If I had to choose just one film of Bette Davis at her best for a desert island this would be the one. Reviewers have called it a ' soaper ' a period piece ( aren't all films ? ) and ' unrealistic '. It is not a soaper ( I suppose that means a soap opera ? ) and it is certainly unrealistic. That is its major merit, and we should all have room for films that are not realistic, whatever that very loose philosophical word means. This is pure romantic wish fulfilment and bravo for that. Bette Davis made her career out of it and she turned middlebrow material into works of art. The direction is perfect, the quality of each scene effortless. And the cast is excellent, and Dane Clark shines in his role as well as the wonderful Charlie Ruggles with his fine delivery of dialogue. Now for Davis herself who takes on a dual role; two sisters wanting the same man. The drama is how this is resolved and its lack of that overrated realism comes into its own. The scene on the yacht is incredibly well filmed and a storm at sea is conveyed beautifully and full of excitement. I give this a 10 because I think it it is a credit to cinema and to a past that respected romance and fantasy.
Review of A Stolen Life
