Wonderful character development!

Am I Missing Something?

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Jezebel is a reasonable romance flick, that is engaging and well acted.There is no great story and it is rather unendearing and cold. However, I watched on with interest. Of course she is angry, why would he bring another woman to the house of the girl he left at the doorstep. There isn't a lot of depth in the characters as there is too much blather, so I don't know what I'm suppose to get out of this.

1850's New Orleans society was filled with gracious living. Well dressed women of the upper-crust, Scarlet O'Hara's everyone of them. Bette Davis coveted both the role of Scarlet in "Gone With the Wind" and Miss Julie in the adaptation of a Broadway play, ending up settling for the later (and get second Oscar), but even without the color awarded to the film version of Margaret Mitchell's novel, still ended up with a classic.Pretty much soiling men's pants as she walks into a bank, Miss Julie is a force to be reckoned with. A banker's meeting is not as important as the choosing of her dress for a lavish ball. Of course, thus is the famous red dress that scandalizes all of New Orleans. The lack of color here doesn't matter because Davis makes the audience feel the red rather than see it, and that is acting. It's as scandalous as Scarlet dancing with Rhett while wearing widow black.But like Scarlett, there is much more than just the obvious selfishness of her Southern belle image. There is the heart and soul of a woman, searching for the right opportunity to reveal her humanity. The men in her life are Henry Fonda and George Brent, and who she ends up with is guided not only by the stars but by historical events as well. The major plot twist concerns an outbreak of yellow fever which threatens the entire population including Fonda.With Fay Bainter (in an Oscar winning supporting role) brilliant as her long-suffering, concerned aunt, ironically also nominated against Davis for the drama "White Banners". Donald Crisp, Spring Byington and Margaret Lindsay also among the supporting cast. Lindsay is particularly important as the Yankee lady from New York City who helps bring out Julie's mobility after years of only thinking of herself. The strong direction of Davis by the legendary William Wyler (probably the only director who knew how to tame Davis) keeps everything moving.

What a great movie. This movie is far superior to that other movie about the antebellum South that gets so much attention today. This movie contains all the elements that makes it great cinema: a coherent, plausible plot; excellent background music; excellent treatment of social and political themes; and most of all, powerful acting. Taking This is Bette Davis's greatest performance. She captures the essence of the vain, spoiled Southern belle of the antebellum era. She projects a haughtiness that belies the character's underlying insecurity. The moral, political and ethical conflicts in the story are presented honestly and forthrightly. The title of this movie befits the story. The performances of the rest of the cast are also noteworthy, especially Henry Fonda's, who is perfect as Davis's love interest and foil. William Wyler's direction is flawless; the cinematography is exquisite, and the nature of the story profound. This movie represents the quintessential example of cinematic art at its best.

Bette Davis gives a memorable performance as the eponymous character in director William Wyler's "Jezebel," a tragic tale of rivalry and romance in antebellum Louisiana about a treacherous dame who defies society and flaunts custom to get what she wants. Miss Julie wants handsome banker Preston Dillard. Temperamental, vain, and sagacious, Julie lives to please only herself and to the devil with anybody else. Basically, this is a classic treatment of girl wants guy, girl loses guy, and girl wins guy back of the most unorthodox kind. ScenaristS Clements Ripley, Abem Finkel, and John Huston based their sensational screenplay on Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Owen Davis' drama and there isn't a moment that isn't gripping. Mind you, "Jezebel" is not only set in the pre-Civil War South, but it was produced in Hollywood during the Jim Crow era. The protagonist makes a disparaging remark about sullen African-Americans and Wyler presents the slaves as obsequious and ignorant in their happiness. However, though this casts a pall over the narrative, it doesn't detract from his evocative portrait of a woman who refuses to stop loving her man even when he has taken a marriage vow to another woman. Incredibly enough, "Jezebel" gives a fairly accurate depiction of the troubles that plagued the South in those days before the Civil War. Nobody gives a bad performance and George Brent is particularly good as Buck Cantrell, an arrogant, pretentious blow-hard who receives his comeuppance. Oscar-winning "Gone with the Wind" lenser Ernest Haller makes everything look appropriately cinematic and you can tell who occupies the moral high ground. Wyler stages the duel between Buck Cantrell and Ted Dillard in such a way as to generate undeniable suspense. "Jezebel" is simply brilliant.