Bette Davis stars in this 1946 film which has her reuniting w/an old lover (Paul Henreid) who she then marries only to have the jealous specter of an old flame, played deliciously by Claude Rains, in her rear-view mirror. Henreid is an accomplished cellist making his big city debut which prompts Davis to reconnect. Instantly seeing the kind of digs she now inhabits (an opulent apartment w/a servant), Henreid suspects that Davis, a talented pianist in her own right, may've sold her soul just to be comfortable. When Rains pops back into the picture, all pomp & circumstance cut w/a dash of superciliousness (his restaurant scene where he belabors a dinner order rivals Myrna Loy's paint selection from Mr. Blandings Build his Stream House) hits the right note of camp & hysterical blindness which leads his & Davis' relationship to a fateful head. Reuniting his Now Voyager cast from 1942, director Irving Rapper hits a decent triple (Davis' character falls into martyrdom as she lets her two male suitors have their way w/her & the movie as well) letting only glimpses of her strength to come out in dollops, particularly at the end but seeing these three players at the top of their game is still a sight to behold.
