Old Acquaintance (1943)

In 1924, a successful novelist (Bette Davis) returns to her hometown and reunites with her best friend (Miriam Hopkins), who is married and expecting a baby. She is surprised when her friend announces that she has just written a romance novel and asks that she show it to her publisher which the writer does. As the years pass, the women remain the best of friends as the housewife becomes a best selling novelist of pulp romances as opposed to the artistically acclaimed novels and plays of her friend and they see each other through romances, divorces and a rivalry that tests the bounds of true friendship. Based on the play by John Van Druten (I REMEMBER MAMA) and directed by Vincent Sherman. This soap opera may not be Art but it's grandly entertaining and smart. As in THE GREAT LIE where Davis let Mary Astor take the acting honors, here she lets Hopkins steal wholes scenes as the bitchy and melodramatic diva while she acts with restraint. Their contrasting characters (and acting styles) pay off when Davis gets to throttle Hopkins and you want to cheer! Poorly remade in 1981 as RICH AND FAMOUS with Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen stepping into the Davis and Hopkins roles. With Gig Young, John Loder, Anne Revere, Dolores Moran and Phillip Reed.