Jezebel (1938)

(On Cable TV, January 2020) It took me a while to get interested in Jezebel—the film does itself no favour with an extended setup that doesn’t get to the topic at hand. Still, it does have Bette Davis as a manipulative Louisiana belle and Peter Fonda as her fiancé… until he has enough of her antics and storms away back to the northeast. There should everyone remain, except for the Yellow Fever to strike 1852 New Orleans, bringing Fonda’s character back into her life and giving her one last chance at redemption. The recreation of New Orleans is sumptuous enough within the limits of 1930s filmmaking, and the portrait of a time when duels were seen as perfectly acceptable is alien enough. By the end of the film, however, it all clicks together even if it ends on a strikingly inconclusive note. There is at the very least Davis (who’s always at her best when she’s playing morally ambiguous characters) and Fonda, as stalwart as ever. Costumes and sets are fine enough to send us back in time, and that’s about the best that the film could aim for.  I do wish Jezebel’s first half had been more gripping—I had to start the film three times before getting into it. But now that I’ve seen it, I’m happy I did.