Dark Victory

Judith Traherne is a wealthy Long Island socialite whose life of parties and horse riding leaves her unfulfilled. When worsening headaches and dizzy spells lead her to consult the neurosurgeon Dr. Frederick Steele, he finds a brain tumour and operates. The surgery appears successful, and Judith falls in love with Steele, but the tumour proves malignant and her future is uncertain. She decides to make the most of the time she has left, while those close to her, including her friend Ann King and her stable master Michael O'Leary, keep the full truth from her. The film follows how Judith handles the knowledge of her condition and what it means for the relationship she has begun.

Edmund Goulding directed this 1939 Warner Bros. production from a screenplay by Casey Robinson. It sits between A Night at the Opera in 1935 and The Razor's Edge in 1946 in Goulding's filmography of seven credited features, which also includes Grand Hotel and Nightmare Alley. Bette Davis leads as Judith, with George Brent as Dr. Steele, and the supporting cast includes Humphrey Bogart, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Ronald Reagan and Henry Travers among 46 credited performers.

The film runs 104 minutes and was released in April 1939. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.4 from around 13,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 6.9 from roughly 165 votes. A critics' rating of 7.1 from 24 reviews places it close to the audience verdict on IMDb.