Ann-Marie has very kindly provided the following introduction:<\/p>\n The Old Maid<\/i> is the last film to be screened in the Melodrama Research Group\u2019s series of maternal melodramas. The screening hopes to spark some interesting debates that will help inform our knowledge of maternal melodrama in preparation for our symposium on the 3rd<\/sup> of June.<\/p>\n Edmund Goulding\u2019s film is loosely adapted from the 1935 play of the same name by Zoe Atkins. The play was also awarded a Pulitzer and is itself adapted from a novella by Edith Wharton. Like many of Bette Davis\u2019 melodramas the film has a defined historical setting, and this time it is set during the American Civil War. The film hurries through events and twenty years before it reaches its finale, but this is a Davis film so there is a guarantee of intense female suffering along the way! Including but not limited to: an illegitimate daughter, lost lovers (yes, plural), and a cruel and yet seemingly caring cousin. Perhaps most heartbreakingly, it is the daughter\u2019s treatment of \u2018Aunt Charlotte\u2019 that causes the character such anguish.<\/p>\n The film itself was not received well by the critics, most only praised the performance of Bette Davis and her co-star Miriam Hopkins (the only actress she seemed to dislike more than Crawford!). Despite the critics dislike for the static look of the film, The Old Maid<\/i> was successful amongst audiences[1]<\/a>, which of course could lead to a discussion about the importance of maternal melodramas to the audiences of the 30s and 40s.<\/p>\n Other possible areas for discussion:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a>Over $1.6 million in ticket receipts and Davis\u2019 biggest commercial success to that date, but would soon be beaten by various other films. See: James Spada (1993) More Than A Woman<\/i>, London: Sphere. pp.219-222<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do join us, if you can, for the last of this term’s screenings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Posted by Sarah All are welcome to attend the\u00a0third of the Summer Term\u2019s Maternal Melodrama themed Screening and Discussion sessions, which will take place on the 27th of May, in Jarman Studio 6, from\u00a04-7pm. We are screening\u00a0Ann-Marie’s choice\u00a0The Old Maid … Continue reading ![\"Old](\"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/melodramaresearchgroup\/files\/2014\/05\/Old-Maid-1.jpg\")
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