In This Our Life

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In This Our Life

Released May 8, 1942

1h 37m

Drama

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4 Reviews

76%

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1,000+ Ratings

In this melodrama, pampered sibling Stanley Timberlake (Bette Davis) is 24 hours away from marrying her lawyer fiancé, Craig Fleming (George Brent), when she absconds with Dr. Peter Kingsmill (Dennis Morgan), the husband of her sister Roy Timberlake (Olivia de Havilland). To clear the way for her sister's marriage to Peter, Roy quickly divorces him, but then starts seeing her sister's former fiancé, Craig. Stanley's true nature begins to reveal itself, forcing Peter to look for a way out.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

An irregular melodrama in which Huston does not put much effort into the erratic narrative. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 6/10

May 24, 2022

Full Review

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Good soap opera, with an unusually resiliant Good Woman, and plenty to say about race relations.

Jul 17, 2009

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 4, 2005

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Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Don't be fooled by the impressive credits. This is pretty much a stinker.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 11, 2004

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Julian S

It starts off at a crawl, but by the final act, the melodrama surges—and Davis goes full tilt, chewing the scenery with relish.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/16/25

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Steve D

Fine story but Davis is overacting.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/21/24

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Matthew R

Wigs were SNATCHED! Bette and Olivia at their best!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/30/23

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Audience Member

Bette Davis gives an excellent performance as a spoiled sociopath that ruins people's lives in order to get what she wants. She's a pretty young lady and a human wrecking ball. The movie is about her ruining one life after another until consequences finally catch up to her. She does an excellent job playing this role. Otherwise, the movie is rather forgettable. I think it's worth watching just to see Bette Davis's acting. She's good.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

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Audience Member

It's rather simple at times, but it's surprisingly captivating. It sits on a simple contrast between good and evil. Interestingly good and bad are presented often in pairs, couples. The sick evil woman whose husband is a good, kind man. The equally sick and evil man who has a kind woman as wife. The evil sister with her kind sister. The constant innuendo is that good enables evil. And there's something appealing and seductive in being devilish, while being good equals being weak. But in the end good prevails. The overall take on love is a bit strange and unclear. People fall in love and out of love and sometimes even back in love rather quickly and in somewhat contractual manner. The acting is remarkably good.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

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Audience Member

Bette Davis' "Stanley" was so horrible! (But the woman could act. And so could Olivia deHavilland. Hollywood (and the rest of us) will miss these women.)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

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John Huston

Director

Bette Davis

Stanley Timberlake

Olivia de Havilland

Roy Timberlake

George Brent

Craig Fleming

Dennis Morgan

Peter Kingsmill

Charles Coburn

William Fitzroy

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Synopsis

In this melodrama, pampered sibling Stanley Timberlake (Bette Davis) is 24 hours away from marrying her lawyer fiancé, Craig Fleming (George Brent), when she absconds with Dr. Peter Kingsmill (Dennis Morgan), the husband of her sister Roy Timberlake (Olivia de Havilland). To clear the way for her sister's marriage to Peter, Roy quickly divorces him, but then starts seeing her sister's former fiancé, Craig. Stanley's true nature begins to reveal itself, forcing Peter to look for a way out.

Director: John Huston
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 8, 1942, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2016
Runtime: 1h 37m

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