Cheap Now, Voyager (DVD) (Bette Davis, Paul Henreid) (Irving Rapper) Price

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Customer Reviews of Now, Voyager

One of Bette's Best
I can never decide whether VOYAGER is the best Bette Davis
movie or DARK VICTORY. She is fantastic as a spinster who
is dominated by her monster mother, beautifully played by Gladys
Cooper. After her nervous breakdown she begins a new life
and meets Paul Henried who of course is married but later she
is able to help Paul's child. This is the movie where he lights
two cigarettes and gives her one and ends with "Oh Jerry, let's
not ask for the moon, we have the stars" Fabulous score by
Max Steiner. Fine acting from Claude Rains, Bonita Granville,
Ilka Chase and in a very small role, Lee Patrick. They don't make 'em like this anymore so thank God for home video. The
DVD transfer is terrific.

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May Be Bette's Best
Some movies simply get better with age, much like fine red wine. This is certainly true of "Now Voyager." It is an "ugly duckling" to "beautiful swan" tale--hardly a cutting edge concept--but it works impressively here. Charlotte Vale (Bette Davis) seems doomed to a life of dull spinsterhood under the thumb of her domineering mother, the outstanding Gladys Cooper. But a kindly psychiatrist comes along (Claude Rains) who sees potential worth tapping under nervous Charlotte's dumpy exterior. And the transformation is filmed superbly;Bette Davis never looked more glamorous. The first shot of the "new" Charlotte--now traveling under an assumed name on a cruise ship--as she makes her entrance is a moment of monumental film making. Aboard the cruise, Charlotte meets and falls in love with a married man (Paul Henried), and she manages to stay connected to him through his troubled daughter that she finds and helps at Cascade, the very institution that helped bring forth the new Charlotte Vale. There are moments of joy, moments of humor, moments of sadness in this movie. Max Steiner's score is top notch, and Orry-Kelly's costumes could not be better. This film has frequently been singled out as perhaps the best representation of the trends in moviemaking in the 1940's. After viewing it, you will understand why.

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Overwrought and Only Somewhat Convincing Melodrama
Davis plays nice with middling results. The acting is fine, to be sure, but I miss the feistyness of her better movies. A hapless neurotic woman breaks free of her tyrannical and hateful mother. She seeks therapy and begins to live her own life. She learns that life can't be perfect but it can always be better & happiness s not impossible. Could be seen as encouragement to wallflowers.