The Little Foxes

The Little Foxes is a 1941 film directed by William Wyler, based on a play by Lillian Hellman, starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright and Richard Carlson. It was nominated for nine Oscars. The film is an adaption to the play of the same name about a woman whose ambition destroys the life of three men.

Regina Giddens (Bette Davis) is asked to lend 75,000 to her two brothers. In order to raise this amount of money, she has to come to terms with her estranged husband, Horace (Herbert Marshall). When Horace refuses to give her the money, Regina is forced to look for help elsewhere. She tries to arrange a marriage between her daughter Alexandra (Teresa Wright), and her nephew, Leo (Dan Duryea). She finds incriminating evidence of her father pressuring Leo to steal bonds; she tries to blackmail her brothers with the information. Her plan backfires, and he remains empty-handed. When her husband is struck by a heart attack, she refrains from providing medical help, effectively killing him. She regains her means of blackmailing the brothers, but loses her relationship with her daughter.

• Bette Davis as Regina Giddens

• Herbert Marshall as Horace Giddens

• Teresa Wright as Alexandra Giddens

• Richard Carlson as David Hewitt

• Dan Duryea as Leo Hubbard

• Patricia Collinge as Birdie Hubbard

• Charles Dingle as Ben Hubbard

• Carl Benton Reid as Oscar Hubbard

• Jessica Grayson as Addie

• John Marriott as Cal

• Russell Hicks as William Marshall

"Significantly (and surprisingly) the nasty tone of Hellman's morality drama about corruption and greed in a Southern clan remained intact, allowing Bette Davis (in a role that Bankhead originated on stage) to shine as the amoral and immoral matriarch."—Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.comhttp://www.emanuellevy.com/search/details.cfm?id=2117

"The Little Foxes is worth seeing for a number of reasons from its beautiful and innovative cinematography to the striking and mordantly witty screenplay."—Matt Bailey, Not Coming to a Theater Near Youhttp://www.notcoming.com/reviews/littlefoxes/?PHPSESSID=e1581fbdda32b9bae8a12ee5c717697a