In This Our Life (1942)

Released in 1942 by Warner Bros. and directed by John Huston, In This Our Life is a drama adapted from the novel of the same title written by Ellen Glasgow. The film stars Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland as sisters - Stanley and Roy respectively - two very different women born to the wealthy Timberlake family of Richmond, Virginia.

We learn at the onset that the sisters' father, Asa (Frank Craven) has just lost his portion of a successful tobacco company to his wife, Lavinia's (Billie Burke) brother, William (Charles Coburn).

Roy is married to Dr. Peter Kingsmill (Dennis Morgan) and runs a successful operation as an interior decorator, while Stanley is just days away from marrying her fiance, Craig (played by George Brent).

The evening before her wedding Stanley runs off with Peter and it becomes apparent to everyone that they've been having an affair for some time now. Roy is devastated, but her hurt quickly turns to anger and she vows to move on with her life. She divorces Peter and he and Stanley marry and move to Baltimore soon after.

Stanley's betrayal forms a sort of bond between Roy and Craig and the two become friends then, over time, their friendship turns into romantic love.

Of course, while things are starting to look up for Roy, Stanley's situation has grown progressively worse. Her wild nature and Peter's hard drinking have resulted in an unhappy marriage and soon word reaches the Timberlake clan that Peter has killed himself, which means Stanley is moving back to Richmond...



Bette Davis initially pursued the role of Roy, but was forced to take the role of Stanley instead. She felt she was too old for the role and was dissatisfied with the script and the film, which she thought was a watered-down version of a powerful and moving novel that shed light on racial injustice.

I haven't read the novel, so perhaps my opinion of the movie would be different if I had, but I enjoyed the film and found it to be an entertaining diversion. Bette Davis is always interesting, even if I do think she was miscast - I had no problem with her age, but I didn't find her entirely believable as a femme fatale.

Olivia de Havilland is lovely, as usual. She had the "woman of quiet dignity" part down pat, didn't she? The role of the "good sister" suits her well in the film and she looks absolutely gorgeous.

Charles Coburn is sufficiently creepy as the sisters' uncle who has an unnatural interest in niece Stanley. George Brent and Dennis Morgan are nice additions to the film, though there isn't a lot of dialogue for either of them, which I found disappointing. It was interesting to see Morgan in an unflattering role as a cheating husband.

The film also features Hattie McDaniel as Minerva Clay, Parry's mother and the Timberlakes' maid. Unfortunately, it's a very small role for her. (I was also disappointed with Billie Burke's very boring role as the sickly mother.)

In an effort to avoid spoiler alerts, I won't go into specifics, but I will say that I really enjoyed Ernest Anderson's portrayal of Parry Clay, a young African American man who aspires to become a lawyer. It was so refreshing to see a film from this time period portray a person of color in a positive and realistic light. Anderson won the 1942 National Board of Review award for Best Actor for his performance.

Overall I enjoyed In This Our Life and found it to be a solid drama with a fine cast. An extra ten minutes might have helped to flesh out the characters a bit and I think the film would have been more powerful if we had been given more time to truly understand and care about the characters and what happens to them.