The Little Foxes (film)
| The Little Foxes | |
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Lobby card
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| Directed by | William Wyler |
| Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
| Written by | Lillian Hellman |
| Starring |
Bette Davis Herbert Marshall Teresa Wright |
| Music by | Meredith Willson |
| Cinematography | Gregg Toland |
| Edited by | Daniel Mandell |
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| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
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Running time
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115 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Little Foxes (1941) is an American drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Lillian Hellman is based on her 1939 play of the same name. Hellman's ex-husband Arthur Kober, Dorothy Parker and her husband Alan Campbell contributed additional scenes and dialogue.
Southern aristocrat Regina Hubbard Giddens (Bette Davis) struggles for wealth and freedom within the confines of an early 20th-century society where a father considered only sons as legal heirs. As a result, her avaricious brothers, Benjamin (Charles Dingle) and Oscar (Carl Benton Reid), are independently wealthy, while she must rely for financial support upon her sickly husband Horace (Herbert Marshall), who has been away undergoing treatment for a severe heart condition.
Oscar, having married and maligned the sweet-souled, now hopelessly alcoholic Birdie (Patricia Collinge) to acquire her family's plantation and its cotton fields, now wants to join forces with Benjamin to construct a cotton mill. They approach their sister with their need for an additional $75,000 to invest in the project. Oscar initially proposes a marriage between his son Leo (Dan Duryea) and Regina's daughter Alexandra (Teresa Wright) – first cousins – as a means of getting Horace's money; but Horace and Alexandra are repulsed by the suggestion. When Regina asks Horace outright for the money, he refuses. She tells him his refusal is not important since he will die soon and she is eagerly waiting for that day to come. Alexandra overhears the conversation and is distraught. She then comforts her father after Regina leaves the room.
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