Warner Bros. knew exactly what they were doing in 1943. When you look back at the old acquaintance movie cast, it isn't just a list of actors. It’s a battlefield. Most people think of this film as a "woman's picture"—a somewhat dismissive term from the Golden Age of Hollywood—but if you dig into the production of Old Acquaintance, you find one of the most legendary, high-stakes rivalries to ever hit a soundstage.
Bette Davis. Miriam Hopkins.
These two names carried enough ego to sink a battleship. They’d already clashed years earlier on The Old Maid, and by the time director Vincent Sherman started rolling the cameras for Old Acquaintance, the air was thick with literal and metaphorical smoke. Honestly, the movie is a masterclass in passive-aggressive acting, mainly because the two leads genuinely couldn't stand each other.
Who Was Actually in the Old Acquaintance Movie Cast?
The film focuses on two childhood friends, Kit Marlowe and Millie Drake. Kit (Davis) is the "serious" writer, sophisticated and single. Millie (Hopkins) is the jealous, melodramatic, and wildly successful writer of trashy romance novels. It’s a classic setup.
But the old acquaintance movie cast featured more than just those two powerhouses. You had Gig Young playing Rudd Kendall, the younger man caught in the middle. Young was basically the quintessential "nice guy" of the era before his career took darker turns later in life. Then there was John Loder as Preston Drake, the husband who eventually realizes he’s married to a whirlwind of neuroses.
Don't forget Dolores Moran. She played Deirdre, Millie’s daughter. Moran was a Warner Bros. starlet who never quite hit the stratospheric heights of Davis, but her presence in the film adds that necessary layer of generational tension. The cast was rounded out by reliable character actors like Philip Reed, Roscoe Karns, and Anne Revere. It was a solid, professional ensemble designed to support the nuclear explosion happening between Davis and Hopkins.
The Feud That Defined the Production
You've gotta understand the history here. Miriam Hopkins was convinced that Bette Davis had an affair with her husband, director Anatole Litvak. Whether it was true or not—and Hollywood gossip says it probably was—Hopkins never let it go.
On the set of Old Acquaintance, Hopkins used every trick in the book to upstage Davis. She’d move her head so Davis was in shadow. She’d fidget during Davis’s close-ups. She’d "accidentally" trip over lines.
There’s this one famous scene. You know the one.
Kit finally loses her temper and shakes Millie. Davis reportedly spent the entire day looking forward to that scene. She didn't just shake her; she gave it everything she had. Some crew members claimed the shaking was so violent that Hopkins was genuinely rattled for the rest of the day. Davis later joked, with that iconic rasp, that she had been waiting years to do that.
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Why the Supporting Players Mattered
While Davis and Hopkins were sucking all the oxygen out of the room, the rest of the old acquaintance movie cast had to stay grounded. John Loder is particularly good here. He plays the "stuffed shirt" husband with a level of weary dignity that makes you actually feel sorry for him. Most 1940s dramas painted husbands as either heroes or villains, but Loder’s Preston is just a guy who is exhausted by his wife’s narcissism.
Gig Young brought a different energy.
He was young, handsome, and represented the "new" Hollywood. His chemistry with Davis is actually quite sweet, even if the age gap was a talking point for audiences at the time. It provided a necessary relief from the suffocating domestic drama of the two female leads.
Directed by Vincent Sherman (The Man in the Middle)
Vincent Sherman was the guy tasked with refereeing this mess. He had a reputation for being a "woman’s director," which basically meant he knew how to handle big personalities without getting his head bitten off.
Sherman later wrote in his memoirs about the difficulty of balancing the old acquaintance movie cast. He had to constantly reassure Hopkins that she wasn't being overshadowed, while simultaneously giving Davis the space to be the anchor of the film. It was a tightrope walk.
One of the most interesting things about the direction is how Sherman used the sets to highlight the divide. Kit’s apartment is clean, modern, and intellectual. Millie’s home is cluttered, overly decorated, and frantic. The environment told the story as much as the dialogue did.
Realism vs. Melodrama
Old Acquaintance is often lumped in with "soaps," but it’s smarter than that.
It tackles aging.
It tackles the price of fame.
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It tackles the weird, toxic, but unbreakable bond of female friendship.
The old acquaintance movie cast had to sell the idea that these two women—who clearly hated each other at points—would keep coming back to one another over the span of twenty years. That’s hard to do. If the performances hadn't been so layered, the movie would have fallen apart. Hopkins played Millie as a monster, yes, but a pathetic one. You almost feel bad for her because she's so desperately insecure.
Davis, on the other hand, played Kit with a restrained loneliness. She’s the "winner" in life, but she ends up alone in front of a fireplace. It’s a bittersweet ending that was pretty bold for 1943.
The Legacy of the 1943 Film
People often compare the 1943 version to the 1981 remake, Rich and Famous, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen. While the remake has its fans, it lacks the raw, jagged edge of the original.
Why?
Because you can’t manufacture the genuine animosity that existed within the old acquaintance movie cast of the 40s. Bisset and Bergen were professionals who liked each other. Davis and Hopkins were warriors.
The 1943 film remains a staple of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) for a reason. It’s the peak of the Warner Bros. house style: high contrast lighting, snappy dialogue, and a score by Franz Waxman that tells you exactly how to feel at every moment.
Breaking Down the Key Performances
If you're watching this for the first time, keep your eyes on these specific beats:
- The "Shaking" Scene: Watch Hopkins’s eyes. She isn't just acting surprised; she looks like she’s checking for her teeth.
- The New York Hotel Reunion: The way Davis handles a cigarette in this scene is a masterclass in using props to show character evolution.
- Dolores Moran’s Entrance: Notice how the lighting shifts when the "younger generation" enters the frame. It’s a visual representation of the leads’ fear of becoming irrelevant.
The old acquaintance movie cast didn't just deliver lines. They performed a ritual of Hollywood power. At that time, Davis was the Queen of the lot, and Hopkins was the fading star trying to reclaim her throne. That subtext is baked into every frame of the movie.
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A Note on the Screenplay
The script was based on a play by John Van Druten. Lenore J. Coffee and Goffrey Shurlock (and several uncredited writers) worked on the adaptation. They had to navigate the Hays Code, which meant they couldn't be too explicit about the various affairs and "living in sin" aspects of the original story.
Instead, they used subtext.
The dialogue is sharp. "There's a time for everything. Even for being a pest." That’s a Kit Marlowe line that feels like it was written specifically for Davis to throw at Hopkins. The screenplay allowed the old acquaintance movie cast to weaponize words in a way that felt sophisticated rather than trashy.
How to Appreciate Old Acquaintance Today
To really get the most out of the film, you have to look past the 1940s fashion and the dramatic music. Look at the eyes. The old acquaintance movie cast was operating in a system where every look was scrutinized.
Davis was known for "the eyes," but Hopkins was a physical actor. She moved her whole body to grab attention. Watching them compete for space in the 4:3 aspect ratio is like watching a prize fight.
It’s also worth noting that this film was a massive hit during World War II. Audiences wanted to see stories about endurance and long-term relationships, even if those relationships were messy and fraught with jealousy.
Actionable Insights for Classic Film Fans
If you want to dive deeper into the world of the old acquaintance movie cast, here are the next logical steps for your viewing journey:
- Watch 'The Old Maid' (1939): This is the first time Davis and Hopkins worked together. It’s a period piece, but the tension is arguably even higher because they play sisters-in-law.
- Read 'Mother Goddam' by Whitney Stine: This book features Bette Davis’s own commentary on her films. Her notes on the Old Acquaintance production are legendary and hilariously blunt.
- Compare with 'Rich and Famous' (1981): Watch the remake to see how the themes of female friendship and professional rivalry were updated for the "modern" era. It’s a fascinating study in how Hollywood changed.
- Look for the Criterion Collection or Warner Archive releases: These often include commentary tracks from film historians like Jeanine Basinger, who provide incredible context on the studio system and the "woman's film" genre.
The old acquaintance movie cast created something that transcends the "chick flick" label. It’s a study in professional jealousy and the endurance of shared history. Whether you’re a fan of Bette Davis’s sharp edges or Miriam Hopkins’s frantic energy, the movie offers a glimpse into a time when movie stars were larger than life and twice as dangerous.