A year before Scarlett O'Hara raised eyebrows in Atlanta, Julie Marsden's fiery nature and devious ways scandalised New Orleans. In her second Best Actress Academy Award winning role, Bette Davis sets the screen on fire as the tempestuous southern belle with only one thing on her mind: herself.
It's the pre-Civil War South and the young women of New Orleans are expected to be shyly flirtatious, modestly beautiful - and always conventional. But the headstrong Julie is anything but conventional. Scorned by the man she loves (Henry Fonda), she lashes out in revenge..and destroys lives in the process. "I am thinking of a woman who did wrong in the sight of God. Her name was Jezebel", says Julie's Aunt (Fay Bainter).
"Davis is a female Cagney and if we ever give her the right parts, we are going to have a star that will pay off the interest on the bonds every year" wrote a studio executive before Jezebel's release. It was an unerring forecast. In the decade that followed, Davis reigned as one of Hollywood's biggest and most bankable stars.
