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Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright, Richard Carlson, Patricia Collinge ... see more see more... , Charles Dingle , Dan Duryea , Carl Benton Reid , Jessie Grayson , John Marriott , Russell Hicks , Lucien Littlefield , Hooper Atchley , Al Bridge , Virginia Brissac , Lew Kelly , Charles R. Moore , Henry Roquemore , Kenny Washington , Henry Thomas , John Marriot

Playwright Lillian Hellman first wrote of the horrible Hubbard family in her 1939 play The Little Foxes. In this lavish 1941 film version, Bette Davis takes over for Broadway's Tallulah Bankhead in th... read more read more...e role of conniving turn-of-the-century Southern aristocrat Regina Hubbard Giddens. Regina's equally odious brothers (Charles Dingle and Carl Benton Reid) want her to lend them 75,000 dollars to help build a cotton mill. To do this, she must make peace with her long-estranged husband, Horace (Herbert Marshall) -- and failing that, she tries to arrange a wealthy marriage between her daughter, Alexandra (Teresa Wright), and her slimy nephew Leo (Dan Duryea). Horace refuses to give Regina the money, whereupon Leo is pressured by his father (Reid) to steal bonds from the family business. Regina uses this information as a means of blackmailing her brothers for a share in the new mill. In retaliation, Horace claims that he gave Leo the bonds as a loan, thereby cutting Regina out of the deal. When Horace suffers a heart attack, Regina makes no effort to give him his medicine, and he dies without revealing his willingness to loan the money to Leo. Regina is thus still able to strongarm her brothers into giving her a piece of the mill -- but the price for her evil machinations is the loss of her daughter's love and respect. The Little Foxes caused a censorship stir in 1941; by refusing to give Horace his medicine, Regina technically gets away with murder. However, the censors decided that Regina was punished enough when her daughter left her to marry an honest newspaperman (Richard Carlson). Given the usual Tiffany treatment by producer Sam Goldwyn, The Little Foxes was a success; several years later, Lillian Hellman wrote a "prequel" to The Little Foxes, titled Another Part of the Forest. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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85% liked it

3,197 ratings

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100% liked it

14 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: William Wyler

Release Date: August 21, 1941

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DVD Release Date: September 18, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (177)

  • jennifxu
    January 14, 2009
    jennifxu
    This is no doubt Bette Davis is an inimitable force when it comes to dramatic acting, but the story of a poisoned family clan fighting over money and female empowerment just doesn't interest me that much. Watch this movie for the performances, but this is neither Davis's or Wyler... read more's best film.
  • purplemegan
    September 26, 2008
    purplemegan
    I actually found this movie version a tad more interesting than the play version that I saw. They added a love interest for the young daughter and he was a goof which lightened the mood at times with some comedy.
  • groaningbitch
    December 26, 2007
    groaningbitch
    the fable of little foxes craving for the sweet vines then wrecking the town is adequate for the story. bette davis plays another power-thirsty strong female who solicits what she wants at any cost. davis's role is an eager opportunist who is desperate to hold everything right up... read moreon her palm. davis looks mostly glamourous in the southern belle constume shined with matron glitter if her character is not so gluttonishly greedy, audience might take further heed of. and our dear bette's wardrobe is endorsed again by orry-kelly who also attributes bette's glamour in "marked woman."

    "there're people who do bad things and also people who just stand there and let them do it" demonstrates the spirit of this play. regina and her philistine siblings are the little foxes who ruin the country with their conscienceless exploitations on the common folks. the entire story centers on the mergence of one valuably built business which would realize every ambition and dream regina has had. but her husband is a great hindrance becuz of his reluctance to make a fortune by squeezing out workers' labour. so she holds grudges against him by confiding her long-harbored contempts on him for being a gullible soft fool since the beginning of their marriage that serves a catalyptic shock to deteriorate his heart issue. steal-hearted regina refuses to aid him with his medicine becuz he would spoil her scheme to blackmail her siblings as long as he's alive. so regina obtains everything but her daughter's affinity. eventually regina observes her daughter's departure with a ghastly frown gaze, left alone lost in the room her husband just demises at.

    davis' regina is not really a great evil menace but more of egoist who yearns for things but bound by her gender and limited resources. she awaits long with this angst which turns her incorrigible. one scene regina glimpses the picture of her youth with scowl and sighs hidden tight beneath her solid surface. she has no intention to manipulate her daughter, and actually she practices things with basic decency as long as no one poses as obstacle to block her access, she would be in good humbor to perform duties, even without a bit of genuine compassion or tenderness.

    as regina's daughter, teresa wright is always a good casting choice to play the innocent ingeuine, and wright has a natural virtuous grace upon her without contrivance that is competent for good-girl roles like this, such as another her good performance in hitchcock "shadow of a doubt".

    this flick is great parable of capitalist breaching the world little by little with their sly wits to drill thru the loothole of laws. but pathetically others are just bystanders to connive their sins.
  • jjnxn
    April 4, 2007
    jjnxn
    if you like bette when she's bad she's a pit viper here
  • John2223
    June 8, 2008
    John2223
    Excellent villain interpretation by Bette Davis the rest of the actors are all very good, all giving strong performances.
    Perfectly directed, this film is brilliant from beginning to end. The beautiful black and white, clean editing and the wonderful score, all help to make this... read more movie pitch perfect.
    A must see classic!!!
  • moviegirl50
    March 19, 2011
    moviegirl50
    Greed, greed, greed, produces evil galore...and Bette Davis plays it well and almost gets what she deserves in the end. Not my favorite of hers but well worth the watch.
  • jam233
    December 12, 2009
    jam233
    One of Bette Davis' five greatest performances, and certainly one of her most sinister. The scene with Herbert Marshall and his medicine is one of the greatest acting scenes of all time. Every cast member gives a strong performance. Patricia Collinge is particularly memorable. A ... read morewonderful drama, superb direction by William Wyler, outstanding score and top notch production.
  • dfreebyrd59
    June 28, 2009
    dfreebyrd59
    She can be such a greedy woman and again she gets what she deserves. Her brothers are no better but her daughter loves her dad so much. She has no guilt and it shows in the movie when she tries to kill her husband and does. A must see.
  • moviempress
    January 12, 2008
    moviempress
    Quite incredible to believe that only three years beofre this film Davis (who is playiing a mother of a aupposedly 19 year old girl) was the vibrant and saucy Jezebel in the samely named movie. It is a testament to her range as an actress when seeing Jezebel and then "Foxes", whi... read morech is a more closely knit character driven drama based on the play, which centers around one family's greed for money and the lengths they will go for it. Herbert Marshall as the deathly ill (but wealthy) father shows the weary struggles that the family has endured during the many years of unhappy but durable marriage. He shows affection to his daughter till his last dying moments, and their relationship in the film is sadly fleeting but touching. Davis's stallwart performance, her character's disturbingly emotionless behavior at the end when her husband is dying, is clearly the standout performance of the film, and was really something to watch. The beginning was perhaps too talky, just for talk sake and the "plan" between Davis and her two conniving brothers for her husbands bonds seemed muddy. Still, it is worth a watch for Davis fans, and just the third act alone is the most powerful.
  • jakewhite715
    November 18, 2007
    jakewhite715
    Hollywood cut the balls off the stage play bringing it to the silver screen, but the acting is still sharp enough to cut glass.

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Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz
May 30, 2007
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

When viewed today, the hysterical melodrama seems creaky. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
November 16, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

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 s... Full Review

Randy Shulman
January 29, 2004
Randy Shulman, Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

One of the best films ever made.

Matt Bailey
August 13, 2003
Matt Bailey, Not Coming to a Theater Near You

The Little Foxes is worth seeing for a number of reasons from its beautiful and innovative cinematography to the striking and mordantly witty screenplay. Full Review

Dan Lybarger
December 17, 2002
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online

A sharp and entertaining adaptation of the Lillian Hellman play.

Nigam Nuggehalli
September 10, 2002
Nigam Nuggehalli, culturevulture.net

A classic example of how a play can be successfully adapted into a movie. Full Review

Dan Jardine
November 6, 2001
Dan Jardine, Apollo Guide

Sharply written, insightful and still timely study of turn of the century antebellum avarice. Full Review

Matt Wolf
August 27, 2008
Matt Wolf, Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Neil Cohen
July 29, 2007
Neil Cohen, Echo Magazine

No review available.

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The Little Foxes Trivia

  • What did the foxes call Duck in The Little Bear Movie?  Answer »
  • Which actress appeared in these 4 films? The Letter. Little Foxes. All this and Heaven Too. Now Voyager  Answer »
  • Who am I? I starred in the movies listed below. I also had a daughter write a book about me that was hurtful. Marked Woman (1937) Jezebel (1938) Dark Victory (1939) The Little Foxes (1941) All About Eve (1950) Dead Ringer (1964)  Answer »
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