Now Voyager 1942 Film

Charlotte Vale (portrayed by Bette Davis) is an unattractive, overweight, repressed spinster whose life is dominated by her domineering mother (portrayed by Gladys Cooper), an aristocratic Boston dowager whose verbal and emotional abuse of her daughter has contributed to the woman's complete lack of self-confidence. Fearing Charlotte is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her sister-in-law Lisa introduces her to psychiatrist Dr. Jaquith (portrayed by Claude Rains), who recommends she spend time in his sanatorium.

Away from her mother's control, Charlotte blossoms. The transformed woman opts to take a lengthy cruise rather than immediately return home. On board ship, she meets married Jeremiah Duvaux Durrance (portrayed by Paul Henreid), who is traveling with his friends Deb and Frank McIntyre. It is from them that Charlotte learns of Jerry's devotion to his young daughter Tina and how it keeps him from divorcing his wife, a manipulative, jealous woman who keeps Jerry from engaging in his chosen career of architecture, despite the fulfillment he gets from it.

Charlotte and Jerry become friendly, and in Rio de Janeiro the two are stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain when their car crashes. They miss the ship and spend five days together before Charlotte flies to Buenos Aires to rejoin the cruise. Although they have fallen in love, they decide it would be best not to see each other again.

When she arrives home, Charlotte's family is stunned by the dramatic changes in her appearance and demeanor. Her mother is determined to regain control over her daughter, but Charlotte is resolved to remain independent. The memory of Jerry's love and devotion help to give her the strength she needs to remain resolute. This is such a wonderful film and one of my favorite Bette Davis movies.

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Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 - October 6, 1989) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her greatest successes were romantic dramas. After appearing in Broadway plays, Davis moved to Hollywood in 1930, but her early films for Universal Studios were unsuccessful.

She joined Warner Bros. in 1932 and established her career with several critically acclaimed performances. In 1937, she attempted to free herself from her contract and although she lost a well-publicized legal case, it marked the beginning of the most successful period of her career. Until the late 1940s, she was one of American cinema's most celebrated leading actresses, known for her forceful and intense style. Davis gained a reputation as a perfectionist who could be highly combative, and her confrontations with studio executives, film directors and costars were often reported. Her forthright manner, clipped vocal style and ubiquitous cigarette contributed to a public persona which has often been imitated and satirized.

Davis was the co-founder of the Hollywood Canteen, and was the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She was the first actor to receive 10 Academy Award nominations and the first woman to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute. Her career went through several periods of decline, and she admitted that her success had often been at the expense of her personal relationships. Married four times, she was once widowed and thrice divorced, and raised her children as a single parent. Her final years were marred by a long period of ill health, but she continued acting until shortly before her death from breast cancer, with more than 100 film, television and theater roles to her credit.

In 1999, Davis was placed second, behind Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of all time.

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Paul Georg Julius Hernried Freiherr von Wassel-Waldingau, (January 10, 1908 - March 29, 1992), known professionally as Paul Henreid, was an Austrian actor and film director. Born in Trieste, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Henreid was the son of an aristocratic Viennese banker. He studied theatre in Vienna and debuted on the stage under the direction of Max Reinhardt. He began his film career acting in German films in the 1930s, but left Austria in 1935 for Britain. With the start of World War II, Henreid risked deportation or internment as an enemy alien, but Conrad Veidt spoke for him and he was allowed to remain free in England. Veidt Villainies A small role in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) then led him to Hollywood.

In 1942, Henreid appeared in his two most important films. In Now, Voyager, Bette Davis and he created one of the screen's most imitated scenes, in which he lights two cigarettes and hands one to her. Henreid's next role was as Victor Laszlo, heroic anti-Nazi leader, in Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. In 1946, Henreid became a citizen of the United States "US Citizen".

He made regular film appearances throughout the 1940s, and in the early 1950s began directing for both film and television. His film credits include The Spanish Main (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Song of Love (1947), Siren of Bagdad (1953), and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961). His television directorial credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, Bonanza and The Big Valley. In 1964, Henreid directed Dead Ringer, which starred Bette Davis and featured, in a minor role, the director's daughter, Monika Henreid.

Henreid died of pneumonia at Santa Monica, California and was interred in Woodlawn Cemetery. He was buried with a fan letter from one Mildred Jacobs which he received in 1937, before he became famous, and which he said meant more to him than any award he had won. Henreid has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one (for film) at 6366 Hollywood Boulevard and the other (for television) at 1722 Vine Street.

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