In This Our Life (1942)

This film is notable in part for inspiring the name of Barack Obama's mother, Stanley. Many viewers, as well as readers of the original book, wonder why Stanley Timberlake (Bette Davis) and her sister Roy (Olivia de Havilland) have masculine names; none of my sources provide a definite answer. My guess is that at least one of their parents or grandparents really wanted a son.

Regardless, at least one of these Virginian aristocrats has something wrong with her: Stanley, engaged to Fleming (George Brent), instead runs off with her brother-in-law, Peter (Dennis Morgan). Once the divorce is finalized, Peter and Stanley marry, and Roy tries taking up with Fleming. That could've been the end of it, but things don't work out so well with Peter, and spoiled Stanley, quite used to taking whatever she wants, makes another play for Fleming....

There's something of a parallel subplot involving Fitzroy (Charles Coburn), the business partner-turned-boss of the women's father, who legally but amorally acquired much of their family wealth, leaving their mansion in a symbolically shabby state. In spite of this, he's like an uncle to Stanley (not in an official capacity, AFAICT), frequently showing her a generosity he knows she doesn't deserve, probably because they were cut from the same cloth. Even he has his limits, including, much as he wishes to deny it, health limits.

Fitzroy is also openly racist, which brings up the other substantial theme. Fleming, a lawyer, hires a law student, Parry (Ernest Anderson), who says this line of work seems the best option for a Black man in those days. Parry eventually gets a raw deal from Stanley and, in turn, the legal system. So surprisingly frank is this story concerning unfair contemporary race relations that the Office of Censorship initially withheld a seal of approval for ignorant reasons at best, but it paid off when Warner Bros. got honors for it. FWIW, Parry's mom is played by Hattie McDaniel, who might just have felt more comfortable than she had in Gone with the Wind.

Davis is always good, but I think she may be especially a treat in villainous or antiheroic roles. Alas, she badmouthed this film in retrospect, not least for the way she had to chew the scenery. Little did she know how much fun it can be to watch. That said, de Havilland, while more muted, gives her a run for her money in acting.

I'm uncertain of whether the film properly passes the Bechdel test. We certainly hear a lot from the sisters, along with a few other women of interest. But whatever they talk about directly, it seems clear that their actions are framed by what they do with the men in their lives. I add the "Bechdel" tag with a grain of salt.

This was the second flick directed by John Huston, his first being The Maltese Falcon. What a great start. Whatever you think of ITOL overall, there should be something in it to impress you.