Now, Voyager (1942)

Now, Voyager There is no doubt this is a wonderful movie, if only for Bette Davis and her transformations as Charlotte so vivid in that classic Hollywood way. For me the movie has always been hobbled by Paul Henreid, who I suppose was once the admirable handsome guy his character is painted to be here. He is the chink in "Casablanca's" greatness and he's a bigger flaw here, since so much of the movie depends on him, both as love interest and father. The story is melodrama, and it's crazy improbable and simplified, so you have to see it as a kind of fairy tale with caricatures and motives very archetypal. The evil seeming mom, the sudden (and total) change in Charlotte, the absent other woman (who in this case is the wife) and the too perfectly hurting child, who brings tears to the jerker ending. It's all great, and it's all a bit much to swallow if you really want to take these things to heart. Irving Rapper is one of those mysterious Hollywood directors who made a number of classic films but never rose out of the system to be seen as having a vision of his own. The photography by the great Sol Polito is professional and unremarkable (proof, maybe, that it takes a director-cinematographer pair to make a movie rise up visually). Music by Max Steiner is unusually key and wonderful, as usual. So why is this movie so highly regarded? In part because it lacks obvious flaws (leaving my opinion of Henreid out of it). Claude Rains is a huge asset but has an intermittent role. Davis is stellar, and that holds up a lot. But overall, this is a great example of a Hollywood collaborative effort, with the well-oiled machinery of the system putting out movies that can still hold together as minor masterpieces-editing, music, visuals, and acting all pushing a hyper-dramatic story along quickly and with an involving sense of place. Yes, see it. It does in fact feel good.

Now, Voyager stars Bette Davis as Charlotte Vale. An ugly duckling with a domineering mother (Gladys Cooper) who has kept her repressed.With the help of Dr Jaquith (Claude Rains) a kindly psychiatrist in his sanitarium, she transforms from a dowdy frump to an elegant woman who goes on a cruise to establish her independence. She begins a tentative love affair with a fellow passenger, Jerry Durrance (Paul Henreid) who is also unhappily married. When Charlotte returns he arrives home, her family is stunned by the dramatic changes in her appearance and her mother is determined to destroy her confidence as well as her independence.When her mother dies, Charlotte returns to the sanitarium because of guilt where she helps out a young girl with low self esteem and confidence issues. She turns out to be Jerry's daughter, by the end both Jerry and Charlotte seem to settle for a platonic affair.This is a soapy melodrama with what looks like a gay subtext. Charlotte even turns down a proposal of a marriage of convenience from another suitor.However this is a soggy script where nothing much happens in its running time once Charlotte has transformed. This is because the Hays Code makes it difficult for Charlotte to have a happy ending with an adulterous liaison with a married man. At least the cast have enough chemistry to carry off the film.

Well-made but dull."Now, Voyager" is essentially a movie-length soap opera. Has all the ingredients: over-stated melodrama, complex relationships, high society and their weird mores, idyllic settings, forbidden romances and a nagging, fascist mother. From the outset the movie just feels stuffy, and superficial.Good production though, despite the dialogue feeling so much like a play. Max Steiner won an Oscar for his musical score.The acting goes with the play/soap opera feel: over-stated emotions, exaggerated portrayals.

The Much Mentioned "Ugly Duckling" Theme Represented in this Film is a bit Misrepresented. The Ugly Duckling was Born Ugly. Physically Different, Anthropomorphically Strange, whereas Bette Davis is Not Physically Ugly or Different, She is Psychologically Scarred and Cannot Present Herself as Normal or Pretty because She is Repressed to the Point of the Ability or Desire to Externally Show Anything Other than that what She has been Told..."You were late and unwanted."Although the Mother is Presented to be Cruel and Unusual and a Tyrant to Her Daughter, the Metamorphosis of the Young Miss Vale is Nothing More than Cosmetic (no plastic surgery) and Interpersonal. The Psychiatry Clinic and the Claude Rains' Doctor is Thankfully Subtle and Restrained for the Era that was Becoming More and More Infatuated with the "Science". The Freudian Mother Complex Finally Peaked in Films with Psycho (1960), but here it is just as Horrifying. The Only Thing that Really "Cured" Charlotte was the Removal from Proximity from Her Excessively Depressing Environment.This was Bette Davis' Biggest Box Office Success and is One of Her Best Remembered Roles and the Movie is Among the Most Popular "Weepies" of All Time. Her Romantic Interlude with Paul Henreid is Remembered and is Consequential to the Story to be Sure, but it Could be Said that the Movie Works so Well and Reaches its Emotional Level because of Charlotte's Natural Love and Mothering of the Twelve Year Old Tina (a warm and heart wrenching performance and character).It is that Sacrifice and Attention Given the Damaged Tina, that Makes Charlotte so Endearing and the Third Act is so Essential to the Plot and Cannot Help but be the Lynchpin to All of the Romantic Ruminations that Came Before. The Final, Oft Quoted Line is Embraced and Celebrated Anytime the Movie is Discussed. It's a Good Line, but it Could Not have Worked so Well without the Uncelebrated Character of Tina, the Little Lost Girl, that Charlotte Vale can...Now, Mother.