Dark Victory

Released Apr 22, 1939

1h 46m

Drama

List

85%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

81%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

Socialite Judith Traherne (Bette Davis) lives a lavish but emotionally empty life. Riding horses is one of her few joys, and her stable master (Humphrey Bogart) is secretly in love with her. Told she has a brain tumor by her doctor, Frederick Steele (George Brent), Judith becomes distraught. After she decides to have surgery to remove the tumor, Judith realizes she is in love with Dr. Steele, but more troubling medical news may sabotage her new relationship, and her second chance at life.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Apr 30

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Dark Victory on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Bette Davis does it her way with a tour de force performance in Dark Victory, a moving melodrama that snatches triumph from the jaws of mortality.

Read Critics Reviews

Adam Kempenaar

Filmspotting

Judith frequently grasps onto objects, her clothes or a chair... Davis has so much energy and life force flowing through her that she has to direct it somewhere.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 24, 2020

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Bette Davis loses her sight, and we gain a classic.

Rated: 5/5

Dec 22, 2010

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

Variety

Guilty pleasure: One of Warner's best acted melodramas and Bette Davis's all-time favorite, in which she lives hard but dies in dignity as an heiress gone blind. Also Davis revenge as Tallulah Bankhead failed to bring the role to life in the 1934 play.

Rated: A-

Apr 30, 2007

Full Review

Zita Short

InSession Film

At the end of the day, it is rather difficult to make a defense for the film itself. It’s a poor rip-off of a Garbo vehicle and Garbo’s films were nothing to write home about in the first place.

Feb 1, 2023

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The themes tend to be more powerful than the individual events, as tinier episodes populate a tale in need of more significant happenings.

Rated: 7/10

Dec 7, 2020

Full Review

James T. Hamada

The Nippu Jiji (Honolulu)

[A] dramatic triumph.

Jun 24, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

maggymoo

Worth watching for the costumes alone. A period piece. Bette Davis knocks it out of the park. Loved it

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

David K

Definitive melodrama. By that I mean an absolutely unrealistic portrayal of falling in love, a Hollywood staple where two people meet and 15 minutes later, it's a heart-breaking love based on nothing in particular other than some crisis.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/15/24

Full Review

Randall K

I kept falling asleep. It took three of four evenings to get through this. So boring. I don't mind older movies and often enjoy them better than newer movies, but this just didn't grab me.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

John R

A movie which claims the inherent goodness and worth in human life. George Brent's character and Ronald Reagan's are two sides of a coin, one calling Bette Davis to a life of fulfillment and meaning, the other an open invitation to license and dissipation. She spends the movie gravitating between the two poles. Bogart may be the one that actually draws her back from the brink. The strength of his spirit, and his insistence that he has so much life within himself but he was just born at the wrong time is a call to find meaning, even in a world which is at times bleak, confusing and even downright evil. While the melodrama is a bit much at times, the heart of this one is made of gold.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/04/23

Full Review

CodyZamboni

Bette Davis' most appealing, and charming performance. She plays such an endearing character, so full of energy and radiance. And it's that strength that powers her through tragedy. Also nice seeing Reagan and Bogart in supporting roles,

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

1939 is considered one of the greatest years in Hollywood filmmaking and this tearjerker is among the best movies of that year. A Bette Davis performance that will leave you stunned with her beauty and acting range.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Edmund Goulding

Director

Bette Davis

Judith Traherne

George Brent

Dr. Frederick Steele

Humphrey Bogart

Michael O'Leary

Geraldine Fitzgerald

Ann King

Ronald Reagan

Alec Hamm

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

92%

70%

They Drive by Night

100%

71%

All Through the Night

TRAILER

for All Through the Night

83%

74%

The Fountainhead

91%

90%

Now, Voyager

99%

95%

Casablanca

TRAILER

for Casablanca

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Socialite Judith Traherne (Bette Davis) lives a lavish but emotionally empty life. Riding horses is one of her few joys, and her stable master (Humphrey Bogart) is secretly in love with her. Told she has a brain tumor by her doctor, Frederick Steele (George Brent), Judith becomes distraught. After she decides to have surgery to remove the tumor, Judith realizes she is in love with Dr. Steele, but more troubling medical news may sabotage her new relationship, and her second chance at life.

Director: Edmund Goulding
Producer: Hal B. Wallis
Screenwriter: George Emerson Brewer Jr., Bertram Bloch, Casey Robinson
Distributor: Paramount Pictures, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Key Video, Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Brothers, First National Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 22, 1939, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 31, 2007
Runtime: 1h 46m
Sound Mix: Mono

Most Popular at Home Now