Now, Voyager

The title is from a line by Walt Whitman, "The untold want by life and land ne’er granted, now voyager sail thou forth...." This tale of ugly duckling into a swan has struck a chord with generations of cinema-goers. Charlotte Vale is a troubled spinster, part of a distinguished Boston family and entirely under the thumb of her over-dominant mother (Gladys Cooper). She finds her way to a sanatorium and eventually recovers from her profound depression to go on a cruise and have a love affair with a married man.

The famous cigarette scene "Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon, we have the stars" is one of Bette’s more frequently quoted lines. But she also finds herself admitting "Some women aren’t the marrying kind" or "I’ll get a cat and a parrot and enjoy single blessedness".

Although ostensibly heterosexual in every way Charlotte refuses marriage and finds happiness outside the nuclear family. There are huge resonances for any non-heterosexual, no doubt helped by gay director Irving Rapper, costumes by Orry-Kelly and a cameo by Hollywood’s favourite sissy Franklin Pangborn.

Brian Robinson