Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

If there is any film as large a collection of miscreants, I don't know what it is. The family has gained their fortune on the backs of people who have no choices in life. They pay terrible wages and don't care what happens to their workers. Now, money is needed (needed is an operative word) to start up another mill and exploit more people. Bette Davis is despicable and is writing for her husband to die so she can continue this project. He is quite ill and the "little foxes" are surrounding him, just waiting, licking their chops. Some have already committed what could be called crimes. This is a hard movie to watch because we have little to root for. The poor man who is dying is the one sympathetic character, and he is relatively powerless. Lillian Hellman's stage plays are pretty cynical. Think back to "The Children's Hour" to get another taste of the darkness of the soul.

"The Little Foxes" is the tale of the Giddens family, who are less a family and more a conglomerate of biologically analogous individuals. They're the kind of people to whom love is merely the imperative fine-print to an otherwise sound negotiation between parties.The film is an ensemble piece, but as the poster suggests, Bette Davis is the foundation. She is Regina Giddens, the most cunning of her family; whereas being a woman of her time period was usually a crummy deal, it actually allows her to creep in the shadows unnoticed by the equally greedy--but more visible--men. Regina's husband, Horace (Herbert Marshall), a man of incredible wealth, is dying with no male heirs--a scent no fox can resist. Unfortunately for the foxes, Horace feels their hot breath, and repels; for, as is typical of the dying, life begins to become clearer the farther one is away from it. And seeing as how there's more than one family member interested in the money, the snakes get themselves all knotted up.Davis is phenomenal in her cold, specter-like way. At moments, she's almost perceivable as a malevolent porcelain doll--or maybe it's my own fear of such things talking. She berates her helpless husband, firing insults from all cylinders into a downed man, and all with such ease, like one might say "good morning." Her venomous ways culminate in one hell of a scene, in which she doesn't say a word, but merely sits and says nothing, slowly tightening as if feeling a rope around her neck. One would be remiss to fail to mention some of the side players. Marshall as Davis's husband is aptly empathetic and relates the character's realizations in a way that makes them feel grown and not instant. I could go through each and every featured actor in the film and bestow kind words, but I have only so many words myself, so I won't. Just know they deliver."The Little Foxes" is a dark, brooding look at greed, and its effect on something as seemingly sacred as family. The film even suggests broader implications, with lines from the foxes like "we'll own the country one day." Look into that what you will.

Like Bette needed the ghost white makeup to further insure we comprehend her icy cold character? Giveth thy viewer a primal break!! She constantly twirled both arms in a windmill fashion to show evil hummingbird motion? I was very confused as to why she played this character so over the top. In preparation for "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" I could at least appreciate the Toland Touch, the swampy location shots in LA as well as the sumptuous sets. The saccharine Zan and David were not anywhere near enough to offset the tortuous scene after scene of scheming death, destruction and desolation.This was extremely difficult to watch as it became a horror film and was just waiting for the zigzag lightning streaks to suddenly appear on her hair. Yikes!Can only recommend for Toland's work and sets. Bette be damned for this!

Bette Davis gives an incredible performance as Regina Giddons in William Wyler's "The Little Foxes. Greedy and conniving, Regina Giddons is a perhaps one of the easiest to hate characters I've ever encountered in a film. However, in contrast, Teresa Wright's Alexandra is one of the easiest characters to love. A seemingly innocent character at first, Alexandra quickly wises up to her mother's ways as the film progresses. Perhaps one of the best lines to demonstrate this would be when Alexandra finally starts standing up to her mother, to which Regina responds, "Why, Alexandra, you have spirit after all. I used to think you were all sugar-water" Unfortunately, it all goes wrong when Regina's husband, Horace (Herbert Marshall) starts to catch on to his greedy wife's ways. Unfortunately, it's just when he stands up to her that his heart medication is out of reach and Regina is left to decide between what she wants and what is right.