moonspinner55 Yankee poetess meets Slick Novak...and only God can come between them! Absurd sudser from Warner Bros. stars Bette Davis as an independent spinster and poetry writer in Manhattan who is thrown together on a double date with a celebrated war hero: a tall, broad-shouldered Naval Lieutenant who appears to bring out the worst in the not-so-old Old Maid. Jack Warner probably took one look at this material, adapted from a book by Ethel Vance, and instantly thought of Davis for the lead...but what else was there to this story which caused Warner to want to film it? The picture is distinctly without distinction, and Ms. Davis, puffing away on one cigarette after another, is forced to repeat herself (her performance is like a greatest hits collection). James Davis, playing the conflicted Slick Novak, towers over his co-star and is obviously not in her acting league, however there's enough professionalism on both sides of the camera to nearly pull off this odd romantic pairing. The wordy screenplay is colorless, and Max Steiner's melodramatic music cues are of no help, yet romance-buffs might get caught up in the story, nonsensical though it may be. ** from ****

sdave7596 "Winter Meeting" was released in 1948 -- the waning years of Bette Davis Warner Brothers career. Davis plays Susan, a wealthy, cosmopolitan New Yorker. She has never married, choosing to focus on a life of having a career and mixing with like-minded friends, such as Stacy (John Hoyt). She meets a military guy whom she calls Novak (Jim Davis), a man fresh from WWII and a war hero. For whatever reason, he woos her and the two begin an odd relationship. After all, she is New York City all the way, he is an awkward, small-town guy. The two escape to the country, where both are forced to confront their own demons. Davis' demons have to do with her parents; her mother abandoned her father, causing his later suicide. Novak's are he always wanted to be a priest! Yikes -- this after leading Susan on throughout the entire movie. This movie, although unfairly maligned, has lots of problems. The biggest problem is the choice of Jim Davis to play Novak, the war hero. He seems out of place and acts it too. Being fair, his part is also terribly written, so I don't know what actor could have pulled this off with any credibility. Bette Davis fares better -- she never steps out of her character as Susan, a woman who has shut herself off from even the possibility of love until she meets this man. This part shows why Bette Davis was a real star; the script wasn't great, and it shows, but she shines regardless. There are two good supporting performances -- John Hoyt as Davis' friend, a man who clearly enjoys the good life, is terrific and adds some life to a film that drags a bit at times. We assume he is gay, although obviously this wouldn't be uttered in a 1948 film. A young Janis Paige plays a somewhat loose and bitchy woman, upset that the spinster Susan snared the war hero for herself. She seems to steal every scene she is in. Sadly, this film flopped when it opened. By this time, audience tastes had changed, and Bette Davis wasn't given better scripts as she aged at the studio. She would leave Warner Brothers the following year. But what a legacy of films she left behind.

phd12166 It takes good critiquing skills to fully appreciate the surprisingly seductive subtleties of Bette Davis during her motion picture making prime. Winter Meeting is an intellectual's & critic's delight. Davis doesn't ever step out of her leading role as an extremely constrained character, Susan Greive. I can't find a flaw in her meticulous performance. The story is also of interest to the period when it was filmed. Bette Davis at 40yo & 59 films into the height of her acting career, stars as an accomplished, upscale poet, Susan Grieve. Although Grieve is well traveled from soliciting her literary work, she resides in a posh brownstone in NYC. Her closest friend & confidant is an old-monied dapper gentleman, complete with the social graces of exquisitely good taste, Stacy Grant (43yo John Hoyt).Believing that his secretary Peggy Markham (Janis Paige) will seduce a visiting war hero, Slick Novak (James Davis), Grant arranges a dinner party for the foursome, including the very reserved & demure Grieve (Davis). Instead, Novak instantly falls for the ever so proper poet who has no romantic interests.After Grieve & Novak engage in a private romance, she's romantically awakened in a way that she's never been before. As such, Grieve is falling in love with Novak. Something has to go wrong to upset as fine a romance as theirs, doesn't it? It always does....This film offers no exception. Novak has a closely guarded secret that he discloses to Grieve that changes everything between them.I found the best on-screen chemistry to be between Davis & Hoyt. Davis comes off as the kind of woman who enjoys being around elegant men who aren't hounding after women; perhaps even gay men. Hoyt fits that image to a T. Their ultra close friendship is worth more than any romance~

whpratt1 A story about a female and male searching for real love, both with very strong convictions and also very bad hang ups about where they are going in life. Betty Davis,(Susan Grieve),"Wicked Stepmother",'89 sort of gave up on marriage and ran into Jim Davis,(Slick Novak), and began to fall head over heels in love with him. There is a scene where Susan and Jim confront each other about each others faults and Susan wonders why Jim is not able to just plain get on one knee and propose marriage. Also, the fact that he has never attempted to make love to her, but only an occasional kiss or two. The actors gave great performances and you have to take into account that it was produced in 1948. This is truly a great Betty Davis Classic Film!@