Dark Victory -- 1939

Ever wonder what kind of competition Gone With The Wind actually had back in 1939 for its Best Picture Oscar? Well, I didn't either, but I was fascinated to find this film that I got primarily to catch Ronald Reagan at the chipper age of 28 was up for Best Picture opposite Gone With The Wind, and while this film doesn't have the color or spectacle of the 4 hour epic, it does have a lot of good character, heart and emotion.

The story is that of a spoiled socialite with everything she wants getting frequent headaches and finally seeing a doctor when her vision goes awry and she crashes her horse into a fence. Her family physician takes her to a brain surgeon who quickly determines she has what amounts to a tumor in her brain (they gave the medical term, but I don't recall it) that must immediately be operated upon. After the operation, she feels 100% better, but the doctor learns that the tumor was malignant, and although she won't notice it, she is slowly dying with less than a year to live. The only sign she will get that the end is near is sudden blindness only moments before she dies.

How'd you like to have that hanging over you? Well, the doctor and her best friend keep her in the dark for awhile before she inevitably learns the truth. It's a roller coaster ride of emotions as she pushes away everyone that's closest to her, denying the possibility while admitting she has limited time remaining. The actual ending will come as no surprise, but the journey is what this tale is all about. Will she go out fighting? Will she go peacefully? Will she have her friends and family? Will she be alone? You won't know until the final frame.

This was an incredibly told story. Free of spectacle, the story is just about the characters and their relationships through the trial of this woman's illness. We get to know the primary characters and their relationships with her as well as the woman herself, played by Bette Davis. She turns from a cold spoiled brat to someone with personality and a heart. The final scenes are downright heartbreaking due to the incredible setup it had leading into it from the rest of the film. It would be difficult indeed to not be affected by her final choices.

As for Reagan, he played a random talk-to guy who was either drunk or drinking through the majority of the film. The guy never changed his hair during all that time, and he was instantly recognizable via the "well..." in his tone of voice. Can't get over that baby face though compared to how I remember him as President.

An amusing note about the poor doctor in this one and something that felt like a running gag throughout was whether the doctor wanted a drink. He was asked in nearly every scene not in his office whether he wanted a drink and he always said no. There was one point where it was implied he had a drink, but we never saw it and he didn't want another. I just started laughing about it after awhile.

Anyway, this was an excellent film and well deserving of its place as a Best Picture nominee. Compared to 1939's epic winner, this was a bare bones, low budget film, but it had it where it counts in the story, the characters, and the emotion.