporting Actress Award to Teresa Wright, also for 'Mrs Miniver'.

The last words of the film: "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars," is ranked #46 in the American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotes in American cinema. In 2007 the Library of Congress selected 'Now Voyager' for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

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Helped by eminent psychiatrist, Dr Jacquith, played by Claude Rains, Charlotte begins to blossom into an attractive young woman. On a cruise organised by Dr Jacquith she falls in love with Jeremiah Durrance, played by Paul Henreid but because he is already married they agree to part and never see each other again.

Charlotte returns home a changed woman and during an argument with her mother talks back strongly and her mother has a heart attack and dies. Shaken and feeling guilty, Charlotte returns to the clinic where she meets Tina, Jerry's daughter (played by Janis Wilson). Tina is suffering in exactly the same way that Charlotte suffered at the hands of a domineering mother and Charlotte is able to give her the help and support she needs. She now has a better understanding of what she values in life and she can tell Jerry that if she has the stars, she doesn't need the moon. She is the Voyager who set out to "seek and find." She found a sense of her true worth and inner peace.

It took some very active campaigning by Bette Davis to finally win her the plum role of Charlotte Vale. She was not the original choice of producer Hal B. Wallis for the lead and he considered Irene Dunne, Norma Shearer and Ginger Rogers for the part. Similarly other directors were considered by Wallis, such as Michael Curtiz and Edmund Goulding before Irving Rapper was chosen. Bette Davis liked his calm, non-antagonistic approach and he became an important influence on her career over the next decade, directing her in 'The Corn Is Green' in 1945, 'Deception' the following year and 'Another Man's Poison' in 1951.

The success of the movie was helped in no small way by the beautiful music by Max Steiner which enhances the drama and the romance. Similarly the transformation of Charlotte from browbeaten frump to glamorous woman of the world is highlighted and accentuated by her wonderful wardrobe, designed by the talented Orry-Kelly.

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Now, Voyager review – Bette Davis at the height of her powers

Irving Rapper's newly restored 1942 classic about a spinster who learns to appreciate life is a brilliant showcase for its magnetic star

09 Aug 2021

A Hollywood icon in every sense of the word, Bette Davis was an actor capable of summoning wit, charisma, and intensity all in a single line of dialogue. Exhibiting the qualities that made her such a commanding screen presence, Irving Rapper’s Now, Voyager – newly restored and now in cinemas courtesy of the BFI – is a star vehicle that endures beyond its original standing as a “women’s picture” thanks to its stunning depiction of a person coming to understand who they really are.

Here is a classic film with a great deal of universal appeal, with themes ranging from self-discovery, to building trusting and robust relationships. It's all subtly interwoven into Davis' magnetic portrait of a woman in crisis, and through the subtle complexities of Casey Robinson’s adapted screenplay (based on the source novel by Olive Higgins Prouty).

Now, Voyager follows the affluent Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis), stunted after having grown up under the heel of her puritanical and controlling mother (Gladys Cooper), and who remains convinced of her own unworthiness until a kindly psychiatrist, Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains), gives her the confidence to set out on a restorative South American cruise.

The monumental moment leads Charlotte onto a ship and into the company of another solo traveller, Jerry, played by Paul Henreid. Although he's married, they embark on a friendship and somewhat thwarted love affair, which helps Charlotte break free of her mother’s grip and discover a sense of self that's always been lacking.

Produced at the peak of Davis’ stardom at Warner Bros., the dominating actress transforms effortlessly between an initially shy and timid spinster into a woman filled with a verve for life and all its wonders. She flourishes with independence as the film gains momentum and, with each scene, finds noble strength to care for others.

The visual transformation owes a great deal to Davis’ dexterous acting ability, though she is aided by a good number of flowing gowns and lavish hats, conjured by the delicate touches of costume designer Orry-Kelly, who Davis frequently collaborated with across her entire career. These two forces culminate through the stark juxtaposition of costumes before and after the defining cruise. Specifically, Kelly’s costumes play with literal veils, an extended visual metaphor of the character’s name and her journey of self-discovery.

Unlike many productions of the era, Now, Voyager places a great deal of attention towards location shooting, creating its memorable images far away from the usual Hollywood sound stages, what with their artificial lighting and fake trees. As a result, the truest sense of exploration comes to the forefront – the kind that shaky backdrops on studio lots rarely afford.

As in Prouty’s original novel, the film does not shy away from melodrama, yet still places a women’s authority central to proceedings, notably echoed in the film's last line. The deliverance of the film’s final line (not to be spoiled here) could have been played with a straight romantic quality, yet in Davis’ vivid delivery a whole array of feminist themes are unearthed, placing an emphasis on women caring and supporting one another outside of a purely patriarchal family structure.

Although the film was originally intended towards a female audience, Now, Voyager avoids cliche and sentimentality about a woman's place in the world and fully transcends its origins. What emerges is a universal message about the resilience of the human condition – a timeless expedition of self-discovery with an enduring lead performance from a dedicated actor working at the height of her powers.

Now, Voyager is now showing in select UK cinemas.

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Now, Voyager

Irving Rapper (1942)

Now, Voyager has long had the reputation of a kitsch classic, thanks to the leading man’s lighting-two-cigarettes-at-once trick, the leading lady’s closing line and more. As if Max Steiner’s (Oscar-winning) score weren’t enough, it’s elbowed off the soundtrack, as the heartbreak quotient rises, by an over-generous helping of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique . You watch the film well aware of the plot contrivances and the masochistic exaggeration; yet you’re convinced emotionally – by strong performances, well directed by Irving Rapper, and some good dialogue by Casey Stephenson. His screenplay is adapted from the novel by Olive Higgins Prouty, who also wrote the source material for Stella Dallas .

Dowdy spinster Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) is tyrannised by her domineering mother (Gladys Cooper), the matriarch of a wealthy Boston family to which Charlotte, who has three elder brothers, was a belated and unwanted addition. Her kindly sister-in-law, Lisa (Ilka Chase), concerned about Charlotte’s mental health, arranges for an eminent psychiatrist, Dr Jaquith (Claude Rains), to visit the Vale mansion to assess her. Stuff and nonsense, according to Mrs Vale, but Jaquith stands his ground and confirms that Charlotte has had a nervous breakdown. She spends time in Jaquith’s sanatorium. After making a good recovery and transforming her appearance, she embarks on a cruise. On the ship, she meets the splendidly named Jeremiah Duvaux Durrance (Paul Henreid), aka Jerry, travelling alone but a married man. Charlotte and Jerry, an architect, fall in love but are too principled to take it further. Friends of Jerry know that his wife (who’s never seen) is a pious fraud but he feels an inviolable responsibility towards the couple’s two daughters, especially Tina, the younger. The resonances with Charlotte’s own circumstances are unmistakable: jealously manipulative Mrs Durrance, who rules the roost, never wanted Tina.

Spinsters may now be a dying breed but parental domination of, and duty to, children are hardly extinct. Yet the themes of Now, Voyager play to contemporary experience to an extent twenty-first-century viewers may not easily appreciate. Imagine all the unmarried women watching the film in the early 1940s whose main role in life was to care for a parent. (Imagine how many struggled to find a parent-sitter to enable them to see Now, Voyager .) Those parents didn’t have to be the monster that Mrs Vale is; they might indeed have been deeply loved and loving; but they governed their daughter’s world and constrained her freedom. Olive Higgins Prouty’s novel was first published in 1941; by the time the film went into production early the next year, America had entered World War II. So the separation of Charlotte and Jerry also spoke to married women.

At first, it’s hard to say how old Charlotte is meant to be: Bette Davis’s frump appurtenances aren’t exactly subtle – the thick spectacles, the even thicker eyebrows. These may have helped the star ‘find’ Charlotte but it’s striking from the start how convincingly Davis, not the obvious choice to play a downtrodden character, inhabits the role. Even in the early scenes, Charlotte doesn’t come across simply as a repressed spinster; she’s more a thwarted figure whose violent emotionality is never far from the surface. Davis’ intuitive understanding of how quickly to move – and of the dramatic contribution speed of movement makes – is strongly in evidence here. Her initial disguise obviously adds to the impact of Charlotte’s new look when she joins the cruise but it’s a strength of Now, Voyager (the lines from Walt Whitman’s ‘The Untold Want’ which give the film its title are quoted in the script) that it eschews facile metamorphosis. Charlotte retains a lack of self-confidence and cynicism for some time after becoming glamorously sophisticated. Her mother is far from instantly vanquished.

Mrs Vale’s eventual defeat is a real coup de théâtre , though. Having accused her daughter of malingering, she herself becomes, once Charlotte starts gradually to assert her independence, a bedridden hypochondriac. – until the pair’s conclusive showdown. Losing patience, Charlotte quotes Dr Jaquith’s belief that ‘Tyranny can be an expression of the maternal instinct’ and declares that: ‘I didn’t want to be born. You didn’t want me to be born. It’s been a calamity on both sides’. The words inflict an instant, fatal heart attack on Mrs Vale. She expires on the spot. Preposterous as it sounds, this makes sense in context: the sustained melodramatic intensity of the film has paved the way for it.

Charlotte takes the place of an eleventh-hour defector from the cruise called Camille Beauchamp – and uses this pseudonym when she first meets Jerry. He soon finds out her real name but Charlotte remains to him the lady of the camellias: after they’ve parted company and Charlotte returns to Boston, Jerry regularly, anonymously sends the flowers to her. In fact, Charlotte’s fate is the polar opposite of Alexandre Dumas’s Marguerite, who has her love affair with Armand but dies. Charlotte survives; her relationship with Jerry is doomed to remain unconsummated for as long as his wife is alive. The latter, in the closing stages of Now, Voyager , is reported to be gravely ill but this scarcely matters: by now, the principals’ continuing self-denial has come to seem invincible.

Guilt-stricken at having killed her mother in a few sentences, Charlotte returns to the sanatorium. The inmates now include twelve-year-old Tina Durrance (Janis Wilson), whose misery and isolation, reminding the heroine of her own past suffering, do more than take Charlotte’s mind off her problems. She becomes preoccupied with Tina’s welfare. With Dr Jaquith’s permission, she takes the girl under her wing and, in time, into her home (the house that Charlotte has now inherited from her mother). Here, too, the plotting is almost comically improbable yet emotionally coherent. Caring for Tina realises Charlotte’s own motherly potential and provides a means to seeing Jerry regularly, and platonically. Hence the closing exchange, when he asks if she’ll be happy with this life and Charlotte replies, ‘Oh, Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon … we have the stars’. Sol Polito’s camera heads for the glittering night sky.

As Jerry, quietly charming Paul Henreid isn’t overshadowed the way he would be in Casablanca , which opened in cinemas a few weeks after Now, Voyager . There’s something slightly eccentric in Henreid’s face and manner. As well as an effective romantic partner to Bette Davis, he contrasts satisfyingly with the impeccably colourless John Loder as Elliot Livingstone – a lawyer, a member of one of Boston’s ‘best’ families and, for the short time he’s engaged to be married to Charlotte, the one thing about her daughter of which Mrs Vale approves. Gladys Cooper plays the despot mother with more aplomb than variety; although that’s hardly Cooper’s fault, it’s noticeable that the brilliant Claude Rains brings plenty of nuance to his similarly narrow character. He’s finally rewarded when Dr Jaquith agrees to Charlotte’s caring for Tina – and the script seems to recognise how benignly omniscient and omnipotent it’s made Jaquith throughout. He warns her that ‘The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away’.

Charlotte : How does it feel to be the Lord?

Jaquith : Not so very wonderful since the free will bill was passed. Too little power.

Janis Wilson is impressively truthful as Tina – her upset feels real. It’s a pity that Wilson’s screen career seems to have ended before the 1940s were out (she’s good again in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)). Others doing well, in smaller parts, include Lee Patrick, as a fellow passenger on the cruise who knows Jerry and puts Charlotte in the picture about his wife, and Ilka Chase. As the latter’s daughter, Bonita Granville is fairly gruesome but probably meant to be. It’s difficult now to stomach Frank Puglia’s turn as an inept and craven Latino car driver but at least he’s not around for long. It’s a pity that Franklin Pangborn, as the harassed but bossy cruise supervisor, isn’t around for longer.

14 August 2021

Author: Old Yorker

'TINA,' inspiring story of Tina Turner's rise to stardom, makes Wisconsin premiere at Fox Cities PAC

A PPLETON – A biographical musical of one of rock 'n' roll's biggest legends captivated its audience during its Wisconsin premiere Tuesday night at Appleton's Fox Cities Performing Arts Center.

"TINA – The Tina Turner Musical" tells the story of the titular character's rise to fame, and the challenges and hardships she overcame along the way — all set to her songs. The show features hits like "Proud Mary," "River Deep – Mountain High," and "What's Love Got to Do with It." And the excitement in the audience was clear when attendees recognized favorite songs.

"'TINA' is a fantastic show. It's a very difficult show to perform due to the emotional nature of her story, and the physical nature of, with all the dancing and all that kind of thing. But it is a great musical," said Shari Washington Rhone , a swing performer who can portray numerous roles as needed, including in this show Turner's mother and grandmother.

Washington Rhone grew up in Milwaukee, and most of her family and friends are Wisconsinites, she told The Post-Crescent. For her, the musical's debut in the Badger State is also an opportunity to share the story with her loved ones.

"TINA – The Tina Turner Musical" first opened on Broadway in 2019. It shut down when the pandemic hit, and reopened in the fall of 2021 for about a year before closing. The North American tour has been on the road since July 2022. Tina Turner herself helped with the creative process of the musical.

"TINA" opens with Tina Turner in her iconic look — big, blonde-highlighted mullet and a mini dress and high heels — preparing to go on stage, seated on the ground with her back to the audience and repeating a Buddhist mantra. Then, her grandmother enters with a Cherokee chant, while her Baptist father passionately preaches. Then, the ensemble enters, swirling with chairs in hand, and suddenly it's a jump back in time, to a church congregation scene, with grown-up Tina Turner replaced with her child self — Anna Mae Bullock.

There's a surreal theme present throughout the musical, as the story weaves between realistic scenes from Turner's life and dream-like interpretations of emotion. The set design reflects this; even in scenes with concrete settings, like the recording studio or outside a Mississippi motel, blurred-out backdrops give a dream-like feel. At other points in the show, abstract backgrounds include moving colorful shapes, flashing police lights and a timeline list of cities on a tour. It emphasizes the show's scenes as a collection of memories that formed who Tina Turner came to be.

"TINA" does not shy away from showing the ugly parts of Turner's life. There are depictions of domestic abuse, first between Tina's father and mother, then the abuse Tina suffered from Ike Turner, her husband who springboarded Tina to fame as a teenager but was controlling, manipulative and physically abusive to her from early on. The show also depicts racism Tina faced throughout her career, from touring with Ike and their band in the south in the '60s and being refused lodging at a hotel, to being denied an opportunity for a record deal due to her race, age and gender in the '80s. There's a particularly disturbing moment where Ike tells Tina the story of his father's death.

But for all the heaviness, "TINA" is also a tale of beating the odds and proving people wrong, as Tina begins topping charts as a solo artist in her mid-40s.

Washington Rhone said audience members come to see "TINA" with a range of prior knowledge; some can remember listening to Ike and Tina Turner in the '60s and '70s, others are more familiar with the singer after her resurgence in the '80s, and some aren't familiar with Tina Turner at all beyond knowing some of her songs.

"Some of the people ... in their 50s and younger don't necessarily know about her story, don't necessarily know about the abuse that she suffered, they don't know that half of her life. So it's really illuminating to those who don't know that part of her struggle and her endurance," Washington Rhone said. "I also talked to some people who found it very healing, being able to see her go through all of those things, and still find a way to come out on top and claw her way to the person that we all know and love now. That we all knew and loved."

The cast at Tuesday night's show was exceptionally talented. In the lead role, Zurin Villanueva was a force to be reckoned with. She embodied Tina Turner at multiple stages in her life, from lanky, upbeat 17-year-old Anna Mae jumping on a St. Louis stage to sing with Ike Turner for first time, to the older, middle-aged Tina Turner with international fame and confidence in her independence.

Because the show is so demanding, two actresses play Tina Turner, and switch off every night, Washington Rhone said. It's no surprise; Villanueva's impressive vocal range left the audience loudly cheering and clapping after nearly every song.

At Tuesday's show, understudy Natalia Nappo played young Anna Mae, and she stole the show whenever she was on stage. The young actress had an extremely impressive belt, and buoyant energy that made her a believable younger version of Villanueva's grown-up Tina Turner.

Deon Releford-Lee was also phenomenal as Ike Turner. Releford-Lee's smooth, buttery voice blended gorgeously with Villanueva's on their duets. While a suave heartthrob when he is first introduced in the show, Ike's abusive behaviors quickly become apparent. Releford-Lee had a scary-calm voice just before breaking out in fits of rage or violence, and exhibited increasingly unhinged behavior correlating to Ike's cocaine use. Releford-Lee's presence on stage was enough to put the audience on edge — an impressive acting feat.

Another notable performance came from Roz White as Zelma Bullock, Tina's mother. "TINA" shows Zelma as a complex person in Turner's life; while she left Tina as a child to live with her father in Tennessee, and took Tina's older sister to live in St. Louis, she also offered Tina support in unconventional ways. White was a believably complicated mother with a harsh demeanor and unsureness of how to express love. Tearful sniffs could be heard in the audience in an Act Two scene where Zelma, from her deathbed, discusses her absence from Tina's life and regrets she carried.

The end of the musical returns to the scene it opened with, where Tina utters the mantra before going out on stage to a packed house of adoring fans. At the very end, the stage orientation flips and the audience at the Fox Cities PAC becomes an audience at a Tina Turner concert. It was a high-energy finale to a show filled with a wide range of emotions.

"TINA" ends at a point where Tina Turner's rise to superstardom was beginning. She would go on to win numerous nominations and awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and two inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in 1991 and 2021, and further establish herself as a household name. Now, close to a year since the queen of rock 'n' roll's death , the musical feels like it carries extra significance as a celebration of Turner's music and impact on the world.

"TINA – The Tina Turner Musical" runs at the Fox Cities PAC through Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online through Ticketmaster , or by phone at 800-982-2787, or through the PAC ticket office in-person or by phone at 920-730-3760. The PAC ticket office is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or [email protected] . Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli .

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: 'TINA,' inspiring story of Tina Turner's rise to stardom, makes Wisconsin premiere at Fox Cities PAC

Zurin Villanueva performs as Tina Turner in the North American tour of "TINA – The Tina Turner Musical." The show made its Wisconsin premiere at Appleton's Fox Cities Performing Arts Center Tuesday night.

Janis Wilson (1930-2003)

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Bette Davis and Paul Lukas in Watch on the Rhine (1943)

Penny Boardman

Kate Hereford

John Baragrey and Janis Wilson in The Creeper (1948)

Nora Cavigny

Stuart Erwin and Glenda Farrell in Heading for Heaven (1947)

Janie Elkins

Bette Davis and Claude Rains in Now, Voyager (1942)

Tina Durrance (uncredited)

Personal details

February 9 , 1930
Santa Barbara, California, USA
November 17 , 2003
Spokane, Washington, USA (undisclosed)
Sidney Victor Petertyl November 12, 1955 - November 17, 2003 (her death, 1 child)

Did you know

Trivia Met her future husband at age 12 on the Warner Brothers lot of "Now Voyager".
Quotes I am the last surviving witness to the filming of Casablanca (1942) , which was being filmed on the set right next door. I used to slip over there and watch it.

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Now, Voyager

Author: Old Yorker

'TINA,' inspiring story of Tina Turner's rise to stardom, makes Wisconsin premiere at Fox Cities PAC

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