Now, Voyager

Now, Voyager (1942) is a classic Hollywood melodrama led by Bette Davis that you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by Irving Rapper, it remains one of the great "woman's pictures" of the studio era.

Charlotte Vale is the unwanted late child of a wealthy Boston family, kept under lock and key by a domineering mother until she becomes a withdrawn, frightened spinster. A nervous breakdown lands her in the care of a kind psychiatrist, and then on an ocean cruise to South America. There she meets Jerry, a married man, and feels for the first time like someone worth loving. Going back home to her mother will test every bit of the freedom she's found.

Davis charts the shift from timid recluse to self-possessed woman almost wordlessly, through posture and a steady gaze. Paul Henreid and Claude Rains play opposite her, and Max Steiner's score took home an Oscar. The film's two-cigarette moment is part of movie lore. For anyone who loves old-school melodrama built around a strong heroine, it offers rare warmth. Stream Now, Voyager (1942) online on iFILM.