Trivia for
Jezebel (1938) More at IMDbPro »

• An old rumor is that the role of Julie was offered as compensation to Bette Davis when she lost the opportunity to play Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939). This rumor is completely false, since the role of Scarlett had not yet been cast until long after Jezebel (1938) had been filmed.
  
  
• According to Robert Osborne, Julie's red dress was actually bronze colored, because bronze showed up better on black and white film than red would.
  
  
• The red dress sequence was based on a real-life white ball in Hollywood at which all the women dutifully appeared in white - except for Mrs. MGM, Norma Shearer. Comment from another guest: "Who does Norma think she is - the house madam?"
  
  
• Has been called a black-and-white version of Gone with the Wind (1939), which was in its pre-production stages at the time.
  
  
• Some scenes were filmed around Henry Fonda, to allow him to be with his wife as she gave birth to their daughter Jane Fonda, including scenes with the sometimes-prickly star, Bette Davis. As the star of the film Davis was within her rights to insist that Fonda remain until their scenes were finished, but she allowed him to complete his shots and leave.
  
  
• Originally a flop play on Broadway starring Bette Davis' nemesis Miriam Hopkins. Hopkins assumed she was contractually set to star in the film adaptation, but the contract only specified she would be "considered" for the film version.
  
  
• In an interview with Dick Cavett in 1971, Bette Davis said her salary was $650 a week.
  
  
• Jeffrey Lynn originally was cast in the Pres role, but the producers of the play he was appearing in refused to release him. Fonda was a last minute replacement.
  
  
• Bette Davis' Oscar was sold at auction on July 19, 2001 at Christie's for $57,800. The buyer was Steven Spielberg who then immediately donated it back to the Academy.
  
  
• Bette Davis allegedly took 45 takes to perfect the scene where she lifts her riding skirt with her crop.
  
  
• Because of excessive takes for each scene by director William Wyler, Jezebel (1938) allegedly ran 28 days behind schedule.
  
  
• Edmund Goulding was originally slated to direct and Anita Louise was originally cast in the Margaret Lindsay role.
  
  
• Director William Wyler was known for working with the script of the films he was directing, but was unable to do so here to the degree he wanted because shooting started on the first part of the script before the rest was finished. Because he was too busy to contribute to the writing, Wyler asked that John Huston be brought in to act as the middleman between him and the writers, and the studio agreed.
  
  
• In order to minimize the impact of potentially going over budget (as this film did), director William Wyler shot all of the most expensive scenes first.
  
  
• Owen Davis's play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 19 December 1933 and closed in January 1934 after 32 performances. The opening night cast included Miriam Hopkins as Julie, Joseph Cotten, Owen Davis Jr. (the writer's son), Cora Witherspoon and Lew Payton (who is also in the film).
  
  
• This is the film Catherine O'Hara is watching on television at the beginning of For Your Consideration (2006). She follows along with the dialogue suggesting that she knows the film very well. The same dialogue is also spoken at the end of the film when O'Hara is teaching the acting students.
  
  
• The birth of Henry Fonda's daughter Jane Fonda was the cause of some interruptions during his filming of Jezebel (1938).
  
  
• Bette Davis credited William Wyler for making her a box office-star after he directed her Oscar-winning performance in Jezebel (1938).
  
  
• Franco Corsaro, Roger Valmy, George Sorel, Vic Demourelle and Louis LaBey are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but they did not appear or were not identifiable in this movie.
  
  
• Because the original Broadway production was a flop, Warner Bros. was able to buy the rights to the film at a very low price.
  
  

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