The Old Maid

Released Aug 16, 1939

1h 35m

Drama

List

Reviews

76%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

After disappearing for two years, Clem Spender (George Brent) returns on the day his former fiancée, Delia (Miriam Hopkins), is marrying another man. Her cousin Charlotte (Bette Davis) sneaks away with Clem, who enlists in the Union Army the next day and dies soon after. Charlotte and Clem's child, Clementina, grows up not knowing critical Charlotte is her mother. Jealous of Charlotte's affair, Delia pretends to be Clementina's mother, sabotaging mother and child's relationship.

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Russell Maloney

New Yorker

The characters are well conceived, they react credibly, and they actually develop as the action progresses. The story is adult, insofar as it is concerned with something beyond getting a certain girl into the arms of a certain man. But how dull it is!

Sep 6, 2018

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

CinePassion

A well-oiled assembly of betrayals, vendettas, and maternal passion plays

Nov 11, 2009

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Steve Crum

Video-Reviewmaster.com

Bette Davis at the peak of her acting chops, a brilliant, melodramatic role.

Rated: 5/5

Nov 1, 2008

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 4/5

Jul 19, 2005

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Steve D

It has been done better but the acting is great.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/11/24

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william d

Overwrought, and frankly a bit boring, melodrama.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Tom M

Hopkins is great. Unfortunately, Davis spends the last hour of the film with the same scowl on her face. Depressing film with 3 minutes of redemption at the end.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/26/20

Full Review

Audience Member

I liked the movie very much! It kept me guessing throughout. I love the old movies as you just never know whats going to happen next. Plus the actors are so much more talented than some actors of today and the plots more interesting! This film was made in 1939 and was beautifully written, directed and the talent was superb! You just don't see that much today.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Excessive melodramatic histrionic film with a plot that would be impossible to realize in real life. But in the movies, anything goes...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

ashley h

The Old Maid is an amazing film. It is about the arrival of an ex-lover on a young woman's wedding day sets in motion a chain of events which will alter her and her cousin's lives forever. Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins give incredible performances. The screenplay is well written. Edmund Goulding did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama. The Old Maid is a must see.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Edmund Goulding

Director

Bette Davis

Charlotte Lovell

Miriam Hopkins

Delia Lovell Ralston

George Brent

Lt. Clem Spender

Donald Crisp

Dr. Lanskell

Jane Bryan

Clementina

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Synopsis

After disappearing for two years, Clem Spender (George Brent) returns on the day his former fiancée, Delia (Miriam Hopkins), is marrying another man. Her cousin Charlotte (Bette Davis) sneaks away with Clem, who enlists in the Union Army the next day and dies soon after. Charlotte and Clem's child, Clementina, grows up not knowing critical Charlotte is her mother. Jealous of Charlotte's affair, Delia pretends to be Clementina's mother, sabotaging mother and child's relationship.

Director: Edmund Goulding
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 16, 1939, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 1, 2009
Runtime: 1h 35m

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