The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the Deep South at the turn of the twentieth century.The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the Deep South at the turn of the twentieth century.The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the Deep South at the turn of the twentieth century.
- Nominated for 9 Oscars
- 3 wins & 10 nominations total
Jessica Grayson
- Addie
- (as Jessie Grayson)
Hooper Atchley
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBette Davis and William Wyler fought a great deal during filming. Disagreements ranged from Davis's interpretation of the character (Wyler thought she should be more sympathetic) to the appearance of the house (Davis thought it was far too opulent for a family struggling financially), to her appearance (Wyler thought her white makeup made her look like a Kabuki performer.) Davis eventually walked out of production, but returned when she heard rumors she was going to be replaced by Katharine Hepburn or Miriam Hopkins.
- GoofsAt the end, just before Alexandra leaves Regina, when Regina climbs the stairs and asks Zan if she would "like to sleep in her room tonight", there is a chair in the background (which earlier Regina had been sitting in). There is nothing on the chair. Two shots later, when Alexandra goes to collect her hat and coat to leave, they are on the chair.
- Quotes
Regina Giddens: I hope you die! I hope you die soon! I'll be waiting for you to die!
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue:
"Take us the foxes, The little foxes, that spoil the vines:
For our vines have tender grapes." The Song of Solomon 2:15
Little foxes have lived in all times, in all places. This family happened to live in the deep South in the year 1900.
- ConnectionsEdited into Myra Breckinridge (1970)
- SoundtracksNever Too Weary to Pray
(1941) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson
Sung off-screen by an unidentified group during the opening and closing credits
Featured review
Hubbard Family Values
Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes went from Broadway to Hollywood after it ran 410 performances in the 1939-1940 season through the good offices of Sam Goldwyn. Five members of the Broadway cast came west and repeated their roles, Patricia Collinge, Carl Benton Reid, Charles Dingle, Dan Duryea, and John Marriott. But the lead part of Regina Giddens which gave Tallulah Bankhead her career role on Broadway went to a proved movie name, Bette Davis. Bette then made the part all her own.
Davis is the sister of Ben and Oscar Hubbard, Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid. They are a family of trades people, poor white trash in those halcyon years in the South before the Civil War. When the war laid the genteel planter class low, these are the people who prospered and became what was euphemistically entitled 'the new South.'
They're a tough and ruthless family, but they are survivors though the next generation shows little promise because Dan Duryea who is the son of Reid and Patricia Collinge is an idiot and Teresa Wright, the daughter of Davis and Herbert Marshall will be rejecting the values of the previous Hubbard generation.
I don't think Lillian Hellman's Marxist leanings were ever more prominently on display in her writing as in The Little Foxes. Though the characters she creates are brilliant, the elder Hubbards are a rather heavy handed symbols for greedy capitalism. It's not quite clear where Teresa Wright and her suitor Richard Carlson will be on the political spectrum having rejected Hubbard family values.
The plot of the play itself is that Dingle and Reid are ready to invest in a cotton mill with northern businessman Russell Hicks. But they need more money which they're hoping Marshall and Davis will provide. That leads to all kinds of complications, legal and moral for the family.
Hellman left it open as to what will happen. My guess is that she honestly didn't know. Like most Marxists of the day, especially American Marxists, they sat and waited for the great come and get it revolution like fervent Pentacostals waiting for the Judgement Day. Wright in fact wishes for a society where people like her mother and uncles don't run things.
Sadly and this is the weakness of The Little Foxes is that Hellman drew her characters too well. I'd be willing to bet that Ben and Oscar would find a way to wind up Commisars if they had been transplanted into Russia during the revolution. Idealists had a short life span in the early days of the Soviet Union, never more so than after Joseph Stalin took over. Whatever else they are, the Hubbards ain't idealists.
Still The Little Foxes is a riveting drama that will keep your interest through the whole film even if you don't buy the message totally.
Davis is the sister of Ben and Oscar Hubbard, Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid. They are a family of trades people, poor white trash in those halcyon years in the South before the Civil War. When the war laid the genteel planter class low, these are the people who prospered and became what was euphemistically entitled 'the new South.'
They're a tough and ruthless family, but they are survivors though the next generation shows little promise because Dan Duryea who is the son of Reid and Patricia Collinge is an idiot and Teresa Wright, the daughter of Davis and Herbert Marshall will be rejecting the values of the previous Hubbard generation.
I don't think Lillian Hellman's Marxist leanings were ever more prominently on display in her writing as in The Little Foxes. Though the characters she creates are brilliant, the elder Hubbards are a rather heavy handed symbols for greedy capitalism. It's not quite clear where Teresa Wright and her suitor Richard Carlson will be on the political spectrum having rejected Hubbard family values.
The plot of the play itself is that Dingle and Reid are ready to invest in a cotton mill with northern businessman Russell Hicks. But they need more money which they're hoping Marshall and Davis will provide. That leads to all kinds of complications, legal and moral for the family.
Hellman left it open as to what will happen. My guess is that she honestly didn't know. Like most Marxists of the day, especially American Marxists, they sat and waited for the great come and get it revolution like fervent Pentacostals waiting for the Judgement Day. Wright in fact wishes for a society where people like her mother and uncles don't run things.
Sadly and this is the weakness of The Little Foxes is that Hellman drew her characters too well. I'd be willing to bet that Ben and Oscar would find a way to wind up Commisars if they had been transplanted into Russia during the revolution. Idealists had a short life span in the early days of the Soviet Union, never more so than after Joseph Stalin took over. Whatever else they are, the Hubbards ain't idealists.
Still The Little Foxes is a riveting drama that will keep your interest through the whole film even if you don't buy the message totally.
helpful•193
- bkoganbing
- Apr 5, 2007
- How long is The Little Foxes?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 56 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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