I wanted to like this film. It could have been a really good film about an aging star having to deal with getting old and losing popularity and power. And it is still worth watching just for Bette Davis’s performance – her portrayal of desperation mixed with pride in herself (not always in a bad way) and her desire to make quality pictures are all admirable. She is not being greedy for money or merely seeking adulation, she seems to genuinely enjoy her life.

However, I am DEEPLY disturbed by the ending and message of the film. This seems part of the 50’s backlash encouraging women to retreat back to the household (after allowing them some independence during WWII).

The film reiterates over and over and over that Margaret is not a woman because she enjoys having a successful career. (What is she then? Too “manly”?) Being a woman is equated with strict gender roles that revolve around finding and keeping a man and above all else being a stay at home wife who does not have any ambition.

Instead of it being pathetic that her ex-husband could not deal with being married to a more successful spouse – they blame her for not being a stay at home wife!

Clearly being an actor energizes her, gives her purpose and makes her happy. Yet she is knocked for having ambition and drive—that’s “unwomanly”.

Finally, in the end, just as you think she is ready to realize that she is no longer at the pinnacle of her career and that maybe she is about to gracefully segue into playing lesser roles with dignity—she is lectured (under the guise of a movie pitch) about how she is “not a woman”. SPOILER….. So she rushes home and into the arms of a big strong plain hardworking man who has shunned the falseness of Hollywood (and who she barely knows).

I found this very disturbing and in the end it ruined the movie for me.

So worth watching if you are a Bette Davis fan—but ignore the message!